This article takes an autobiographical approach to the development of practical theology as a dis... 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...
The final published version of this chapter appears in A Companion to Public Theology (2017), edi... more 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
Does religion make you happy? It depends on what one means by “happiness.” That is the underlying... 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 ...
In this article, I want to contribute to the development of what the North American theologian Ja... more In this article, I want to contribute to the development of what the North American theologian James Nelson has termed'Body Theol-ogy'. 1 Feminist theology has famously characterized the dualism of classical Christianity-and in particular, its valuing of the spiritual over the ...
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 14755610903077588, Jul 1, 2009
... 'Nietzsche gets a modem': Transhumanism and the ... Yet maybe it is &#x... more ... 'Nietzsche gets a modem': Transhumanism and the ... Yet maybe it is 'nature' that should be considered 'posthuman', since that might liberate it from the projections of human self-interest, and help to bring forth understandings of nature as possessing independent ...
When communities are denied access to language, education, and public media, how do they address ... more When communities are denied access to language, education, and public media, how do they address their suffering and hope to the God of the universe? Our thesis is that while the cries and laments of massive human suffering can be suppressed by military and economic ...
This article takes an autobiographical approach to the development of practical theology as a dis... 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...
The final published version of this chapter appears in A Companion to Public Theology (2017), edi... more 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
Does religion make you happy? It depends on what one means by “happiness.” That is the underlying... 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 ...
In this article, I want to contribute to the development of what the North American theologian Ja... more In this article, I want to contribute to the development of what the North American theologian James Nelson has termed'Body Theol-ogy'. 1 Feminist theology has famously characterized the dualism of classical Christianity-and in particular, its valuing of the spiritual over the ...
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 14755610903077588, Jul 1, 2009
... 'Nietzsche gets a modem': Transhumanism and the ... Yet maybe it is &#x... more ... 'Nietzsche gets a modem': Transhumanism and the ... Yet maybe it is 'nature' that should be considered 'posthuman', since that might liberate it from the projections of human self-interest, and help to bring forth understandings of nature as possessing independent ...
When communities are denied access to language, education, and public media, how do they address ... more When communities are denied access to language, education, and public media, how do they address their suffering and hope to the God of the universe? Our thesis is that while the cries and laments of massive human suffering can be suppressed by military and economic ...
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Papers by Elaine GRAHAM