Typology. The term is used in two distinct senses: (1) a method of interpreting any sacred literature (e.g., the Hebrew Bible) as containing characters or events that foreshadow others that occur later (e.g., Jesus as Messiah has been taken to have been prefigured in certain passages in the Old Testament; Mary has been called "the second Eve"). (2) a method of classifying religions, pioneered by Heinrich Frick ( 1893-1952) and others, e.g., certain religions may be classified under the head of tribal or national or "world" religions. Religions may also be classified according to whether they were founded by a charismatic figure or other individual or gradually developed out of antecedents. Again, some religions might be classified as mystical, others as prophetic, and so forth. The concept may have some practical uses but it is unsatisfactory, since at least the great religions and perhaps to some extent almost all religions have a variety of such ingredients, being at once institutional, legalistic, mystical, individualistic, community-minded, focused on one or more key figures, developing out of a long history and exhibiting gradual historical processes, deeply anchored to metaphysical and ontological concerns, emphasizing ethical results, and so on. The "amount" of any particular ingredient varies. In some cases it may be a mere "pinch," in others much more basic, but never scientifically justifying classification according to any such "type."

Geddes MacGregor, Dictionary of Religion and Philosophy, New York: Paragon House, 1989