The formation of theology as an academic discipline and branch of scientiɼc knowledge
occurs in the context of a tense discussion of its scientiɼc character. This discussion
develops in several directions, but necessarily concerns the topic of opposing religious
studies and theology in a number of philosophical and methodological criteria. In the
framework of such discussions, religious studies and theology are represented as two
opposing poles of knowledge about religion, and religion studies are thought to have
a scientiɼc character, whereas theology is deprived of this status. At the same time, the
unscientiɼc nature of theology is supported by various (including serious) arguments,
but the scientiɼc nature of religious studies is determined through a simple opposition
of “unscientiɼc” theology. This position is also interesting because arguments against
the scientiɼc nature of theology, often based on the positivistic methodology, also call
into question the scientiɼc nature of religious studies as a research programme. The high
ideological and emotional tension of discussions about the scientiɼc status of theology
sometimes conceals certain aspects of the interaction of theology and religion in a new
format.
Key words: theology, religious studies, missiology, academic institutionalisation of
theology, methodology, research programme.
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