Chapter 31 Comparative Theology: More than Comparing Theologies
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Abstract
The nomenclature of comparative theology has a checkered history and continues to cause some confusion as different comparative theologians use the term to apply to various approaches to the field. This article seeks to distinguish these various approaches based on their starting points, goals, and intended audience. While comparative theology is grounded in the comparative study of religion, using many of its methodological principles and safeguards, its ultimate goal is not merely a deeper understanding of religion or particular religious phenomena, but the pursuit of theological truth. Based on how this truth is discerned, and for what purpose, it distinguishes confessional, post-colonial, metaconfessional and interreligious approaches, attentive to the fact that these approaches at times intersect.