ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes an essentially pragmatic justification for researching ordinary theology. In fact, traditional and academic theology sometimes appears more diverse than ordinary theology. The chapter argues that the sophisticated postmodern thinker should be less willing than is his modernist opponent to dismiss ordinary theology on the grounds that it does not hold things together very coherently. Another frequently voiced criticism is that ordinary theology is 'too concrete', frequently in a way that is naively anthropomorphic. Some are suspicious of the salience of elements of biography and story within ordinary theology, but it is hard to justify their misgivings. The personal and subjective' tone of much ordinary theology indicates that people are doing theology first-hand, thinking through and thinking with their own beliefs, expressing their own feelings and reflections in their own language. Ordinary theology itself might well then appear 'too personal' to those who do not really share much affective commitment to its value system.
