Biblical

• Biblical theology examines the development of the Bible and the revelation it contains. Theologians use the Bible as their only source, but they read it from many angles to find every possible way to understand it.
  
  The most important issues they explore are how the Bible's authors were influenced by their historical milieu, how that affected their vision of God and what that means for seeking God today.
  
  

Systematic and Philosophical

• Systematic theology involves the examination of doctrine meant to address the question, "What does our tradition teach about this issue and why?" It involves many subcategories, including the study of angels (angelology), the afterlife (eschatology), salvation (soteriology), the problem of evil (theodicy) and the nature of man. Systematic theology is not meant to question or justify belief but merely to work out how new questions should to be addressed from within the pre-existing religious system.
  
  Questioning that system's assumptions is the job of philosophical theology. Subcategories of philosophical theology include ethics, metaphysics, epistemology and philosophy of religion.
  
  

Historical and Contemporary

• Historical theology and contemporary theology are basically biblical theology applied to post-biblical times.
  
  Historical theology studies how beliefs have grown and developed over time and how and why various sects differ in their interpretations of Scriptures and beliefs.
  
  Contemporary theology looks at the situation from the 20th century onward and examines the significance of such modern phenomena as feminist, existentialist, process and neo-orthodox theologies.
  
  

Dogmatic and Practical

• Dogmatic theology examines and compares religious creeds, or dogmas. A theologian in this field may examine how Calvin's statement of Christian belief evolved from statements of belief that came before it and compare it to statements of belief formulated by Luther. Comparing and critiquing dogmas challenges thinking about them and tests them for coherence and rationality.
  
  Practical theology studies how current dogmas are lived today. It is the study of religion in the lives of both clergy and laymen.