Word
theology
Phoneticsthe·ol·o·gy
US/θiˈɑɫədʒi/
UK/θɪˈɒlədʒi/
Definitions
01the study of religion
n. the study of God and religious beliefs.
n. the academic and philosophical study of the nature of the divine and the truth of religious belief.
“She decided to study theology at university because she was interested in how different cultures view God.”
“The professor of systematic theology argued that modern secularism has roots in medieval scholastic debates.”
Academic
Usage
Often used without an article when referring to the academic field.
Synonyms
02a system of belief
n. a specific set of religious ideas or theories.
n. a particular system, theory, or formulation of religious belief.
“The book explores the theology of the early Christian church.”
“Liberation theology emerged as a powerful movement in Latin America, focusing on social justice and the plight of the poor.”
Formal
03minor technical details
n. small, complicated details that most people do not care about.
n. subjective or overly technical marginal details, often regarding software architecture or internal logic.
“The programmers spent hours arguing over the theology of the new database design.”
“The senior engineer dismissed the debate over naming conventions as mere theology that didn't affect the system's performance.”
Slang · Technical
Teaching tip
This is a metaphorical use in the tech industry to describe arguments over 'correct' ways of doing things that have little practical impact.
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“In the classic tradition of Islamic polymathy, he studied Islamic law, grammar, theology, the sciences of astronomy and mathematics, as well as history.” “A classic late developer, Janet studied for and gained a certificate in theology from Birmingham University in 1994.” Etymology
From Middle English theologie, from Middle French theologie, from Old French theologie, from Latin theologia, from Koine Greek θεολογία (theología), from θεολόγος (theológos, adjective), from θεός (theós) + λόγος (lógos). By surface analysis, theo- + -logy.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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englishreference.com/q/theology