The historical-grammatical is associated with the independence approach with roots in the Reformation of 1517 while the historical-critical hermeneutic is grounded in deism, rationalism and enlightenment. The two approaches to exegesis have distinct philosophical differences and developments and as such different application and relevancy in interpretive approaches from African-American, womanist and post-colonial aspects.
For instance, the historical-critical method is particularly relevant in African-American and womanist interpretive approaches since the historical-critical approach seek to determine what happened based on textual and archaeological evidence. Notably, the historical-critical can "prove"- to the extent that anything can be proved including African presence and the African influence in the biblical world. However, despite the relevance of the historical-critical in explaining the existence of Africa in the biblical sense, tension is often observed between the historical-critical method, which is generally thought to be Eurocentric and African-American hermeneutics. Unlike the historical-critical, the historical-grammatical is open to the supernatural and miraculous. Since it posits the idea that God can and does intervene in human history, it readily accepts different races, by extension African-Americans as evidence of God's superiority.
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Almost no women were among the individuals that devised both grammatical and critical methods, but later, a feminist companion included the contributions by womanists. The grammatical approach insists on the inductive approach in interpreting the scriptures based on understandable direct explanation as intended by the author. In this sense, the straightforward interpretation in the bible is that women are caregivers meant to take care of their homes, husbands and children. In contrast, the historical-critical assumes a deductive approach, which, to no small extent, explains the application of modern feminist views in the interpretation of the bible. Indeed, the historical-critical allowed for a feminist analysis of the scripture to ensure women move away from the limitations that the ideology of patriarchy placed them not only in society but also in the church.
The historical-critical method is also relevant in the post-colonial theory in theology since it allows for multilayered interpretation of what freedom from European colonialism meant for Christians and the church. However, the liberation from colonial rule also coincides with a historical-grammatical simple approach to biblical interpretations since post-colonial implied freedom, an essential topic in the bible.
For several centuries, historical criticism has been the dominant approach in a majority of biblical studies since historical-grammatical is too inductive for modern society. However, both methods of interpretation are crucial in that they help people to understand scriptures in a better way.
