Political theology is an important and growing field of theological research, which has also attracted the attention of political scientists, philosophers, and social theorists. This interest has lead to different and often ambiguous definitions of what political theology actually is. In addition, related subfields like liberation theology, public theology, and critical theory are often associated with political theology, making categorization challenging. It is important that theological librarians understand the changing terrain of theological-political inquiry in order to better provide access for their research communities. Evan Kuehn (Trinity International University) and Shawn Goodwin (ATLA) will present findings about the range of current description practices for books and journal articles related to political theology. Examining the subject indexing of classic works (e.g., Hobbes, Spinoza, Schmitt) and current research from a variety of disciplinary perspectives will provide a better understanding of how “political theology” and related terms are employed by indexers. This will in turn serve as a foundation for conversations between subject specialists and indexers about how best to describe and access resources related to political theology.
