Praktisk teologi i ny skepnad

Abstract

The article takes its starting point in the return of Practical Theology as a specialization at the Faculty of Theology at Uppsala University in 2020, half a century after the discipline was replaced by ecclesiology. The question that the author wishes to answer is how the return may be interpreted. The return of Practical Theology has to do with a reform of both study programmes and organization of research at the faculty, resulting in a new research subject called Empirical-Practical Studies of Religion and Theology. Practical Theology is one of two specializations within the new subject area, the other being Sociology of Religion. Both specializations are possible to study with a profile in Didactics of Religion. The empirical turn in theology and humanities at large is a major driving force behind the creation of the new research subject. Lived religion and lived theology are increasingly at the forefront of studies in Sociology of Religion as well as in Ecclesiology, two former research subjects that now are merged. What unites the previously separate disciplines is a common interest in theories and methods for studying practices in a new multireligious Swedish context, where traditional confessional and religious boundaries are increasingly blurred. The special contribution of Practical Theology is the theological perspective, which consciously brings issues related to belief in God into the discussion.