Pastoral theology is different from other theological disciplines, as it has an existential and practical orientation. It is also a normative discipline, forming rules, theological models and directives for actions, which should guide the Church, ecclesial communities and their representatives in various domains and on various levels of ecclesial activity. The normative and practical dimensions of scholarly cognition are a compact whole in pastoral theology. Both mentioned dimensions of theological-pastoral reflection not only do not oppose each other, but they are complementary, indeed they are necessary for each other, since in this reflection the point is that the same reality should be understood that is the mystery of God in his transcendence and historical immanence. Today the key issue is taking into consideration in today’s theological-pastoral reflection both the normative and practical dimensions. This question is connected with a better understanding of the theory and practice in pastoral theology today, and with the cooperation of pastoral theology with humanities and praxiological disciplines dealing with man’s activity. Adequately to the normative and practical dimension of theological-pastoral reflection, pastoral theology should be marked by a holistic (problem-functional) approach, using both empirical and normative methods within the paradigm of the analysis of pastoral theology.
Four kinds of research are conducted in pastoral theology: monodisciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary. The first kind is characterized by a common aim and a common method, the second – by a common aim and different methods, the third one – by different aims and different methods, and the fourth one – by a common aim and different methods. Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary research is necessary for modern theology, but to conduct it, excellent qualifications of a theologian-pastoralist are necessary. The paradigm of pastoral theology is based on practical syllogism. In the construction of this syllogism the major premise contains the norms for the given problem, and the minor premise contains the analysis of actual reality; and the conclusion has a normative and actual character. At every stage of research of the paradigm of pastoral theology different working methods are used. At the first (ecclesiological) research stage of the pastoral theology the paradigm the deductive method is used, but also the comparative method, the positive method, exegesis, interpretation of the text, analogy, etc. At the second (kairological) research stage the historical-theological method is used, the sociological-theological method, methods used in empirical sciences, as well as observations, interviews, surveys, and studies based on a questionnaire. In studies based on documents historical methods are used, the method of source criticism and interpretation, the comparative method, analysis of the text, etc. At the third (praxeological) research stage of the pastoral theology paradigm the method of synthesis, the method of interpretation, the method of classification, etc. are used.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.