Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definitions: Theology |
TheologyNoun1. The rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth. 2. A particular system or school of religious beliefs and teachings; "Jewish theology"; "Roman Catholic theology". 3. The learned profession acquired by specialized courses in religion (usually taught at a college or seminary); "he studied theology at Oxford". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "theology" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
| Domain | Definitions |
Computing | Theology n. 1. Ironically or humorously used to refer to religious issues. 2. Technical fine points of an abstruse nature, esp. those where the resolution is of theoretical interest but is relatively marginal with respect to actual use of a design or system. Used esp. around software issues with a heavy AI or language-design component, such as the smart-data vs. smart-programs dispute in AI. Source: Jargon File. |
Public Administration | Five specialisations:bible studies; history of Christianity; philosophy and ethics; the study of religion; and the sociology, psychology and teaching of religion. (1). Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Theology is literally the study of God (Greek θεος, theos, "God", + λογος, logos, "study"). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. The term theology originated in Christianity, but it can also be used to refer to the study of the beliefs of other religions.
Theology assumes the truth of at least some religious beliefs and therefore can be distinguished from the philosophy of religion, which does not presume the truth of any religious beliefs. The philosophy of religion, when it seeks to study these topics, uses reason and experience as its sources; while theology can also use religious sources such as scriptures (e.g. the Bible), traditions, etc. This is not, however, to say that one must have religious belief in order to be a theologian - though agnostic or atheist theologians are very rare. In Eastern Christianity, there is more emphasis on prayer than on intellectual thought and study as a means to learn about God. Studying God without any kind of relationship or desire for relationship with God is considered by some almost meaningless, but others would argue that one can engage with issues in terms of notions around "God" as an exercise in history, anthropology, and/or sociology, yet not have any desire for engagement in terms of the personal God offered in terms of certain forms of religion. Many of the early church fathers described the theologian as a person who "truly prays."
In response to the horrors of the Holocaust, many theologians (especially Jewish theologians) were prompted to take a harder look in terms of issues around theodicy; the theological works that were created as a response to the Holocaust have been termed Holocaust theology.
Theology is divided into several subdisciplines:
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Theology."
Synonyms: TheologySynonyms: divinity (n), theological system (n). (additional references) |
| Synonym by domain: theologies (public administration, education). |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Theology | Noun: theology (natural and revealed); theogony, theosophy; divinity; hagiology, hagiography; Caucasian mystery; monotheism; religion; religious persuasion, religious sect, religious denomination; creed; (belief); article of faith, declaration of faith, profession of faith, confession of faith. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Adso, if I knew the answers to everything, I would be teaching theology in Paris. (Name der Rose, Der; writing credit: Andrew Birkin; Gérard Brach) | |
Song Titles | A Girl On Theology (performing artist: The Electric Amish) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Periodicals | |||
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Charles Bradlaugh | Liberty's chief foe is theology. |
Henry Ward Beecher | Theology is a science of mind applied to God. |
| Theology is but our ideas of truth classified and arranged. | |
Jeremy Taylor | The best theology is rather a divine life than a divine knowledge. |
Martin Luther | Next to theology I give music the highest place of honor. |
Ralph Waldo Emerson | But men are better than their theology. Their daily life gives it the lie. |
Robert Green Ingersoll | Let us put theology out of religion. Theology has always sent the worst to heaven, the best to hell. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Time Enough for Love | Robert Heinlein | One man's theology is another man's belly laugh. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Civil Liberties | Bulgaria | It remains impossible for non-Orthodox applicants to be admitted to the Department of Theology. (references) |
Latvia | Visa regulations require that religious workers present either an ordination certificate or evidence of religious education that corresponds to a Latvian bachelor's degree in theology. (references) | |
Thailand | Under the provisions of the Religious Organizations Act of 1969, the RAD recognizes a new religion if a national census shows that it has at least 5,000 adherents, has a uniquely recognizable theology, and is not politically active. (references) | |
Economic History | Ireland | The pagan druid tradition collapsed in the face of the spread of the new faith, and Irish scholars excelled in the study of Latin learning and Christian theology in the monasteries that shortly flourished. (references) |
Minorities | Iran | University applicants are required to pass an examination in Islamic theology. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | EXTINCTION, n. The raw material out of which theology created the future state. F |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Bob Schieffer | Church theology is the church's business and can be as nuanced as church members care to make. But protecting children from sexual predators is everyone's business, and it's not at all complicated. |
Deepak Chopra | Well, I think we have a clash right now between two paradigms. The first paradigm says, you know, it's based on Christian theology which says, I'm a sinner, I must atone for my sins. I must pray for forgiveness. I must seek redemption. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Theology" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.52% of the time. "Theology" is used about 1,036 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.52% | 1,031 | 7,199 |
