Institute of Practical Theology

What is Practical Theology?

Practical Theology is concerned with academic reflection on these and similar questions: What religious questions are people asking today? And what do the answers they find mean for the way they live their lives and live together? What is the role of religious communities in today's society? And: How do individual religiosity as well as religious institutions such as churches change when society and the public sphere are transformed in ways we are experiencing today in the course of digitalization, globalization, and the commercialization of the social sphere?
On the one hand, Practical Theology means the theory of religious practices. It offers practice-theoretical reflections in which the question of the meaning and conditions of public communication is important for religious-cultural analyses and the development of action-oriented (professional, i.e. primarily pastoral) perspectives of reflection. As a public-oriented discipline, on the other hand, Practical Theology is also interested in generating and making available “transformative knowledge” (Aulenbacher et al.) in a situation of social transformation. Such knowledge helps us to understand and critically reflect on the current social situation, especially with regard to questions of meaning and their relation to the symbols of “the” Christian tradition.

Our Team

Prof. Dr. Kristin Merle holds the chair of practical theology with a focus on homiletics and poetics.
The assistant professorship is held by Dr. Felix Roleder.
Jan Harten works as a research assistant.

News and Events

University worship services are held regularly during the the semester. You are welcome to use our newsletter to keep track of the dates.