Philosophy of religion is more concerned with clarification of the subject and the application of philosophical analysis to religious doctrine. Theology generally presumes a faith commitment (although there are many grey areas and porous boundaries.)
god must be atheistSeptember 11, 2019 at 04:08#3272040 likes
Theology is always the theory of a specific religion and in that also always apologetic, i.e. defending the religion concerned. It also comprises more than just the philosophy of that specific religion. Well-known sub-disciplines of theology are the following: scripture studies of the religion concerned; dogmatics (doctrine); ethics; history of the religion and the church concerned; possible others. It is not easy to give a concise definition of the philosophy of religion. A first prerequisite is an attempt to find conceptual clarity on the concepts "religion" and "philosophy". It should be clear that finding consensus on this is almost impossible. But pointing out certain problems in this field on which consensus has been reached as far as their belonging to this field of study has been reached, can be helpful. Well-known examples are: (1) the existence of God: proving / disproving it (2) nature of the concept of "God" bearing in mind theistic as well as non-theistic conceptions of such a being, if conceived as a "being". (2) justification for "faith" which is required in some religions. (3) how the moral goodness of such a being can be reconciled with the moral evil of the world we live in. Hopefully this can help to give you some idea of the differences between these two disciplines.
alcontaliSeptember 11, 2019 at 14:49#3274210 likes
What distinguishes 'philosophy of religion' from 'theology'?
Theology, in the religions in which it exists, is axiomatic (reductionist) derivation of propositions from scripture. It is about reasoning from the base documents of religion to reach conclusions. Philosophy of religion is about the ontology ("What is it?") and its epistemology ("How does religion reach conclusions?") But then again, religion has a rational part but also a transcendental one, while the handling of either differs. Religion does not exclusively appeal to the rational mental faculty.
Theology = the logos of the theos = the discourse about the Divine.
Philosophy of religion, on the other hand, is about religion, i.e. about the efforts of people to relate to the Divine. One of the ways on which people relate to the Divine (particularly in the Greek tradition to which we are heirs) is by argumentation, by talking about the Divine (i.e. by doing theology), so there is an overlap between the two notions, but the difference of approach is quite evident.
Comments (6)
Theology, in the religions in which it exists, is axiomatic (reductionist) derivation of propositions from scripture. It is about reasoning from the base documents of religion to reach conclusions. Philosophy of religion is about the ontology ("What is it?") and its epistemology ("How does religion reach conclusions?") But then again, religion has a rational part but also a transcendental one, while the handling of either differs. Religion does not exclusively appeal to the rational mental faculty.
Philosophy of religion, on the other hand, is about religion, i.e. about the efforts of people to relate to the Divine. One of the ways on which people relate to the Divine (particularly in the Greek tradition to which we are heirs) is by argumentation, by talking about the Divine (i.e. by doing theology), so there is an overlap between the two notions, but the difference of approach is quite evident.