Praktische theologie als een academische discipline

Abstract

PT is an academic field merging for new ways: It no longer wants to be a pure ‘application of systematic theology for ecclesial practice’. It attempts to find its own subject matter and methodology. Scholars seek the field (subject matter) of PT in the work of the pastor (clerical model), in the church as part of society (ecclesial model), or in the paradigm of liberation. The methodology of PT has been strongly influenced by the rise of the social disciplines: psychology and sociology. Moreover, methods from the field of cultural anthropology (Geertz, Turner) and hermeneutics (Gadamer, Ricoeur) are to be seen in the field of PT at this moment. For the normative aspects practical theologians not only seek their resources in biblical and systematic theology, but also in ethics (Browning) and in hermeneutical approaches (Gerkin).