Abstract
<jats:p>Taking into account the diffi culty of formulating an exhaustive and universally accepted defi nition of modern academic theology, this article attempts to outline the approximate boundaries of the topic range within which a researcher can be termed a theologian. This space is proposed to be viewed along the three conventional “coordinate” axes: what theologians study, how they do it, and why they undertake their work. Responses to these questions enable a multitude of potential positionings for a scholar, both externally defi ned and internally adopted. This framework also reveals that research traditions often opposed to each other may, in fact, diff er signifi cantly along one axis of the “theological coordinates” and be closely aligned along another axis. The article also shows that certain characteristics inherent at every stage of a theologian’s work serve to identify it as theological. However, despite the multidimensionality of the theological universe, its fundamental prerequisite remains the experiential nature of theology, which is a consequence of the actual experience of religious conversion. It is also crucial to recognise the features at the meta-theoretical level of theological cognition, such as the scientifi c worldview adopted by the theologian, their ideals, and the standards of scientifi c research which they fi nd acceptable. These features significantly determine and unify all other components of academic theology.</jats:p>