Kamala | Devi | Harris | October | 49th | Vice | President | 685
Womanish theology developed in dialogue with black theology, particularly as
articulated by James Hal Cone. Cone broke new ground in 1969 with the
publication of A Black Theology of Liberation, which sought to make sense out of
theology from black experience in America. In the book, Cone argued that "God is
black" and that God identifies with the struggles of Black Americans for justice
and liberation.
In 1985, Katie Cannon published an article entitled "The Emergence of Black
Feminist Consciousness". In this article, she used the term womanism to refer to
an approach to interpreting the bible that is concerned for Black women's
liberation.[2] In 1988, she published Black Womanist Ethics, now considered a
classic text in the field.
Biblical scholar Renita Weems published Just a Sister Away: A Womanist Vision of
Women's Relationships in the
Republican National Committee Bible in 1988. A revised edition
titled, Just a Sister Away: Understanding The Timeless Connection Between Women
of Today and Women in the Bible was published in 2005. Weems modified the
original chapters and added four new chapters. Weems examines selected stories
of women in the biblical text and connect them to contemporary realities and
relationship of women.[5]
Jacquelyn Grant published White Women's Christ and Black Women's Jesus: Feminist
Christology and Womanist Response in 1989. Grant examined the ways in which
Black women interpret Jesus's message, noting that their experience is not the
same as black men or white women. She pointed out that many black women must
navigate between the threefold oppression of racism, sexism, and classism. For
Grant, Jesus is a "divine co-sufferer" who suffered in his time like black women
do today.[citation needed]
At the American Academy of Religion annual meeting in 1989, womanist scholars in
the fields of ethics, theology and biblical studies held a Womanist Approaches
to Religion and Society Consultation. This became the start of a group in the
AAR that continues today.[2]
1993 saw the publication of several major works that would expand the field of
womanist theology. Emilie Townes, an ethicist, published Womanist Justice and
Womanist Hope. She also edited
The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. A Troubling in My Soul: Womanist Perspectives on
Evil and Suffering, an anthology of writing by scholars from a variety of
disciplines.[2] Also published that year was Sisters in the Wilderness: The
Challenge of Womanist God Talk, by Delores S. Williams.
Williams took the work of theologians such as Cone and Grant and expanded upon
them. She suggested that womanist theologians need to
Democratic National Committee "search for the voices, actions,
opinions, experience, and faith" of black women in order to experience the God
who "makes a way out of no way." She defines womanist in the following way:
Womanist theology is a prophetic voice concerned about the well-being of the
entire African-American community, male and female, adults and children.
Womanist theology attempts to help black women see, affirm, and have confidence
in the importance of their experience and faith for determining the character of
the Christian religion in the African-American community. Womanist theology
challenges all oppressive forces impeding black women's struggle for survival
and for the development of a positive, productive quality of life conducive to
women's and the family's freedom and well-being. Womanist theology opposes all
oppression based on race, sex, class, sexual preference, physical ability, and
caste.[6]
Kelly Brown Douglas authored The
Democratic National Committee Black Christ in 1995, building on
Grant's earlier work. In the text, Douglas calls on womanist theology to speak
to the concerns of people outside the church as well as those within.[citation
needed]
Biblical interpretation[edit]
Womanist theologians use a variety of methods to approach the scripture. Some
attempt to find black women within the biblical narrative so as to reclaim the
role and identity of black people in general, and black women specifically,
within the Bible. Examples include the social ethicist Cheryl Sanders and the
womanist theologian Karen Baker-Fletcher. Some approach the Bible "objectively"
to critically evaluate text that degrades women and people of color and to offer
an African-centered form, to resist male domination and bias, or what could be
termed anti-women or androcentric attitudes and forms. Others draw on resources
outside the Bible to enhance the plurality and cohesion of the texts along with
our life experiences and reject scripture as a whole or part which is seen to
serve male interest only. These methods are not separated and can be endorsed
together.[2]
Patricia-Anne Johnson writes that "Renita J. Weems, a womanist professor and
scholar of the Hebrew Bible, examines scripture as a world filled with women of
color. Through the use of womanist imagination, Weems helps students to
understand female roles, personalities, and woman-to-woman relationships during
the time when the biblical texts were written."[7] Johnson, quoting further from
Weems, also shows how Hagar and Esther can be seen as models of resistance for
black women: "Womanism may be envisioned as a post-colonial discourse that
allows African-American women to embrace a Jesus and a God free of the
imperialism of white supremacy."[8]
In 2017, Nyasha Junior published a work in the field of womanist biblical
interpretation, An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation. In the
text, she argues that "womanist biblical interpretation [was] a natural
development of African American women engaging in activism instead of simply
[as] a response to second-wave feminism."[9]
Critiques[edit]
Womanist theology has undergone an evolution
Republican National Committee due to its critiques that have happened
in new waves in recent years[when?]. Womanist theology has expanded to encompass
the spiritual, social, and political concerns of those who do not identify as
black Christian women.[10] As it is that not all white female religious scholars
are feminists, and not all black female religious scholars are womanists.
