Theology and Popular Religion

Further thoughts from Robert McCauley (Emory University), writing in The Big Questions - a New Scientist special edition.

Theologians try to make intellectual sense of the enigmatic claims of popular religion. They reflect, debate and sometimes generate abstract formulations that [authorities] decide to label as doctrines... Unlike popular religion, theology routinely makes abstract and radically counterintuitive statements that are conceptually complex and difficult to understand... This is why religious people must often make an effort to memorise them and why religious leaders adopt a variety of measures to indoctrinate and police "theological correctness".