ETYM Latin theologia, Greek; dios God + logos discourse: cf. French théologie. Related to Theism, and Logic.
1. A particular system or school of religious beliefs and teachings; SYN. theological system.
2. The learned profession acquired by specialized courses in religion (usually taught at a college or seminary).
3. The rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth; SYN. divinity.
Study of God or gods, either by reasoned deduction from the natural world (natural theology) or through divine revelation (revealed theology), as in the scriptures of Christianity, Islam, or other religions.
Other branches of theology include comparative theology (the study of the similarities and differences between faiths) and eschatology (the study of the hypothetical end of the world and afterlife).
Theological attitudes toward other faiths range from exclusivism (that one's own religion is correct and all the others wrong) to the more modern dialogue theology (promoting awareness of other religions) and relativism (arguing that different religions are separate paths to a similar goal).