However, thealogy is more accurately religiously pluralistic as thealogians come from various religious backgrounds that are often hybrid in nature. In addition to Neopagans, they are also Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Quakers, etc. or define themselves as Spiritual Feminists.
As such, the term thealogy has also been used by feminists within ainstream monotheistic religions to label their efforts to describe in more detail the feminine aspect of a monotheistic deity or trinity, such as God/dess Herself,Sophia of Eastern Orthodoxy or the Heavenly Mother of the Latter Day Saint movement."
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"Thealogy is distinguished from feminist theology, which is the study of God from a feminist perspective,[3][4] but the two fields can be seen as related and interdependent.[5]"
The term's origin and initial use is open to debate, and the definition and scope of thealogy are currently being defined by the key scholars in the field. Often attributed to a neologism coined by Isaac Bonewits in 1974,[6][7] Patricia 'Iolana traces the early use of the term to 1976 crediting both Bonewits and Valerie Saiving in its initial use.[8]
In the 1979 "The Changing of the Gods," Naomi Goldenberg introduces the term as a future possibility with respect to a distinct discourse, highlighting the masculine nature of theology.[9] Also in 1979, in the first revised edition of "Real Magic", Bonewits defined "thealogy" in his Glossary as "Intellectual speculations concerning the nature of the Goddess and Her relations to the world in general and humans in particular; rational explanations of religious doctrines, practices and beliefs, which may or may not bear any connection to any religion as actually conceived and practiced by the majority of its members." Also in the same glossary, he defined "theology" with nearly identical words, changing the feminine pronouns with masculine pronouns appropriately.[10]
Carol P. Christ used the term in "Laughter of Aphrodite" (1987), acknowledging that those who create thealogy cannot avoid being influenced by the categories and questions posed in Christian and Jewish theologies.[11] She further defined thealogy in her 2002 essay, "Feminist theology as post-traditional thealogy," as "the reflection on the meaning of the Goddess".[12]
In her 1989 essay "On Mirrors, Mists and Murmurs: Toward an Asian American Thealogy," Rita Nakashima Brock defined thealogy as "the work of women reflecting on their experiences of and beliefs about divine reality".[13] Also in 1989, Ursula King notes thealogy's growing usage as a fundamental departure from traditional male-oriented theology, characterized by its privileging of symbols over rational explanation.[14]
In 1993, Charlotte Caron's definition of thealogy as "reflection on the divine in feminine and feminist terms" appeared in "To Make and Make Again".[15] By this time, the concept had gained considerable status among Goddess adherents.
Thealogy as academic discipline[edit]
Situated in relationship to the fields of theology and religious studies, thealogy is a discourse that critically engages the beliefs, wisdom, practices, questions, and values of the Goddess community, both past and present.[16]Similar to theology, thealogy grapples with questions of meaning, include reflecting on the nature of the divine,[17] the relationship of humanity to the environment,[18] the relationship between the spiritual and sexual self,[19] and the nature of belief.[20]
However, in contrast to theology, which often focuses on an exclusively logical and empirical discourse, thealogy embraces a postmodern discourse of personal experience and complexity.[21]
The term suggests a feminist approach to theism and the context of God and gender within Paganism, Neopaganism, Goddess Spirituality and various nature-based religions. However, thealogy can be described as religiously pluralistic, as thealogians come from various religious backgrounds that are often hybrid in nature.
In addition to Pagans, Neopagans, and Goddess-centred faith traditions, they are also Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Quakers, etc. or define themselves as Spiritual Feminists.[22] As such, the term thealogy has also been used by feminists within mainstream monotheistic religions describe in more detail the feminine aspect of a monotheistic deity or trinity, such as God/dess Herself, or the Heavenly Mother of the Latter Day Saint movement.
In 2000, Melissa Raphael wrote the text Introducing Thealogy: Discourse on the Goddess for the series Introductions in Feminist Theology. Written for an academic audience, it purports to introduce the main elements of thealogy within the context of Goddess feminism.
She situates thealogy as a discourse that can be engaged with by Goddess feminists—those who are feminist adherents of the Goddess who may have left their church, synagogue, or mosque—or those who may still belong to their originally established religion.[23] In the book,
Raphael compares and contrasts thealogy with the Goddess movement.[24]
In 2007, Paul Reid-Bowen wrote the text "Goddess as Nature: Towards a Philosophical Thealogy", which can be regarded as another systematic approach to thealogy, but which integrates philosophical discourse.[25]
In the past decade, other thealogians like Patricia 'Iolana and D'vorah Grenn have generated discourses that bridge thealogy with other academic disciplines. 'Iolana's Jungian thealogy bridges analytical psychology with thealogy, and Grenn's metaformic thealogy is a bridge between matriarchal studies and thealogy.[26]
Contemporary Thealogians include Carol P. Christ, Melissa Raphael, Asphodel Long, Beverly Clack, Charlotte Caron, Naomi Goldenberg, Paul Reid-Bowen, Rita Nakashima Brock, and Patricia 'Iolana."
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thealogy
