Psychology Cross-Training for Theologians Podcast

Psychology Cross-Training for Theologians Programme
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This series features Research Fellows from the Psychology Cross-Training for Theologians Program exploring how insights from psychology and theology can support the work of religious practitioners. Episodes address listening in community life; moral injury and abuse in Catholic contexts; race and faith in the Church of England; perceptions of God’s “where-being” and contemplative prayer; evaluating spiritual care; ageing as a liminal experience; and the faith lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Produced by University of Birmingham, funded by John Templeton Foundation.

Episodes

  1. 11/27/2025

    Episode 6: A Tale of Two Perspectives: Chaplain and Patient Perceptions of Success

    In this episode, Dr. Scott Donahue-Martens - affiliated with Boston University School of Theology, Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University, and Providence Newberg Medical Center - discusses his project examining chaplain and patient perspectives on successful spiritual care visits in hospital settings. Scott developed and deployed a non-burdensome questionnaire to compare assessments, guided by established tools like HOPE, FICA, and rapport-building frameworks, addressing gaps in literature that overlook patient views. Key focuses included differences between chaplain and patient views on successful spiritual care, psychological strategies to bridge those gaps, and improving openness in sensitive hospital interactions.

    51 min

  2. 11/27/2025

    Episode 5: The Where-Being of God as Transcendent, Immanent, or Indwelling and Associations with Contemplative Prayer

    In this episode, Research Fellow Dr Ela Łazarewicz-Wyrzykowska - Affiliated Researcher at the Two Wings Institute in Wrocław, Poland, and a Visiting Lecturer at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in Cambridge, UK - discusses her project investigating how Catholics perceive God as transcendent, immanent, or indwelling, and associations with contemplative versus ritualized prayer. Ela developed and administered a new scale to 300 Catholics in Poland, measuring understandings of God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit's "where-being," alongside correlates like prayer types, absorption, religiousness, and demographics (including Charismatic Renewal affiliations). Key focuses include group differences - such as higher indwelling views of the Holy Spirit among Charismatics - and links to spiritual experiences.

    34 min

  3. 11/27/2025

    Episode 4: Necessary Interdisciplinary Reflections? How Can Psychological Research Enhance the Church of England’s Theological Conversation and Praxis around Racism?

    In this episode, Research Fellow Revd Dr Carlton Turner - tutor in Contextual Theology and Mission Studies, as well as Deputy Director of Research, at the Queen's Foundation, Birmingham - discusses his project exploring how psychological research can deepen the Church of England’s theological discussions and practices on racism, particularly for the flourishing of UK Minority Ethnic (UKME) and Global Majority Heritage (GMH) individuals. Drawing on text-based analysis of CofE literature and psychological theories like Minority Stress Theory and Social Threat Theory, alongside stakeholder interviews and documentary research in selected dioceses, Carlton examines the psychological grounding of theological conversations on racism in individual and collective forms.

    28 min

  4. 11/27/2025

    Episode 3: Exploring the God and Self-Representations of Christians with Intellectual Disabilities

    In this episode, Research Fellow Dr Keith Dow - who is visiting researcher with Martin Luther University College and serves as pastor and theologian on the Organizational and Spiritual Life team at Karis Disability Services - discusses his project examining God and self-representations among Christians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Keith uses qualitative interviews (up to 15 across Ontario) alongside creative and traditional methods and adapted self-report measures (e.g., Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale) and assessments of God's authoritarianism/benevolence to explore effective research approaches for IDD populations, conceptions of divine realities, and links between God views and self-esteem.

    23 min

  5. 11/27/2025

    Episode 2: Moral Injury, Spiritual Damage, and Abuse in Catholic Contexts

    In this episode, PCTP Research Fellow Dr Carolina Montero Orphanopoulos - faculty member at Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez in Santiago, Chile - discusses her project re-conceptualising the spiritual damage and moral injury caused by Catholic clergy abuse. Drawing on an adapted Systematic Literature Review of existing bibliography and comparative analysis of ten victim autobiographies through the lens of Betrayal Trauma Theory, Carolina explores the unique traumatic ruptures from this abuse - stemming from the symbolic and religious authority of perpetrators - and distinguishes them from harms in non-ecclesial contexts. She examines psychological and spiritual manifestations, such as shifts in God representations and relational trust, and their implications for victims' healing.

    24 min

  6. 11/27/2025

    Episode 1: Ageing in a Liminal Time

    In this episode, Research Fellow Dr Allen G. Jorgenson - who holds the William D. Huras Chair in Ecclesiology and Church History at Martin Luther University College at Wilfrid Laurier University - discusses his project exploring the liminal experiences of retirement, particularly among theology and religious studies educators. Allen examines how social communities foster meaning-making, identity shifts, and adaptation during this transitional phase.

    28 min
  • 6 Episodes

About

This series features Research Fellows from the Psychology Cross-Training for Theologians Program exploring how insights from psychology and theology can support the work of religious practitioners. Episodes address listening in community life; moral injury and abuse in Catholic contexts; race and faith in the Church of England; perceptions of God’s “where-being” and contemplative prayer; evaluating spiritual care; ageing as a liminal experience; and the faith lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Produced by University of Birmingham, funded by John Templeton Foundation.

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