The Quest for Lived Theology: A Reflection

As a scholarly approach, “lived theology” is still a loose and evolving paradigm not yet fully developed as a research field, and where definitions and methods are still open to discussion. This reflective text suggests a theoretical and theological framework for lived theology and suggests a working definition. The author proposes thinking of lived theology as simultaneously a particular understanding of the nature of theology, a scholarly enterprise and a vision for a better world. Lived theology, therefore, involves seeing theology as a living practice, paying attention to the theology of the living and the lived, and striving for a theology that is lifegiving and life-affirming. With such an approach, theologizing processes of the first and second order are held together in the theological task, and a plethora of possible methods may be utilized to study theology. The author also points to the critical task of lived theology and its doctrinally shaped roots.