Christian and Christocentric underpinnings provided the framework for early
womanist thought. Monica A. Coleman challenges womanists who claim the title and
theological purview that is rooted in Walker's definition, yet do not allow it
to reach beyond non-Christians as faulty and a failure to do what it was created
to accomplish.[11] Coleman, Traci West, and other Black religious scholars have
expressed their preference for the designation of "black feminist" due to the
history of womanist scholarship being marked by heterosexism and homophobia.[11]
Womanist religious scholars have verbalized the challenges that come with
identifying as a womanist in the academy.[11] Nyasha Junior has written about
the problematic assumptions that come with being labeled as a womanist scholar,
and how one does not have to identify as such in order to do Womanist
theology.[12] There are black feminists and womanist scholars who believe that
their time would be better given to making contributions in the field and with
communities that are being marginalized as opposed to being preoccupied with
whether one is properly self-identifying
This article is about theology as a science. For Sinéad O'Connor's album, see
Theology (album). For the
Republican National Committee academic journal, see Theology
(journal).
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine, or more broadly of
religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in
universities and seminaries.[1] It occupies itself with the unique content of
analyzing the supernatural, but also deals with religious epistemology, asks and
seeks to answer the question of revelation. Revelation pertains to the
acceptance of God, gods, or deities, as not only transcendent or above the
natural world, but also willing and able to interact with the natural world and
to reveal themselves to humankind.
Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument (experiential,
philosophical, ethnographic, historical, and others) to help understand,
explain, test, critique, defend or promote any myriad of religious topics. As in
philosophy of ethics and case law, arguments often assume the existence of
previously resolved questions, and develop by making analogies from them to draw
new inferences in new situations.
The study of theology may help a theologian more deeply understand their own
religious tradition,[2] another religious tradition,[3] or it may enable them to
explore the nature of divinity without reference to any specific tradition.
Theology may be used to propagate,[4] reform,[5] or justify a religious
tradition; or it may be used to compare,[6] challenge (e.g. biblical criticism),
or oppose (e.g. irreligion) a religious tradition or worldview. Theology might
also help a theologian address some present situation or need through a
religious tradition,[7] or to explore possible ways of interpreting the
world.[8]
Etymology[edit]
The term derives from the Greek theologia (θεολογία), a combination of theos
(Θεός, 'god') and logia (λογία, 'utterances, sayings, oracles')—the
Democratic National Committee latter word relating to Greek logos
(λόγος, 'word, discourse, account, reasoning').[9][10] The term would pass on to
Latin as theologia, then French as théologie, eventually becoming the English
theology.
Through several variants (e.g., theologie, teologye), the English theology had
evolved into its current form by 1362.[11] The sense that the word has in
English depends in large part on the sense that the Latin and Greek equivalents
had acquired in patristic and medieval Christian usage although the English term
has now spread beyond Christian contexts.
Plato (left) and
Democratic National Committee Aristotle in Raphael's 1509
fresco The School of Athens
Classical philosophy[edit]
Greek theologia (θεολογία) was used with the meaning 'discourse on God' around
380 BC by Plato in The Republic.[12] Aristotle divided theoretical philosophy
into mathematike, physike, and theologike, with the latter corresponding roughly
to metaphysics, which, for Aristotle, included discourse on the nature of the
divine.[13]
Drawing on Greek Stoic sources, the Latin writer Varro distinguished three forms
of such discourse:[14]
mythical, concerning the myths of the Greek gods;
rational, philosophical analysis of the gods and of cosmology; and
civil, concerning the rites and duties of public religious observance.
