Practical Theology: Reflexivity, Tradition, and Empirical Work

Running head: PRACTICAL THEOLOGY
Practical theology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
Since the dawn of human civilization, the individuals have tried to find a connection with
a force which is more superior and greater than their own self. The power and the mysteries
which is found in the natural human world and the mystical power of life which has been able to
transform and occupy a significant position in the society, have together combined and created
impactful stories across the human civilizations (Reader, 2017). Individuals have a strong urge to
understand the unknown and to ponder over the unknowable. This led them to find a safe haven
in the field of religion. This, in turn, was able to bind the people of the society in to a common
purpose. Ever since the inception of such societies across the world, with individuals who
wanted to find inspiration in the greater superior force around them, the religious ideas started to
take shape and a definitive form (Kaufman, 2015). In this regard, the prophets and the sages of
such faiths started to formulate their own dictates which aimed to inspire people to live in an
ethical and moral manner. In this regard, it needs to be noted that the field of religion has sought
to provide a proper code of ethics for their own respective followers and cultures (Percy, 2016).
This established the earlier laws and regulations of the religions which gave them their identity
and unique characteristics. With the growth and development in the societies, the religious aspect
of the individuals also started to grow. People moved from the worship of the natural objects
around them to the worship of man-made idols (Gubi, 2016). The stories and the myths
connected with such religions started to be documented by the worshippers for the purpose of
ensuing that the future followers would be able to abide by their teachings. However, with the
rise of the factors of industrialization and modernization, the field of religion faced a
considerable resistance. The non-believers started to challenge the idea of placing so much
emphasis and importance of a godly figure who is abstract in nature. In this context, the religions

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reformed themselves to imbibe the idea of theology (Bennett et al., 2018). The purpose of this
paper is to understand the issue of theological value of empirical work in practical theology. In
this context, the paper has been divided in to several parts whereby the first section focuses on
the issue of reflexivity in theological reflection and issues of tradition. In this context, this
section tries to understand the place occupied by empirical work in theological method. The
second section focuses on the formal practical theological method. In other words, it offers an
over view of the discipline of practical theology. The third section has attempted to understand
the entire issue by analyzing the issue of Christopraxis. The paper concludes with understanding
the importance of the field of theology and the need for practical empirical work within practical
theology.
Reflexivity in theological reflection and issues of tradition
The field of theology is considered to include three different aspects within itself which
includes the idea of what has been taught by their God, the adherence to the teachings of God
and the path which leads to their God (Doehring, 2018). This points towards the three
distinguishing areas of God as the revelation of the true nature of human kind to God, which is
also known as theophanic revelation (Cartledge, 2016). Another area of theology is the study of
the divine nature which generally refers to the religious beliefs held by the individuals while
specifically, it refers to the spiritual path which is adhered to by such individuals of the society.
The field of theology is taught to the students as an academic discipline (Doehring, 2016). This
shows the extent to which analysis is done on the issue of the supernatural and the
inquisitiveness which is found within the field of religious epistemology. All of them seek to
answer the enquiry on the question of revelation. In this regard, it is important to understand the
issue of revelation. Revelation refers to the acceptance of the idea of Gods and deities