| Noun (common) | 0.29% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.19% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 1,036 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "theology": ascetic theology ♦ bachelor of Theology ♦ christian theology ♦ doctor of Theology ♦ Dogmatic theology ♦ Irenical theology ♦ master of Theology ♦ moral theology ♦ mystical theology ♦ natural theology ♦ pastoral Theology ♦ revealed theology ♦ scholastic theology ♦ speculative theology ♦ systematic theology ♦ theology student. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "theology": infant-theology, Physico-theology. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "theology"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | teologji (divinity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | نظرية لاهوتية, لاهوت (divinity), علم اللاهوت, علم التوحيد. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | теология (divinity), богословие. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 神學 (theological), 神学 (theological, Theologies). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | teologie (divinity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | theologie, Godgeleerdheid. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Esperanto | teologio. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | یزدان شناسی , حکمت الهی (Theosophy), علم دین , خداشناسی (Theism, Theosophy), الهیات (Divinity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | jumaluusoppi. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | théologie. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frisian | godgeleardens. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Theologie (divinity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | θεολογία (divinity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | תורת "אמו ". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | teológia (divinity), hittudomány (divinity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | ilmu agama. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | teologia (divinity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 神学 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | し"がく (going on to university). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 학 (Theologies). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | jeeoilys (divinity), jeeghtys. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Papiamen | teologia. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | eologythay teologia (divinize). (various references) teologie (divinity). (various references) богословие (divinity, learned professions). (various references) teologija. (various references) teologi/a, teología (divinity). (various references) teologi (divinity). (various references) teolojí, tanrıbilim (divine, divinity), ilahiyat (divine, divinity), ílahíyat. (various references) теологія, богослов'я. (various references) thần học. (various references) diwinyddiaeth (divinity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | theologia. (various references) |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | theologia. (various references) |
| Old French | 900-1400 | theologie. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Misspellings | |
"Theology" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: chaology, etheology, tehnology, teology, thealogy, theol, theolgy, theologin, theololgy. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "theology" (pronounced thēÄ"lujē) |
| 6 | -ē Ä" l u j ē | anesthesiology, archaeology, archeology, cardiology, embryology, epidemiology, etiology, genealogy, geology, ideology, physiology, radiology, sociology. |
| 5 | -Ä" l u j ē | anthology, anthropology, apology, astrology, bacteriology, biology, biotechnology, chronology, cosmetology, criminology, cytology, dendrochronology, dermatology, doxology, ecology, endocrinology, entomology, epistemology, ethnology, ethology, etymology, geomorphology, gerontology, graphology, gynecology, histology, Hymnology, immunology, kinesiology, limnology, meteorology, methodology, microbiology, micropaleontology, mineralogy, morphology, mycology, mythology, neurology, numerology, oncology, ontology, ophthalmology, ornithology, otology, paleontology, pathology, penology, petrology, pharmacology, Pomology, psychology, rheumatology, seismology, serology, terminology, toxicology, urology, virology, zoology. |
| 4 | -l u j ē | analogy, cosmology, elegy, eulogy, trilogy. |
| 3 | -u j ē | prodigy, strategy. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: ethology. | |
| Words within the letters "e-g-h-l-o-o-t-y" | |
-1 letter: theolog. | |
-3 letters: ethyl, gooey, helot, holey, hooey, hooly, hooty, hotel, hotly, hoyle, looey, ology, thole. | |
-4 letters: gelt, gley, helo, hole, holt, holy, hoot, hyte, loge, logo, logy, loot, loth, ogle, oleo, they, tole, tool, toyo, yogh. | |
-5 letters: ego, eth, gel, get, gey, goo, got, goy, het, hey, hoe, hog, hot, hoy, leg, let, ley. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-g-h-l-o-o-t-y" | |
+1 letter: ethnology. | |
+2 letters: hematology, mythologer, technology. | |
+3 letters: eschatology, herpetology, methodology, mythologers, mythologies, mythologize. | |
+4 letters: epiphytology, mythologized, mythologizer, mythologizes, photogeology, rheumatology. | |
+5 letters: biotechnology, demythologize, helminthology, ichthyologies, mythologizers, remythologize, theologically. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)54 68 65 6F 6C 6F 67 79 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)- .... . --- .-.. --- --. -.--. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01010100 01101000 01100101 01101111 01101100 01101111 01100111 01111001 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)T h e o l o g y |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0054 0068 0065 006F 006C 006F 0067 0079 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)5474718178817391 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Quotations: Familiar 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Quotations: Spoken 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Derivations | 17. Rhymes 18. Anagrams 19. Orthography 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.