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After Hegemony: On the Future of Practical Theology in Ireland
Friends now tire of me talking about the future of practical theology in Ireland. I suspect some have begun carefully changing the subject whenever they see me approaching it. Unfortunately for them, and perhaps for you, I remain fascinated by the question. Part of the problem is that I find practical theology in Ireland frustratingly difficult to locate. Beyond those forms associated with ministerial education (often named ‘pastoral theology,’ and often rather dubious about the designation ‘practical theology’) or those tightly wedded to mission and ministry (where it is frequently renamed ‘applied theology’), it often seems strangely elusive.[1] Yet whenever I raise the matter with colleagues, I encounter an optimism…
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“Hearing to speech”: holy conversations in pastoral ministry and qualitative research
Pastoral ministry and qualitative research have more in common than I had expected. For me, as a priest-theologian, examining these resonances between these two facets of my experience and identity has been illuminating. In a world in which increasingly few of us inhabit only one role, I hope my reflections on my experience of conducting qualitative research interviews and having pastoral conversations with parishioners, and how those two distinct roles and encounters inform and enrich each other, will be relevant to anyone who is trying to juggle multiple roles and relationships and looking for the theological coherence within and between them. I am an Anglican priest, and Vicar of two…
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No words for this: The task of centering the experience of women survivors in faith-based care abuse reform
Introduction This article argues for a feminist theological methodology that places a central emphasis on the experience of women survivors as a primary lens for contemplating reform in faith-based care abuse. Set in the aftermath of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry in Aotearoa New Zealand (2018-2024), whose final report, Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light was released on 24 July 2024, the article situates theology within the pain, trauma, and truth-telling of survivors.[1] Why should women’s experiences be a primary lens? To achieve more equitable, just, and transformative outcomes and because women are involved, requiring their voices to be heard and agency about outcomes.…
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From ‘the salt of the earth’ to ‘the powers that be’: the impact of biblical language in culture
Introduction What is the impact of biblical language in culture today? And why and how does this matter to practical theologians? Twenty-five delegates met to delve into these questions in December 2025 at a symposium held at the historic Launde Abbey in Leicestershire, England. This article offers some reflections on the symposium by one of the convenors (Andrew) and three delegates who kindly agreed to put fingers to keyboard after the event.[i] The particular prompt for the symposium theme and for the meeting at this time was the 500th anniversary of William Tyndale’s 1525-26 translation of the New Testament into English – from the Greek and in printed form for…
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Emancipation is not a pie: Imagining better metaphors for liberation
As I write this, my country (the UK) sits under the shadow of a red flag alert for genocide against trans and intersex people.[1] This is a situation that has not come about by accident but has been driven intentionally, including by groups and individuals who claim to be motivated by a Christian faith. Often, theology which seeks liberation is directed at injustices within the church. This is, of course, desperately needed and by no means a misguided goal. Racism, misogyny, homophobia, trans and intersex exclusion and many more systemic injustices still have a grip on the church and need to be dealt with. However, the consequences of warped theologies…
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Leaky Bodies: Uses and Abuses of Vulnerability in Feminist Methodologies
Human bodies are leaky. Leakiness, especially the leakiness of the female body, has been criticised historically, but more recently reclaimed as a strength for the task of research.[1] This is especially the case in feminist theology, where acknowledgement of the leakiness of the individual body has blended with autoethnographic research methods to privilege women’s experience in theologising. Of interest to this article is the vulnerability inherent in this turn to the sharing of the theologian’s experience in her work. Vulnerable sharing can clear the way for significant revelations, yet how this vulnerability can be managed fruitfully for both sharer and recipient must be considered. This paper aims to do just…
