THEOLOGY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does theology mean? 

• THEOLOGY (noun)
  The noun THEOLOGY has 3 senses:

1. 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

3. the learned profession acquired by specialized courses in religion (usually taught at a college or seminary)

  Familiarity information: THEOLOGY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THEOLOGY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

divinity; theology

Hypernyms ("theology" is a kind of...):

bailiwick; discipline; field; field of study; study; subject; subject area; subject field (a branch of knowledge)

Domain member category:

theanthropism ((theology) the doctrine that Jesus was a union of the human and the divine)

catechetic; catechetical (of or relating to or involving catechesis)

fundamentalist; fundamentalistic (of or relating to or characteristic of Protestant fundamentalism or its adherents)

universalist; universalistic (of or relating to or tending toward universalism)

deadly; mortal (involving loss of divine grace or spiritual death)

minor; venial (warranting only temporal punishment)

theological system; theology (a particular system or school of religious beliefs and teachings)

Creation ((theology) God's act of bringing the universe into existence)

theology (the learned profession acquired by specialized courses in religion (usually taught at a college or seminary))

limbo ((theology) in Roman Catholicism, the place of unbaptized but innocent or righteous souls (such as infants and virtuous individuals))

purgatory ((theology) in Roman Catholic theology the place where those who have died in a state of grace undergo limited torment to expiate their sins)

divine guidance; inspiration ((theology) a special influence of a divinity on the minds of human beings)

foreordination; predestination; predetermination; preordination ((theology) being determined in advance; especially the doctrine (usually associated with Calvin) that God has foreordained every event throughout eternity (including the final salvation of mankind))

redemption; salvation ((theology) the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "theology"):

angelology (the branch of theology that is concerned with angels)

apologetics (the branch of theology that is concerned with the defense of Christian doctrines)

ecclesiology (the branch of theology concerned with the nature and the constitution and the functions of a church)

eschatology (the branch of theology that is concerned with such final things as death and Last Judgment; Heaven and Hell; the ultimate destiny of humankind)

hermeneutics (the branch of theology that deals with principles of exegesis)

homiletics (the branch of theology that deals with sermons and homilies)

liturgics; liturgiology (the study of liturgies)

theodicy (the branch of theology that defends God's goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil)

Derivation:

theological (of or relating to or concerning theology)

theologist (someone who is learned in theology or who speculates about theology)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A particular system or school of religious beliefs and teachings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

theological system; theology

Context example:

Roman Catholic theology

Hypernyms ("theology" is a kind of...):

system; system of rules (a complex of methods or rules governing behavior)

Domain category:

divinity; theology (the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth)

Domain member category:

emanation; procession; rise ((theology) the origination of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost)

foreordain; predestinate; predestine (foreordain by divine will or decree)

justify ((used of God) declare innocent; absolve from the penalty of sin)

reprobate (abandon to eternal damnation)

reveal (disclose directly or through prophets)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "theology"):

Christian theology (the teachings of Christian churches)

liberation theology (a form of Christian theology (developed by South American Roman Catholics) that emphasizes social and political liberation as the anticipation of ultimate salvation)

natural theology (a theology that holds that knowledge of God can be acquired by human reason without the aid of divine revelation)

Derivation:

theological (of or relating to or concerning theology)

theologist (someone who is learned in theology or who speculates about theology)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The learned profession acquired by specialized courses in religion (usually taught at a college or seminary)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

he studied theology at Oxford

Hypernyms ("theology" is a kind of...):

learned profession (one of the three professions traditionally believed to require advanced learning and high principles)

Domain category:

divinity; theology (the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth)

Derivation:

theological (of or relating to or concerning theology)

theologist (someone who is learned in theology or who speculates about theology)

 Context examples 

A person trained in both psychology and theology who can provide psychological and spiritual guidance to individuals and families.

(Pastoral counselor, NCI Thesaurus)

Candidates for this degree typically must complete course work in Greek or Hebrew, as well as systematic theology, biblical theology, ethics, homiletics and Christian ministry.

(Bachelor of Theology, NCI Thesaurus)

Every one knew how laborious the usual method is of attaining to arts and sciences; whereas, by his contrivance, the most ignorant person, at a reasonable charge, and with a little bodily labour, might write books in philosophy, poetry, politics, laws, mathematics, and theology, without the least assistance from genius or study.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

A doctoral degree in theology.

(Doctor of Theology, NCI Thesaurus)

As to any recreation with other children of my age, I had very little of that; for the gloomy theology of the Murdstones made all children out to be a swarm of little vipers (though there WAS a child once set in the midst of the Disciples), and held that they contaminated one another.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)