Introduction and research justification

Abstract

This book is an academic book with theoretical contributions of staff members and research associates of the Department of Practical Theology and Mission Studies at the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria (UP). The department represents an intellectual legacy that has evolved over 71 years from 1953 to 2024. It has similarities with other practical theology departments, but it also possesses distinct characteristics that set it apart. Established as a department at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria in 1953 (Büchner & Müller, 2009:1–2), the Department of Practical Theology has grown from its humble beginnings as a very small department to, by the time of writing this contribution, to being the largest of six departments in the Faculty of Theology. It makes a huge contribution with regard to teaching, research outputs and postgraduate-student supervision (cf. Wepener, 2013; Wepener et al., 2017:155). As such, the department is what it is today because of many factors, including its historical-theological background and also, importantly, its geographical context (cf. Wepener et al., 2017). In recent years, Practical Theology and Missiology combined to form a single department called Practical Theology and Mission Studies.