Debates on the relation between theology and religious studies ultimately revolve around epistemological questions: What are the respective limits of religious and academic knowledge and reasoning, and along what boundaries can they meet? This contribution argues that the “reality of religion” is the shared subject matter of these disciplines. For methodological purposes, a distinction is made between two poles: the “transcendent frame” of theology, which defines the reality of religion with reference to transcendence, and the “immanent frame” of religious studies, which defines the reality of religion with reference to the empirical or immanent and in which transcendence is “bracketed.” A qualified methodological agnosticism that considers the bounds of knowledge can further the dialogue between theology and religious studies on the status of transcendence. The theological apophatic method, which departs from a sense of not-knowing and the limits of human knowledge, can serve as a heuristic tool.

中文翻译：

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促进宗教研究与神学之间的对话：作为方法论不可知论的启发式工具的一种否定方法

关于神学和宗教研究之间关系的争论最终围绕着认识论问题展开：宗教和学术知识和推理各自的界限是什么，它们可以满足什么界限？这一贡献认为，“宗教的现实”是这些学科的共同主题。出于方法论的目的，对两个极端进行了区分：神学的“超越框架”，它参照超越来定义宗教的现实，以及宗教研究的“内在框架”，它参照超越来定义宗教的现实。经验的或内在的，其中超越性被“括起来”。” 一个合格的方法论不可知论者，考虑知识的界限，可以促进神学和宗教研究之间关于超越地位的对话。背离不知道感和人类知识局限的神学启示方法可以作为一种启发式工具。