An analysis of the existing definitions of the category "homeland" allows us to state that they contain significant gaps and do not allow us to adequately comprehend its content and scope. At the same time, the need to understand what the homeland is in general, as the concept of philosophy and culture, exists for every person. This is of fundamental importance for the worldview of the individual, the decisions they make. It seems possible to single out two main shortcomings of the widely available definitions of the category " homeland ". The first is that when the homeland is defined as the country of birth, citizenship or place of origin, the question of the objectivity and justification of its understanding as the highest value remains beyond the scope of the definition. The second drawback is inherent in concepts that claim that " homeland " belongs to spiritual concepts. It is associated with the emotionality and mystery of definitions, which take the category under consideration beyond the scope of scientific and philosophical discourse. The task is to develop a fundamentally new methodology for the study of the homeland. A hypothesis is put forward about the possibility of including some recommendations in it and the necessary explanations are given. The conclusion is made about the principle of combining rational, reasonable and intuitive knowledge as the basis of the methodology for studying the concept under consideration. As an approbation of the proposed recommendations, readers are offered the author's definition of the category "homeland".