Institutionalization of theology: Experience and prospects

Abstract

The article explores the institutionalization of theology in domestic scientific and educational society, which is understood as a set of processes, as a result of which theological research receives the status of scientific research in the public consciousness of scientists, while theology itself acquires the contours of a scientific discipline. The processes of institutionalizing theology, providing it with a place in the space of knowledge, leads to the fact that basic criteria for evaluating a scientific product begin to spread to theological research, which gives rise to a number of theoretical and methodological difficulties. One of the most important criteria in evaluating a scientific product is the requirement of “novelty” and “originality” of scientific research, which cannot be mechanically extended to theological research. It is obvious that neither in theology nor in other areas of scientific knowledge can these criteria be considered apart from other traditional requirements that scientific research must meet. The authors believe that behind the disputes about the content of the criteria for novelty and originality of theological research, there are discussions about the status of the humanities that have not been resolved at the conceptual and methodological level. In addition, theology is often compared with the philosophy of religion, religious philosophy, and/or religious studies. In this regard, the norms of novelty and originality of research that have developed in these disciplines are often automatically transferred to the space of theology. As a result of the analysis of the specifics of theological knowledge, the authors came to the conclusion that discoveries in the field of theology are becoming not so many factors in the revolutionary breaking of stable theological concepts, but a tool for their consistent improvement within the existing paradigm.