In
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
or the
history of religion
The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...
, heresiology is the study of
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
, and heresiographies are writings about the topic. Heresiographical works were common in both medieval Christianity and Islam.
Heresiology developed as a part of the emerging
orthodoxy
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...
in the Christian
state church of the Roman Empire
Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire when Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, which recognized the catholic orthodoxy of Nicene Christians in the Great Church as the Roman Empire's state religion. ...
. Church scholars studied and documented the teachings of various Christian sects in order to clearly distinguish between those they accepted as orthodox and those they rejected as heretical.
Other Christian communions developed their own competing heresiological traditions as well.
In Islam, heresiology surveyed both the various Muslim sects, and also other religions such as Christianity and Judaism. Some like
Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi and
Ibn Hazm
Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm ( ar, أبو محمد علي بن احمد بن سعيد بن حزم; also sometimes known as al-Andalusī aẓ-Ẓāhirī; 7 November 994 – 15 August 1064Ibn Hazm. ' (Preface). Tr ...
wrote polemical works, arguing the falseness of sects and religions other than their own. Others like
Al-Shahrastani
Tāj al-Dīn Abū al-Fath Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Karīm ash-Shahrastānī ( ar, تاج الدين أبو الفتح محمد بن عبد الكريم الشهرستاني; 1086–1153 CE), also known as Muhammad al-Shahrastānī, was an influenti ...
's ''
Al-Milal wa al-Nihal
''Kitāb al–Milal wa al-Nihal'' (Arabic: كتاب الملل والنحل, ''The Book of Sects and Creeds''), written by the Islamic scholar Muhammad al-Shahrastani (d. 1153 CE), is a non-polemical study of religious communities and philosophies ...
'' took a more impartial approach closer to modern
religious studies works.
See also
*
Doxography Doxography ( el, δόξα – "an opinion", "a point of view" + – "to write", "to describe") is a term used especially for the works of classical historians, describing the points of view of past philosophers and scientists. The term ...
– similar outlines of philosophies
References
Bibliography
* {{cite book , first= Todd S. , last= Berzon , title= Classifying Christians. Ethnography, Heresiology, and the Limits of Knowledge in Late Antiquity , location= Berkeley , publisher= University of California Press , date= 2016 , isbn= 9780520284265
Heresy
Christian terminology
Theology