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The 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation is significant in many respects, not least in providing an opportunity to revisit Martin Luther’s emphasis on the role of the laity. Yet his legacy of a positive and theologically robust... more
The 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation is significant in many respects, not least in providing an opportunity to revisit Martin Luther’s emphasis on the role of the laity. Yet his legacy of a positive and theologically robust understanding of vocation as located in the everyday world as well as the religious life has only sporadically informed the church’s understanding of lay ministry, and has frequently been frustrated by clericalism and institutional inertia. By revisiting some modern theologies of the laity from the mid-twentieth century, and in dialogue with a recent Church of England report, this article will suggest some ways in which understandings of lay ministry and discipleship might be renewed. A focus on a learning church, education for discernment and a worldly, missional ecclesiology will help to direct the church to a vision of an empowered, confident and theologically literate laity.
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Accounts of secularization, decline and marginalization in relation to the public position of religion in western society have failed to account for the continued vitality and relevance of religion in the global public square. It is... more
Accounts of secularization, decline and marginalization in relation to the public position of religion in western society have failed to account for the continued vitality and relevance of religion in the global public square. It is important, however, to challenge simplistic accounts and think of the new visibility of religion (not least in Europe) in terms of complexity and multi-dimensionality. This article will ask how public theology might contribute constructively to repairing our fractured body politic and promoting new models of citizenship and civic engagement around visions of the common good.
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This article takes an autobiographical approach to the development of practical theology as a discipline over the past 30 years, with particular attention to my own context of the United Kingdom (UK). The unfolding of my own intellectual... more
This article takes an autobiographical approach to the development of practical theology as a discipline over the past 30 years, with particular attention to my own context of the United Kingdom (UK). The unfolding of my own intellectual story in relation to key issues within the wider academic discourse provides an opportunity to reflect on some of the predominant themes and trends: past, present and future. Changing nomenclature, from ‘pastoral studies’ to ‘practical theology’, indicates how the discipline has moved from regarding itself as the application of theory into practice, into a more performative and inductive epistemology. This emphasis continues to the present day and foregrounds the significance of the human context and the realities of lived experience, including narrative and autobiography. Whilst the methodological conundrums of relating experience to tradition and theory to practice continue, further challenges are beckoning, including religious pluralism, and so t...
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The final published version of this chapter appears in A Companion to Public Theology (2017), edited by Sebastian Kim and Katie Day pp 390-418 http://www.brill.com/products/book/companion-public-theology
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Copy of Manuscript published by SCM Press, July 2013
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Research Interests: Technology and Theology
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Does religion make you happy? It depends on what one means by “happiness.” That is the underlying question of The Practices of Happiness: political economy, religion and wellbeing. The book brings together different approaches to inquire... more
Does religion make you happy? It depends on what one means by “happiness.” That is the underlying question of The Practices of Happiness: political economy, religion and wellbeing. The book brings together different approaches to inquire into the contribution of religion to “happiness.” The centre of gravity is Laylard's (2005) proposal that “happiness,” understood as pleasure and feeling good, should be taken into account by public policy. Laylard's inspiration came from Amartya Sen's (1999)“capability” approach. However, as ...
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Research Interests: Theology and Urbanisation
This article developed from a session sponsored by the Men's Studies Group in Religion at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion held in Atlanta, GA, in November 2003. It offers a theological, ethical and gender... more
This article developed from a session sponsored by the Men's Studies Group in Religion at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion held in Atlanta, GA, in November 2003. It offers a theological, ethical and gender analysis of the clergy sexual abuse crisis now faced by the Roman Catholic Church.