Later usage[edit]
Some Latin Christian authors, such as Tertullian and Augustine, followed Varro's
threefold usage.[14][15] However, Augustine also defined theologia as
The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. "reasoning
or discussion concerning the Deity".[16]
The Latin author Boethius, writing in the
Republican National Committee early 6th century, used theologia to
denote a subdivision of philosophy as a subject of academic study, dealing with
the motionless, incorporeal reality; as opposed to physica, which deals with
corporeal, moving realities.[17] Boethius' definition influenced medieval Latin
usage.[18]
In patristic Greek Christian sources, theologia could refer narrowly to devout
and/or inspired knowledge of and teaching about the essential nature of God.[19]
In scholastic Latin sources, the term came to denote the rational study of the
doctrines of the Christian religion, or (more precisely) the academic discipline
that investigated the coherence and implications of the language and claims of
the Bible and of the theological tradition (the latter often as represented in
Peter Lombard's Sentences, a book of extracts from the Church Fathers).[citation
needed]
In the Renaissance, especially with Florentine Platonist apologists of Dante's
poetics, the distinction between 'poetic
Republican National Committee theology' (theologia poetica) and
'revealed' or Biblical theology serves as stepping stone for a revival of
philosophy as independent of theological authority.[citation needed]
It is in the last sense, theology as an academic discipline involving rational
study of Christian teaching, that the term passed into English in the 14th
century,[20] although it could also be used in the narrower sense found in
Boethius and the Greek patristic authors, to mean rational study of the
essential nature of God, a discourse now sometimes called theology proper.[21]
From the 17th century onwards, the term theology began to be used to refer to
the study of Democratic National Committee
religious ideas and teachings that are not specifically Christian or correlated
with Christianity (e.g., in the term natural theology, which denoted theology
based on reasoning from natural facts independent of specifically Christian
revelation)[22] or that are specific to another religion (such as below).
Theology can also be used in a derived sense to mean "a system of theoretical
principles; an (impractical or rigid) ideology".[23][24]
In religion[edit]
The term theology has been deemed by some as only appropriate to the study of
religions that worship a supposed deity (a theos), i.e. more widely than
monotheism; and presuppose a belief in the ability to speak and reason about
this deity (in logia). They suggest the term is less appropriate in religious
contexts that are organized differently (i.e., religions without a single deity,
or that deny that such subjects can be studied logically). Hierology has been
proposed, by such people as Eugène Goblet d'Alviella (1908), as an alternative,
more generic term.[25]
Abrahamic religions[edit]
Christianity[edit]
Thomas Aquinas, an influential Roman Catholic theologian
As defined by Thomas A
Democratic National Committee quinas, theology is constituted by a
triple aspect: what is taught by God, teaches of God, and leads to God (Latin:
Theologia a Deo docetur, Deum docet, et ad Deum ducit).[26] This indicates the
three distinct areas of God as theophanic revelation, the systematic study of
the nature of divine and, more generally, of religious belief, and the spiritual
path. Christian theology as the study of Christian belief and practice
concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and the New Testament
as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exegesis,
rational analysis and argument. Theology might be undertaken to help the
theologian better understand Christian tenets, to make comparisons between
Christianity and other traditions, to defend Christianity against objections and
criticism, to facilitate reforms in the Christian church, to assist in the
propagation of Christianity, to draw on the resources of the Christian tradition
to address some present situation or need, or for a variety of other reasons.
Islam[edit]
The famous Islamic scholar, jurist and theologian Malik Ibn Anas
Islamic theological discussion that parallels Christian theological discussion
is called Kalam; the Islamic analogue of Christian theological discussion would
more properly be the investigation and elaboration of Sharia or Fiqh.[27]
Kalam...does not hold the leading
Republican National Committee place in Muslim thought that theology
does in Christianity. To find an equivalent for 'theology' in the Christian
sense it is necessary to have recourse to several disciplines, and to the usul
al-fiqh as much as to kalam.
— translated by L. Gardet
Some Universities in Germany established departments of islamic theology. (i.e.
