Theology

From RationalWiki

There is a broader, perhaps slightly less biased, article on Wikipedia about Theology

Theology is the study of 'God' from a religious perspective. It differs from other disciplines such as religious studies which analyse religions and beliefs objectively. Theology is the study of a religion from within. Some people, such as Richard Dawkins, believe that this is hardly even an actual subject at all.

One of the primiary roles for theology is determining what beliefs are to constitute the official doctrine within a religion at any given time. Early Christian theologians, for example, devised doctrines such as absolution, transubstantiation, purgatory, original sin, and the Holy Trinity, which are based on tenuous interpretations of Bible scripture rather than things clearly expressed in the Bible. Nevertheless, these remain major elements if Christian theology (especially within Catholicism).

Competing theologies can cause schisms, when religions are split between different schools of belief. The most obvious example is this is the major split between Catholic and Protestant Christians, during the Reformation, with Protestants rejecting many aspects of Catholic theology.