Theology
Theology built the institutions that preserved literacy, law and dissent for centuries. These writers argued doctrine into being, split churches, translated scripture into common speech and left arguments still cited in debates over conscience and the state.
10 indexed lives · 0 Nobel laureates · 6 countries
Where to start
Adi Shankara
700 – 750Systematised Advaita Vedanta and reorganised Hindu monasticism.
India·Philosophy · Theology
Al-Ghazali
1058 – 1111Reoriented Islamic thought toward inwardness and challenged the philosophers on their own ground.
Iran·Philosophy · Theology
Søren Kierkegaard
1813 – 1855First existentialist; wrote on anxiety, despair and the leap of faith.
Denmark·Philosophy · Theology