Inter-religious studies : reconciling theology and religious studies

Abstract

Once claimed to be the queen of sciences in European public discourse, the position of theology today is much weaker. As the number of churchgoers drops steadily, schools of theology in many European countries fail to attract enough students. Some of them have to merge with neighbouring theological schools with a similar problem.3 Many others have to broaden their interest, to relate the study of religious belief to other academic disciplines, such as economics, politics, arts, history and even sport studies. The pressure is also strong for many schools of theology to leave behind the traditional, single-religious perspective and to employ instead methods of social sciences, as well as to looking at the issues faced by many religions beside the dominant one. The latter phenomenon has stimulated the significant growth of the discipline of religious studies, which is becoming a crucial counterpart for theology in European theological schools, many of whom have even been renamed schools (or departments) of theology and religious studies. Fiona Bowies defines religious studies as a phenomenological method of studying religion “with as little comment and judgment as possible”