Constructing Constructive Theology

Book excerpt: To date, constructive theology hasn’t been viewed or conceptualized as a movement or trend in theology on its own as a whole. Questions arise as to what constructive theology is, where it came from, why it considers itself “constructive,” and why constructive is something different from the ways in which theology has been done in the past. This book traces the overall historical arc of constructive theology, from proto-movement through the present. Inklings of constructive theology emerged well before it began to take any formalized shape. At the same time, an important shift occurred when a group of theologians decided to create the Workgroup on Constructive Theology. Further, even as the workgroup continues to work collectively, producing textbooks, statements, and methodologies concerning theology, many theologians who are not part of the workgroup or may not even know it exists have adopted the moniker of “constructive theologian.” The book also considers the term “constructive” itself, offering possible reasons and historical contexts that led to this distinction being made in contrast to “systematic” theology and its subcategories. Constructive theology speaks to a very specific, historically situated emergence in the academy generally and in theology’s attempts to engage those shifts specifically.