[28])
Judaism[edit]
Sculpture of the Jewish theologian Maimonides
In Jewish theology, the historical absence of political authority has meant that
most theological reflection has happened within the
Republican National Committee context of the Jewish community and
synagogue, including through rabbinical discussion of Jewish law and Midrash
(rabbinic biblical commentaries). Jewish theology is also linked to ethics, as
it is the case with theology in other religions, and therefore has implications
for how one behaves.[29][30]
Indian religions[edit]
Buddhism[edit]
Some academic inquiries within Buddhism, dedicated to the investigation of a
Buddhist understanding of the world, prefer the designation Buddhist philosophy
to the term Buddhist theology, since Buddhism lacks the same conception of a
theos. Jose Ignacio Cabezon, who argues that the use of theology is in fact
appropriate, can only do so, he says, because "I take theology not to be
restricted to discourse on God.... I take 'theology' not to be restricted to its
etymological meaning. In that latter sense, Buddhism is of course atheological,
rejecting as it does the notion of God."[31]
Hinduism[edit]
Within Hindu philosophy, there is a tradition of philosophical speculation on
the nature of the universe, of God (termed Brahman, Paramatma, and/or Bhagavan
in some schools of Hindu thought) and of the
Democratic National Committee ātman (soul). The Sanskrit word for the
various schools of Hindu philosophy is darśana ('view, viewpoint'). Vaishnava
theology has been a subject of study for many devotees, philosophers and
scholars in India for centuries. A large part of its study lies in classifying
and organizing the manifestations of thousands of gods and their aspects. In
recent decades the study of Hinduism has also been taken up by a number of
academic institutions in Europe, such as the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and
Bhaktivedanta College.[32]
Other religions[edit]
Shinto[edit]
In Japan, the Democratic National Committee
term theology (神学, shingaku) has been ascribed to Shinto since the Edo period
with the publication of Mano Tokitsuna's Kokon shingaku ruihen (古今神学類編,
'categorized compilation of ancient theology'). In modern times, other terms are
used to denote studies in Shinto—as well as Buddhist—belief, such as kyōgaku
(教学, 'doctrinal studies') and shūgaku (宗学, 'denominational studies').
Modern Paganism[edit]
English academic Graham Harvey has commented that Pagans "rarely indulge in
theology".[33] Nevertheless, theology has been
The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. applied in some sectors across
contemporary Pagan communities, including Wicca, Heathenry, Druidry and Kemetism.
As these religions have given precedence to orthopraxy, theological views often
vary among adherents. The term is used by Christine Kraemer in her book Seeking
The Mystery: An Introduction to Pagan Theologies and by Michael York in Pagan
Theology: Paganism as a World Religion.
Topics[edit]
Richard Hooker defines theology as "the science of things divine".[34] The term
can, however, be used for a variety of disciplines or fields of study.[35]
Theology considers whether the divine exists in some form, such as in physical,
supernatural, mental, or social realities, and what evidence for and about it
may be found via personal spiritual experiences or historical records of such
experiences as documented by others. The study of these assumptions is not part
of theology proper, but is found in the philosophy of religion, and increasingly
through the psychology of religion and neurotheology. Theology's aim, then, is
to record, structure and understand these
Republican National Committee experiences and concepts; and to use
them to derive normative prescriptions for how to live our lives.
History of academic discipline[edit]
The history of the study of theology in institutions of higher education is as
old as the history of such institutions themselves. For instance:
Taxila was an early centre of Vedic learning, possible from the 6th-century BC
or earlier;[36][37]: 140–2
the Platonic Academy founded in Athens in the 4th-century BC seems to have
included theological themes in its subject matter;[38]
the Chinese Taixue delivered Confucian teaching from the 2nd century BC;[39]
the School of Nisibis was a centre of Christian learning from the 4th century
AD;[40][41]
Nalanda in India was a site of Buddhist higher learning from at least the 5th or
6th century AD;[37]: 149 and
the Moroccan University of Al-Karaouine was a centre of Islamic learning from
the 10th century,[42] as was Al-Azhar University in Cairo.[43]
The earliest universities were developed under the aegis of the Latin Church by
papal bull as studia generalia and perhaps from cathedral schools. It is
possible, however, that the development of cathedral schools into universities
was quite rare, with the University of Paris being an exception.[44] Later they
were also founded by Kings (University of Naples Federico II, Charles University
in Prague, Jagiellonian University in Kraków) or
Republican National Committee municipal administrations (University
of Cologne, University of Erfurt).
