Editing Hermeneutics (section)

=== Religion and theology ===
{{See also|Exegesis|Biblical hermeneutics|Talmudical hermeneutics|Quranic hermeneutics|Progressive illumination|Hermeneutics of the Second Vatican Council}}
The understanding of a [[Theology|theological]] [[Literature|text]] depends upon the reader's particular hermeneutical viewpoint. Some theorists, such as [[Paul Ricœur]], have applied modern philosophical hermeneutics to theological texts (in Ricœur's case, the Bible).

[[Mircea Eliade]], as a hermeneutist, understands religion as 'experience of the sacred', and interprets the sacred in relation to the profane.<ref>Eliade, Mircea (1987), ''The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion'', translated by Willard R. Trask. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.</ref> The Romanian scholar underlines that the relation between the sacred and the profane is not of opposition, but of complementarity, having interpreted the profane as a [[hierophany]].<ref>Iţu, Mircia (2002), ''Introducere în hermeneutică'' (''Introduction to Hermeneutics''), Brașov: Orientul latin, p. 63.</ref> The hermeneutics of the myth is a part of the hermeneutics of religion. Myth should not be interpreted as an illusion or a lie, because there is truth in myth to be rediscovered.<ref>Iţu, Mircia (2007), ''The Hermeneutics of the Myth'', in ''Lumină lină'', number 3, New York, pp. 33–49. {{ISSN|1086-2366}}</ref> Myth is interpreted by Eliade as 'sacred history'. He introduces the concept of 'total hermeneutics'.<ref>Eliade, Mircea (1978), ''La nostalgie des origines. Méthodologie et histoire des religions'', Paris: Editions Gallimard, p.  116.</ref>

The term was notably used in 2005 by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] saying the [[Hermeneutics_of_the_Second_Vatican_Council|Second Vatican Council]] needs to be viewed through the lens of a "hermeneutic of reform" rather than a "hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Benedict XVII |title=Christmas greetings to the Members of the Roman Curia and Prelature (December 22, 2005) |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2005/december/documents/hf_ben_xvi_spe_20051222_roman-curia.html |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> In subsequent discourse, this has become a "hermeneutic of continuity" contrasted with a "hermeneutic of rupture," and applied to dissident tendencies questioning recent church teaching in general<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mirus |first1=Jeff |title=Benedict's Hermeneutic of Continuity |url=https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/benedicts-hermeneutic-continuity/ |website=www.catholicculture.org |access-date=10 March 2025}}</ref> and the teaching of [[Pope Francis]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gabriel |first1=Pedro |title=Reading Benedict and Francis with a hermeneutic of continuity |url=https://wherepeteris.com/reading-benedict-and-francis-with-a-hermeneutic-of-continuity/ |website=Where Peter Is |date=1 June 2021}}</ref>  Following this, the term is now widely used: e.g. [[Hermeneutics_of_suspicion|of suspicion]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pope |first1=Msgr Charles |title=Pondering the Hermeneutic of Suspicion |url=https://blog.adw.org/2009/11/pondering-the-hermeneutic-of-suspicion/ |website=Community in Mission |date=25 November 2009}}</ref> of tradition and ''kenosis'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chapp |first1=Larry |title=Dignitatis Humanae: Part Two: The Hermeneutic of Kenosis {{!}} Gaudium et Spes 22 |url=https://gaudiumetspes22.com/blog/dignitatis-humanae-part-two-the-hermeneutic-of-kenosis?ht-comment-id=4000690 |website=gaudiumetspes22.com |language=en}}</ref> and of synodality.<ref>{{cite web |title=Australian Catholic Theological 2024 Conference: "Synodality" |url=https://ampjp.org.au/event/australian-catholic-theological-2024-conference-synodality/ |website=Association of Ministerial PJP's |language=en-AU}}</ref> Benedict also spoke of the "hermeneutic of the cross", "[[Hermeneutics_of_faith|of faith]]" necessary for exegesis,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Kelly |title=An Application of Pope Benedict XVI's Principle of the "Hermeneutic of Faith" to the Problem of Divine Violence |url=https://saintpaulseminary.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Anderson_Kelly_2011_.pdf |website=St Paul Seminary, University of St Thomas |access-date=10 March 2025}}</ref> "of unity",<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wainright |first1=Geoffrey |title=Towards an Ecumenical Hermeneutic: How Can All Christians Read the Scriptures Together? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23579346 |journal=Gregorianum |pages=639–662 |date=1995|volume=76 |issue=4 |jstor=23579346 }}</ref> while deploring a "hermeneutic of politics".<ref>{{cite web |title=Pope: media helped spread misinterpretations of Vatican II |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/26582/pope-media-helped-spread-misinterpretations-of-vatican-ii |website=Catholic News Agency |access-date=10 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref> Francis has warned against a "hermeneutic of conspiracy".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Mary Jo |title=The "Hermeneutic of Ambiguity" |url=https://insidethevatican.com/magazine/editorial/the-hermeneutic-of-ambiguity/ |website=Inside The Vatican |date=1 November 2015}}</ref> Pope John Paul II taught a "hermeneutic of the gift".<ref>{{cite web |last1=West |first1=Christopher |title=Library : In-Vitro Fertilization and the Hermeneutic of the Gift |url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8413 |website=www.catholicculture.org |access-date=10 March 2025}}</ref>