What's the difference between theology and mythology?

Answer 1

theology is man's quest to understand gods

mythology is man's quest to understand the human condition


(in today's bastardized usages, though, mythology is theology you don't believe)

Answer 2

Good question. In my opinion, there isn't much difference. Mythology is the study of the stories a culture uses to explain events they don't understand. Many cultures have their own set of mythology, which is usually intertwined into their religious beliefs. Since theology is the study of religion or spirituality, this connects the two terms. Most religions have a set of stories (or myths) that explain what happened to establish their religion or how the world was created, so I would also consider these stories the 'mythology' of that religion. This term would probably offend many folks, since most consider mythology to be fictional and theology to be factual.

Answer 3

Theology is a term first used by Plato in The Republic (book ii, chap 18). The term is a compounded from two Greek words theos (god) and logos (rational utterance).

The word mythology (from the Greek μύθολογία mythología, from μυθολογείν mythologein to relate myths, from μύθος mythos, meaning a narrative, and λόγος logos, meaning speech or argument) means the (oral) retelling of myths

THEO=GOD
MYTH=STORY

obviously there is tons of room for them to overlap.

And it's the first four letters are different and ordinally they are ALL different.

Answer 4

Theology is simply not old enough to be called mythology but I am sure it will be called that in the future.

Answer 5

Mythology is the study religions that are no longer main stream. Where Theology is the study of religions in general.

Answer 6

people believe in theology as though it is truth, they study and find interest in the stories of mythology

Answer 7

Theology is the systematic and rational study of concepts of God and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary. The term "mythology" can refer either to the study of myths (e.g., comparative mythology), or to a body or collection of myths (a mythos, e.g., Inca mythology). In folkloristics, a myth is a sacred narrative usually explaining how the world or humankind came to be in its present form, although, in a very broad sense, the word can refer to any traditional story. Bruce Lincoln defines myth as "ideology in narrative form". Myths typically involve supernatural characters and are endorsed by rulers or priests. They may arise as either truthful depictions or overelaborated accounts of historical events, as allegory for or personification of natural phenomena, or as an explanation of ritual. They are transmitted to convey religious or idealized experience, to establish behavioral models, and to teach.

Answer 8

Mythology is theology lite.

Answer 9

For the confirmed atheist? No difference whatsoever.

But, it's akin to the difference between the past and the future.

One doesn't exist anymore (as far as we can tell) the other doesn't exist yet (as far as we can tell). Are they different? Are they real? I don't know but I plan on getting to the future to find out. Perhaps you might consider getting to the rational utterance about God and find that out as well.

Answer 10

The first three letters?

edit: "[Theology] is a compounded from two Greek words theos (god) and logos (rational utterance)." That would make it an oxymoron, right?