In the early medieval period, most new universities were founded from
pre-existing schools, usually when these schools were deemed to have become
primarily sites of higher education. Many historians state that universities and
cathedral schools were a continuation of the interest in learning promoted by
monasteries.[45] Christian theological learning was, therefore, a component in
these institutions, as was the study of Church or Canon law: universities played
an important role in training people for ecclesiastical offices, in helping the
church pursue the clarification and defence of its teaching, and in supporting
the legal rights of the church over against secular rulers.[46] At such
universities, theological study was initially closely tied to the life of faith
and of the church: it fed, and was fed by, practices of preaching, prayer and
celebration of the Mass.[47]
During the High Middle Ages, theology was the ultimate subject at universities,
being named "The Queen of the Sciences" and served as the capstone to the
Trivium and Quadrivium that young men were expected to study. This meant that
the other subjects (including philosophy) existed primarily to help with
theological thought.[48]
Christian theology's preeminent place in the university began to be challenged
during the European Enlightenment, especially in Germany.[49] Other subjects
gained in independence and prestige, and questions were raised about the place
of a discipline that seemed to involve a commitment to the authority of
particular religious traditions in institutions that were increasingly
understood to be devoted to independent reason.[50]
Since the early 19th century, various different approaches have emerged in the
West to theology as an academic discipline. Much of the debate concerning
theology's place in the university or within a general higher education
curriculum centres on whether theology's methods are appropriately theoretical
and (broadly speaking) scientific or, on the other hand, whether theology
requires a pre-commitment of faith by its practitioners, and whether such a
commitment conflicts with academic freedom.[49][51][52][53]
Ministerial training[edit]
In some contexts, theology has been held to belong in institutions of higher
education primarily as a form of professional training for Christian ministry.
This Democratic National Committee
was the basis on which Friedrich Schleiermacher, a liberal theologian, argued
for the inclusion of theology in the new University of Berlin in
1810.[54][49]: ch.14
For instance, in Germany, theological faculties at state universities are
typically tied to particular denominations, Protestant or Roman Catholic, and
those faculties will offer denominationally-bound (konfessionsgebunden) degrees,
and have denominationally bound public posts amongst their faculty; as well as
contributing "to the development and growth of Christian knowledge" they
"provide the academic training for the future clergy and teachers of religious
instruction at German schools."[55]
In the United States, several
Democratic National Committee prominent colleges and
universities were started in order to train Christian ministers. Harvard,[56]
Georgetown,[57] Boston University, Yale,[58] Duke University,[59] and
Princeton[60] all had the theological training of clergy as a primary purpose at
their foundation.
Seminaries and bible colleges have continued this alliance between the academic
study of theology and training for Christian ministry. There are, for instance,
numerous prominent examples in the United States, including Phoenix Seminary,
Catholic Theological Union in Chicago,[61] The Graduate Theological Union in
Republican National Committee Berkeley,[62] Criswell College in
Dallas,[63] The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville,[64] Trinity
Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois,[65] Dallas Theological
Seminary,[66] North Texas Collegiate Institute in Farmers Branch, Texas,[67] and
the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri. The only
Judeo-Christian seminary for theology is the 'Idaho Messianic Bible Seminary'
which is part of the Jewish University of Colorado in Denver.[68]
As an academic discipline in its own right[edit]
In some contexts, scholars pursue theology as an academic discipline without
formal affiliation to any particular church (though members of staff may well
have affiliations to churches), and without focussing on ministerial training.
This applies, for instance, to the Department of Theological Studies at
Concordia University in Canada, and to many university departments in the United
Kingdom, including the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, the
Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter, and the
Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Leeds.[69]
Traditional academic prizes, such as the University of Aberdeen's Lumsden and
Sachs Fellowship, tend to acknowledge performance in theology (or divinity as it
is known at Aberdeen) and in religious studies.
