From a historical perspective, intercultural theology emerged from the interplay between religious studies, missiology and global ecumenism. In addition to these research traditions, it has developed further methodological approaches and fields of research in its engagement with colonialism, anti-colonial liberation movements and post-colonialism, increasing globalization, secularization and “re-enchantment”, gender debates, migration research and the cultural-religious pluralization of Europe.

Intercultural theology researches and teaches in a trans- and interdisciplinary manner, transcending the administrative and scientific-political disciplinary boundaries. Due to its origins, it is particularly close to ethnology, anthropology, non-European philologies, religious studies and missiology. Today, it also incorporates topics and discussions from other disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, literary studies and medicine, as well as postcolonial and subaltern studies, which have emerged in the context of global interdependencies and lie at odds with these disciplines. The latter, together with the insights of recent cultural studies (cultural turns), have brought self-critical reflection on the production of knowledge about cultures, transcultural interdependencies and, not least, power relations to the center of intercultural theology.

Intercultural Theology is not merely a descriptive science that perceives theology; it also contributes to “theological formation”. This means it has an orienting and, in this sense, a critically normative task, making it an independent theological discipline with diverse responsibilities for the entirety of theology. By engaging with the synchronic and diachronic diversity of Christianities and the intercultural transformation processes that have contributed to and continue to shape this diversity, it not only builds bridges of understanding and hermeneutics of the unfamiliar. It also significantly contributes to the discussion of the central theological and epistemological question concerning the relationship between the universality and particularity of God's truth.

By consciously emphasizing interculturality as an essential characteristic of Christianity and theology, Intercultural Theology establishes itself as a critical theological science that repeatedly questions the universality claims of Western theology and highlights its limitations. The "inter" has something unsettling, perhaps even provocative, but in any case, it is critical and productive. Additionally, it raises the question of whether theologies from the so-called Global South are even received and considered relevant in countries of the Global North.

In teaching, the discipline of Intercultural Theology in Bochum aims to support the reflection on Christian, religious, and cultural plurality both outside and within Europe, as well as the theological capacity to make judgments on intercultural and interreligious issues.