ABSTRACT

The other day, I found out the name for someone who does what I do. I’m a ‘forensic theologian’. Stephen Grey introduced the term in ‘Follow the Mullahs’, an article in the Atlantic Monthly for November 2004. It refers to someone who analyzes the religious content of intelligence data:

The analyst is engaged in a new and increasingly important aspect of the fight against terrorism—one that might be called forensic theology. Authenticating terrorist documents is just one of its uses. It can also help identify perpetrators, and targets for surveillance, sometimes far more effectively than conventional intelligence practices. Its greatest potential, however, may be strategic: with theologians at the center of the battle, forensic theology may help us pinpoint the groups that present the greatest threat.