What is the difference between religious studies and theology

In religious studies, these subjective influences may be in the background of your work, but the emphasis and end result are more analytical and objective.

Scholars compare various religious practices and identities, consider their historical significance, and aim to understand beliefs in relation to each other. In religious studies, your base of inquiry is to examine these differences without showing preference to one particular belief system.

Students of religious studies use tools similar to those in other fields, including history, sociology, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, and theology. It describes experiences of people who lived thousands of years ago in a different culture. In addition, there are constantly new discoveries being made that throw light on the background of the Bible. Therefore, if we are to correctly interpret the Scripture, we will have to work at understanding some of the history and background of the times in which it was written.

Whatever is profitable in life usually takes effort. The message to the theologian is found in the words of Jesus—do the truth. Jesus said the following to His disciples:. The Apostle James wrote about the practical aspects of the Christian faith. He stated the truth in this manner:. We must emphasize that the essence of the Christian faith is not a set of teachings, or even a lifestyle; it is the devotion to a Person—Jesus Christ.

Jesus made this clear when He prayed to God the Father on the night of His betrayal. The main message of the New Testament is that an individual can have forgiveness of their sins and a right relationship with the living God. This is the heart of Christianity! We can only know Jesus Christ through the study of the Word of God. The way we know the genuine Jesus is by means of what is revealed in Scripture. If we truly want to know and love Him, then it is important that we find out as much about Him as we possibly can.

This can only come through a study of the Scripture. There should be a proper balance between the two in the life of a Christian. The Bible encourages both. It is not enough to simply know the truth; the Bible also commands us to do the truth. Above all, Christianity is devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ.

It is a love relationship between the Creator and His creation. This truly is what Christianity is all about. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry. Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding.

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Clear Advanced Options. DBY Darby Translation. WEB Webster's Bible. RVR60 Reina-Valera VUL Latin Vulgate. TR Textus Receptus. So if the theologians consult Buddhism , then they can search for the answer to the question based on the given instructions in the religious scriptures of Buddhism.

Religious studies do not study religion. This subject observes the background of a particular time and assesses the current situation of that time, and tries to evaluate why people chose one particular religion over others. It studies behaviours and institutions. It describes and explains religions and compares them with each other. This subject adopts a cross-cultural perspective. To explain this with an example, we can say that it will study a particular region of a particular period and see which religion was the most popular and had a major influence on society and why.

It will try to research and explain why a certain religion grew stronger than others in one period. If a religion became widespread because it was offering salvation easily, then religious studies will attempt to find out the cause behind the obsession of gaining salvation among the people of that time. This study will connect sociology , philosophy, and psychology with religion. Religion is very significant among the masses.

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Abstract On the conventional account, theology differs from other forms of reflection, including religious studies, for one or both of two reasons: 1 because it has to appeal to special criteria of truth for some if not all of its assertions; and 2 because the theologian has to be a believer who already holds these assertions to be true.

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