Towards a Contextual Canon of Theology: A Network-based Approach to German Academic Theology (1820–1870)

In the historiography of theology, a fixed canon of theological authors and texts is generally the starting point. As this approach is suitable for studying the diachronic development of doctrine and theology, the canon gives hardly any insight in the synchronous contextuality of theology. In this article, I argue that the study of theology would benefit greatly from a more contextualised approach to the discipline. As this article deals with the period 1820–1870, I substantiate this claim with reference to some contextual factors which play a large role in nineteenth century theology. In the first place, the theological landscape became increasingly national. Mobility increased and, as a consequence, theologians could easily maintain contacts with others or assumed more often positions elsewhere in or outside Germany. Secondly, theology went through a process of professionalisation. Academic journals, for instance, developed not only into an important venue for negotiation of theological positions and research results, but became an indispensable part of the career paths of theologians.

In traditional theology-historical research, which is primarily based in texts, parts of the connections between scholars and others who developed discourses, can be reconstructed by tracing textual references. However, digital tools for social network research allow for a more systematic approach to the processes of professionalisation and nationalisation of academic discourses on theology. In this essay, I introduce this methodology and showcase some of its results for the historiography of theology. After an introduction of nineteenth century academic theology, social network analysis and a description of the methodology employed, I pay attention to church administrations and associations as examples of the contextual nature of academic theology. I conclude with a discussion for a network-based version of a «contemporaneous canon» of academic theology in the period 1820–1870.