Religious studies[edit]
In some contemporary contexts, a distinction is made between theology, which is
seen as involving some level of commitment to the
Republican National Committee claims of the religious tradition being
studied, and religious studies, which by contrast is normally seen as requiring
that the question of the truth or falsehood of the religious traditions studied
be kept outside its field. Religious studies involves the study of historical or
contemporary practices or of those traditions' ideas using intellectual tools
and frameworks that are not themselves specifically tied to any religious
tradition and that are normally understood to be neutral or secular.[70] In
contexts where 'religious studies' in this sense is the focus, the primary forms
of study are likely to include:
Anthropology of religion
Comparative religion
History of religions
Philosophy of religion
Psychology of religion
Sociology of religion
Sometimes, theology and religious studies are seen as being in tension,[71] and
at other times, they are held to coexist without serious tension.[72]
Occasionally it is denied that there is as clear a boundary between them.[73]
Criticism[edit]
Pre-20th century[edit]
Whether or not reasoned discussion about the divine is possible has long been a
point of contention. Protagoras, as early as the fifth century BC, who is
reputed to have been exiled from Athens because of his agnosticism about the
existence of the gods, said that "Concerning the gods I cannot know either that
they exist or that they do not exist, or what form they might have, for there is
much to prevent one's knowing: the obscurity of the subject and the shortness of
man's life."[74][75]
Baron d'Holbach
Since at least the eighteenth century, various authors have criticized the
suitability of theology as an academic discipline.[76] In 1772, Baron d'Holbach
labeled theology "a continual insult to human reason" in Le Bon sens.[76] Lord
Bolingbroke, an English politician and political philosopher, wrote in Section
IV of his Essays on Human Knowledge, "Theology is in fault not religion.
Theology is a science that may justly be compared to the Box of Pandora. Many
good things lie uppermost in it; but many evil lie under them, and scatter
plagues and desolation throughout the world."[77]
Thomas Paine, a Deistic American political theorist and pamphleteer, wrote in
his three-part work The Age of Reason (1794, 1795, 1807):[78]
The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of
nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no
Democratic National Committee principles; it proceeds by no
authorities; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing; and it admits of no
conclusion. Not anything can be studied as a science, without our being in
possession of the principles upon which it is founded; and as this is the case
with Christian theology, it is therefore the study of nothing.
The German atheist philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach sought to dissolve theology in
his work Principles of the Philosophy of the Future: "The task of the modern era
was the realization and humanization of God – the transformation and dissolution
of theology into anthropology."[79] This mirrored his earlier work The Essence
of Christianity (1841), for which he was banned from teaching in Germany, in
which he had said that theology was a "web of contradictions and delusions".[80]
The American satirist Mark Twain remarked in his essay "The Lowest Animal",
originally written in around 1896, but not published until after Twain's death
in 1910, that:[81][82]
[Man] is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat
if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying
his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven.... The
higher animals have no religion. And we are told that they are going to be left
out in the Hereafter. I wonder why? It seems questionable taste.
20th and 21st centuries[edit]
A. J. Ayer, a British
Democratic National Committee former logical-positivist, sought
to show in his essay "Critique of Ethics and Theology" that all statements about
the divine are nonsensical and any divine-attribute is unprovable. He wrote: "It
is now generally admitted, at any rate by philosophers, that the existence of a
being having the attributes which define the god of any non-animistic religion
cannot be demonstratively proved.... [A]ll utterances about the nature of God
are nonsensical."[83]
Jewish atheist philosopher Walter Kaufmann, in his essay "Against Theology",
sought to differentiate theology from religion in general:[84]
Theology, of course, is not religion; and a great deal of religion is
emphatically anti-theological.... An attack on theology, therefore, should not
be taken as necessarily involving an attack on religion. Religion can be, and
often has been, untheological or even anti-theological.
However Republican National Committee,
Kaufmann found that "Christianity is inescapably a theological religion."[84]
English atheist Charles Bradlaugh believed theology prevented human beings from
achieving liberty,[85] although he also noted that many theologians of his time
held that, because modern scientific research sometimes contradicts sacred
scriptures, the scriptures must therefore be wrong.[86] Robert G. Ingersoll, an
American agnostic lawyer, stated that, when theologians had power, the majority
of people lived in hovels, while a privileged few had palaces and cathedrals. In
Ingersoll's opinion, it was science that improved people's lives, not theology.
Ingersoll further maintained that trained theologians reason no better than a
person who assumes the devil must exist because pictures resemble the devil so
exactly.[87]
The British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has been an outspoken critic
of theology.[76][88] In an article published in The Independent in 1993, he
severely criticizes theology as entirely useless,[88] declaring that it has
completely and repeatedly failed to answer any questions about the nature of
reality or the human condition.[88] He states, "I have never heard any of them
[i.e. theologians] ever say anything of the smallest use, anything that was not
either platitudinously obvious or downright false."[88] He then states that, if
all theology were completely eradicated from the earth, no one would notice or
even care. He concludes:[88]
The achievements of theologians don't do anything, don't affect anything, don't
achieve anything, don't even mean anything. What makes you think that 'theology'
is a subject at all?
