Fundamental theology

Fundamental theology, in John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, is a "branch of theology which establishes the fact that God has made a supernatural revelation and established the Church, founded by Christ, as its divinely authorized custodian and interpreter.".

Encyclopedia.com, using an excerpt from New Catholic Encyclopedia, states that "fundamental theology", a "very literal translation" of theologia fundamentalis, is "commonly understood within Roman Catholic theology [...] [to] refer to the introductory tract that treats the nature, possibility, and existence of revelation", and is "often used today indiscriminately" with the term foundational theology.

Unlike apologetics, fundamental theology does not directly work towards evangelization, but rather towards the analysis of where and by what means God brings human beings to assent to his Word.