Rev. Danny Fisher

There’s a new piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the differences in and relationship between the disciplines of theology and religious studies that I really appreciated, and encourage you to read. Here’s a choice snippet:

The best theologians are scholars who have immersed themselves in many of the same academic disciplines favored by religion researchers. Like good religion research, good theology is generated by the application of sound reasoning to empirical evidence. But there is a crucial difference. The religion researcher evaluates that evidence from within a tradition of secular, academic “wisdom.” The theologian evaluates the same evidence from within a tradition of sacred, esoteric “wisdom.” The distinction is not trivial and ought to be recognized and honored by religion researchers and theologians alike.