When did the study of theology begin?
Theology? I assume for my own purposes that you’re asking about theology, not God. I think that they are two different things entirely. For me, Theology as we know it today began when someone, somewhere realized the power and treasure that theology could provide for that person/group. Among the ancients I believe that Theology began as an attempt to understand Universe and Life as well as to understand the bad things that sometimes happen in Nature as we see/experience them, and the negative things in the behavior of Humankind as we express them. This is the origin in fear and threat of the theological understanding of “evil,” all of which (in my opinion) evolved to produce the amount of power, treasure, and control over others that theology and it’s expression in most religious dogma provides for those who seek these things today.