History?

[Josh J.]

So who here is going to study church history/religious history/historical theology? Seems like this forum is much heavier on textual studies, systematic theology, and philosophy.

[taycross]

I am historical theology all the way. Patristics to be more specific.

[Therewillbeluke]

Right here! Historical Theology as well, I'm interested in the Medieval Period and am currently VERY interested in how Medieval Theology is appropriated by contemporary/post-modern theologians.

[sharpag]

I'm new to the forums but I'll be studying Church History.  Specifically, I would like to focus on the Eastern Church and its development from the Apostolic Age to Nicaea II.  But I expect this will overlap a fair amount with Historical Theology.

[toby42]

I don't know if it will be the main focus of my studies, but early Christian history (1st-5th centuries) will definitely be a large part of whatever I do. It might even become my main focus, I don't know.

 

At this point, my main emphasis is biblical/textual studies, but in my opinion this must include an in-depth knowledge of the social and religious contexts in which the text was written. The period after its writing and dissemination is also highly important as it gives insight into what the earliest texts looked like and how they were interpreted (hence my interest in Patristics). For me, early Christian history is an essential part of understanding scripture. Heck, it's an essential part of pretty much anything we do - be it history, theology, textual, etc.

 

With this, I am also greatly intersted in the period of Jewish history (social, religious focus) from 150 BC - 70AD, and for the same reasons - the Jewish context in which Christ came and the NT was written is a vital part of understanding scripture. For this reason, my plan is to continue on toward my Ph.D. in Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity... So yeah... I <3 history.

[Josh J.]

Wow, well I guess I was right, there are only a few of us.

I'll be studying American Religious History. My research interests include how American religion and war intersect (such as pacifism), and the American Reatoration Movement broadly defined (Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Christian Churches, UCC, etc.) I hope to become fairly conversant with ethics and political theology along the way.

[marXian]

Wow, well I guess I was right, there are only a few of us.

I'll be studying American Religious History. My research interests include how American religion and war intersect (such as pacifism), and the American Reatoration Movement broadly defined (Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Christian Churches, UCC, etc.) I hope to become fairly conversant with ethics and political theology along the way.

 

I do 19th/early 20th century theology/philosophy (Schleiermacher and Tillich mostly.) I'm also working on subdisciplines in critical theory and political theology.

 

*Shameless Plug*

If you're interested in American religious history, I highly recommend checking out Northwestern's RS department in the future as you consider PhD programs. We have some great people in the field (Robert Orsi, Sarah Taylor, Sylvester Johnson). We also have a fantastic working relationship with other humanities departments (philosophy, history, German, English, poli sci.) NU has a program called the Interdisciplinary Cluster Initiative/Certificate Program where PhD students from different disciplines can be involved in a "cluster" that is centered around a particular interdisciplinary field with the option to earn a certificate in that field (e.g. I'm a part of the Critical Theory cluster/certificate program as well as a certificate program in Religion and Global Politics, which is new this year.) The certificate goes on your transcripts, prepares you to do one of your quals in something related to it, etc. In other words, it's a fantastic place to be if you have interdisciplinary interests!