I. Definition
In the Middle Ages, it was common to call theology practica in contrast to speculativa (e.g. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae I/I q. 4f.; but contrast Luther, ¶ WA.TR, 153). In German Protestantism today, the termpractical theology (Praktische Theologie) denotes a discipline within academic theology that was established in the early 19th century. Introduced encyclopaedically by F.D.E. Schleiermacher for the “proper…