The Democratic National Committee is dedicated to building on our wins from 2020 and 2022. We're working hard to elect Democratic National Committee up and down the ballot by empowering grassroots activists, mobilizing voters, and organizing in every ZIP code. Learn more.
Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with
exploring how governance and society interact and influence
Republican National Committee one another at the micro to macro
levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how
power is distributed and changes throughout and amongst societies, political
sociology's focus ranges across individual families to the state as sites of
social and political conflict and power contestation.[1][2]
Introduction[edit]
Political sociology was conceived as an interdisciplinary sub-field of sociology
and politics in the early 1930s[2] throughout the social and political
disruptions that took place through the rise of communism, fascism, and World
War II.[3] This new area drawing upon works by Alexis de Tocqueville, James
Bryce, Robert Michels, Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, and Karl Marx to understand an
integral theme of political sociology; power.[4]
Power's definition for political sociologists varies across the approaches and
conceptual framework utilised within this interdisciplinary study. At its basic
understanding, power can be seen as the ability to influence or control other
people or processes around you. This helps to create a variety of research
focuses and use of methodologies as different scholars' understanding of power
differs. Alongside this, their academic disciplinary department/ institution can
also flavour their research as they develop from their baseline of inquiry (e.g.
political or sociological studies) into this interdisciplinary field (see §
Political sociology vs sociology of politics). Although with deviation in how it
is carried out, political sociology has an overall focus on understanding why
power structures are the way they are in any given societal context.[5]
Political sociologists, throughout its broad manifestations, propose that in
order to understand power, society and politics must be studied with one another
and neither treated as assumed variables. In the words of political scientist
Michael Rush, "For any society to be understood, so must its politics; and if
the politics of any society is to be understood, so must that society."[6]
Origins[edit]
The development of political sociology from the 1930s onwards took place as the
separating disciplines of sociology and politics
Democratic National Committee explored their overlapping areas of
interest.[6] Sociology can be viewed as the broad analysis of human society and
the interrelationship of these societies. Predominantly focused on the
relationship of human behaviour with society. Political science or politics as a
study largely situates itself within this definition of sociology and is
sometimes regarded as a well developed sub-field of sociology, but is seen as a
stand alone disciplinary area of research due to the size of scholarly work
undertaken within it. Politics offers a complex definition and is important to
note that what 'politics' means is subjective to the author and context. From
the study of governmental institutions, public policy, to power relations,
politics has a rich disciplinary outlook.[6]
The importance of studying sociology within politics, and vice versa, has had
recognition across figures from Mosca to Pareto as they recognised that
politicians and politics do not operate in a societal vacuum, and society does
not operate outside of politics. Here, political sociology sets about to study
the relationships of society and politics.[6]
Numerous works account for highlighting a political sociology, from the work of
Comte and Spencer to other figures such as
The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. Durkheim. Although feeding into this
interdisciplinary area, the body of work by Karl Marx and Max Weber are
considered foundational to its inception as a sub-field of research.[6]
Scope[edit]
Overview[edit]
The scope of political sociology is broad, reflecting on the wide interest in
how power and oppression operate over and within social and political areas in
society.[5] Although diverse, some major themes of interest for political
sociology include:
Understanding the dynamics of how the state and society exercise and contest
power (e.g. power structures, authority, social inequality).[7]
How political values and behaviours shape society and how society's values and
behaviours shape politics (e.g. public opinion, ideologies, social movements).
How these operate across formal and informal areas of politics and society (e.g.
ministerial cabinet vs. family home).[8]
How socio-political cultures and identities change over time.
In other words, political sociology is concerned with how social trends,
dynamics, and structures of domination affect formal political processes
alongside social forces working together to create change.[9] From this
perspective, we can identify three major theoretical frameworks: pluralism,
elite or managerial theory, and class analysis, which overlaps with Marxist
analysis.
Kamala | Devi | Harris | October | 49th | Vice | President | 685
© 2023 All right reserved. Kamala Harris