Practical Theology

Abstract

Abstract The term “practical theology” has its origins in the European university academy where it was used to refer to the domain of pastoralia , that is pastoral skills, required for clergy at the end of their theological studies. Candidates for church ministry had already studied the Bible, church history, Christian doctrine and philosophy, and so practical theology was the crown of such study in preparation for the ordained life. It prepared students for such tasks as preaching, leading worship, conducting pastoral conversations, and educating their congregations in the Christian faith. It is this sense of applying the teaching of the Bible or Christian doctrine to ministerial tasks that has resulted in the term “applied theology” being used. However, with the advent of “liberation theology” and the turn to praxis as the focus of theology, this clergy‐dominated paradigm was challenged. Practical theology took seriously the hermeneutical and contemporary turn in theology. The valueladen practices of ecclesial communities became the focus and in the liberationist tradition a hermeneutic of suspicion was added as a means of transforming such practices. This liberationist paradigm is still a dominant one within practical theology as different minority and previously excluded perspectives are brought to bear on issues in church and society. However, there is another strand to practical theology that has emerged in recent years, which uses the empirical research methods of the social sciences in a rigorous way in order to explore, describe, and test the nature of religious beliefs, values, and practices. It is called “empirical theology.” This strand of practical theology does not limit itself to ecclesial studies, although these are in evidence; instead it considers the nature of religious worldviews in society at large and aims to offer specific theological appraisal of them by means of empirical‐theological analysis and construction.