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(Sutherland, 2017). However, they are not looked upon as transcendental beings on Earth, but
rather godly figures with whom the individuals can interact and communicate. In this respect,
revelation beliefs in the idea that God would expose Himself to the human kind. Theology has
largely transformed itself in to a secular field of study (Dreyer, 2016). The religious leaders
consider the discipline of theology to be helpful to them to understand the concepts of live and
life and to aid them in following a life filled with obedience and worship.
In order to understand the issue of reflexivity within the field of theological reflection,
there is a need to first examine the concept of reflexivity. The term ‘reflexivity’ first found a
strong foot hold in the social science theories. Scholars such as Anthony Giddens considered
reflexivity to be a guiding principle for the element of the modern self-identity (Kaufman, 2016).
Reflexivity aids to bring about a new understanding of the importance of orderliness to the
individual’s experience of the self, knowledge of one self and a significant control over one’s
actions on the society. In the words of Gidden, it can be seen that reflexivity referred to a society
which is increasingly constituted by the spread of information and knowledge (Merz & Merz,
2017). It essentially signified the diminishing of the importance placed on the concepts of
tradition and values as a consequence of the measures taken in favor of modernization and
forward thinking.
Applying the idea of reflexivity as developed by Giddens, it can be seen that the field of
theological reflection is a considerably modern development in the society (Marti, 2016). The
aspect of reflection is not only personal in nature, it also contains within itself a social and
institutional dimension. In the field of theology, reflexivity can be found in three important
spheres of social life, traditional and the process of bringing about individual consciousness
(Schreiter, 2015). The idea of modernity, according to Giddens, encompasses within itself the

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idea of something new. However, in the opinion of Giddens, it can be seen that modernity does
not only mean the bringing about of something new, rather it refers to a wholesale reflexivity.
Thus, it includes the aspect of reflection on the very nature of reflection itself (Clingerman,
2015). Giddens opine that modernity is found to be constitutive of reflexivity. In other words, the
actions of the individuals of the society is shaped and formed by their reflexive nature of social
engagement. In this regard, he drew a distinction between the reflexivity of modernity and the
general prevailing reflexivity (Briggs, 2015).
In the field of theological reflection, it can be seen that reflexivity operates at the
institutional, personal and societal levels. At the personal level, it can be seen that the experience
of the human individuals is transposed in to the texts through different ways of journaling
(Pilario, 2018). In this regard, the aspect of reflexivity becomes essential. The reflexive process
of the individuals is significantly straightforward with a focus on the manner through which the
concerned individual is able to bring reflection on the surface and conscientize oneself which
occurs through writing (Cunliffe, 2016).
At the institutional level, the corporate theological reflection is found to be helpful. This
field focuses on the importance of the congregation or the church community. There is a question
of how the church community can aid in the construction of a sense of corporate identity through
the utilization of symbolic practices such as that of worship, consuming food together or by
creating a narrative which talks about the life at present (Swinton & Mowat, 2016). In this
context, it can be seen that congregational studies impacts the individuals of the congregation,
pastors and the academics. They become a part of the discourse to which people refer to when
they talk to each other about their life as Christians (Percy, 2016).

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Another way in which reflexivity is found to be connected with the idea of theological
reflection is that of correlation. It seeks to analyze and understand how the field of theology
affects the individuals of the society, and in turn, is influenced by them (Mercer & Miller-
McLemore, 2016). This situation is also known as communicating to God in the public sphere of
activity. This aids in strengthening the notion of reflexivity as there is an emphasis on the
practice of theology in the public sphere where there is an open and transparent exchange of
ideas and opinions with regard to the various cultural values and discipline and their view of the
world (Dames, 2015). Thus, reflexivity is found to be at work in the public sphere where the
aspect of theology is brought in to the wider realms of the society and its institutions, including
the various religious disciplines.
The method of local theologies recognize the impact of cross cultural reflections in the
society. Within this method of reflexive process, the aspects of culture in the context of life, has
been taken in to consideration (Briggs, 2015). Within this field, the idea of change has been
emphasized upon where there is considerable focus on the issue of faith which is needed in order
to bring about a change in the various cultures of the world. Such changes come about as a
consequence of the reflexive process (Radford, 2017). In this regard, it is important to
understand that the theological ideas collide with one another and give rise to certain radically
different cultures in the world. To this extent, it needs to be noted that such models of reflexivity
can be both negative and positive in nature (Schoeman & Van den Berg, 2016).
The aspect of reflexivity is also found to be present in the issues of traditions. The social
world is rapidly changing and along with it, the traditions are also changing. The notion of
reflexivity in accordance to Giddens, states that it is a part of theory of change and it aids in the
understanding of the various ways in which the community is involved in the changes associated