Publisher's Synopsis
The Wiley–Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology offers a comprehensive introduction to practical theology as a major area of Christian study and practice, including an overview of its key developments, themes, methods, and future directions.
There has been a remarkable growth in scholarship surrounding practical theology in recent years. Contributions by distinguished theologians from around the world reflect this growth. Their insightful essays clarify the myriad emerging uses and contributions of practical theology, including an expansion of the analysis of practical knowledge and lived religion in ministerial study, in the study of religion and theology, and in the wider public. In a path–breaking move to clarify a complex term, the volume is organized around four distinct meanings of practical theology: anactivity of believers seeking to sustain a life of reflective faith, a method of understanding theology in practice by religious leaders, a curricular area in theological education, and an academic discipline pursued by scholars.
With its combined organizational clarity and scholarly authorship, The Wiley–Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology not only strengthens the discipline of practical theology but gives scholars in other areas and religious leaders in different settings fresh tools to understand the dynamics of theology as a living reality and the knowledge that evolves out of religious practice.
