BY: Dr. Ann Gillian Chu and Ms. Claire Hiu-ching Cheung | May 16, 2025
How It Started
I (Gillian) have always found science-engaged theology to be an important topic, as the John Templeton Foundation has had a prominent presence since the beginning of my academic career, and I have consistently learned from theologians who are engaged with the sciences. Equally, from the beginning of my academic career, my research focus has been on Hong Kong. Having gone through significant demographic changes in recent years, Hong Kong Christian communities are trying to make sense of what happened. At this juncture, theologians and pastors are attempting to theorise and assist congregants in making sense of social changes and their psychological aspects. I first came across this Cross-training Psychology + Theology project on Facebook, where Cross-training mentor Dr Joanna Leidenhag, a former postdoctoral fellow of my doctoral supervisor, Dr John Perry, shared about this exciting venture. It coincided with my own research interests because I wanted to examine the experiences of older adult Christians in Hong Kong whose adult children recently migrated to Britain through the British National (Overseas) (BN[O]) visa route. Specifically, the recent BN(O) immigration trend gave Hong Kongers born before 1997 and their immediate families the chance to migrate to Britain, and because older adults are remaining in Hong Kong while their adult children migrate to Britain, I wanted to understand how faith-based organisations could support them in their loss. Most of those who choose not to migrate cite age and health issues as reasons, and this recent wave of migration tends to involve working-class individuals. The older adults who remained may feel a sense of loss due to the migration of their children. Additionally, if the older adults were the main caregivers of their grandchildren, not being able to visit them abroad (due to health and financial reasons) may contribute to losing their sense of purpose.
The parent-child relationship is the main focus of social relationships in Chinese societies. Thus, in the midst of families recently split between Hong Kong and Britain, how can we use insights from psychological science to enhance how they understand their relationships with each other and with God? How can the Church and faith-based social services help these elderly parents flourish and live the Christian idea of a good life? Existing discussions about this topic mostly centre around the migrants themselves. Churches in the UK have made significant efforts to help newcomers from Hong Kong; over 560 have signed up for an initiative called "Hong Kong Ready", proposed by the UK government and aimed at supporting these migrants as they settle into their new lives. The experiences of Hong Kong migrants are widely reported and recognised, while the stories of the parents who remain fade into the background. With psychological analysis to understand the experiences of these left-behind older adults, I hope that my project can inform policymakers and Christian non-profit organisations in Hong Kong about how to better support older adults in the midst of the loss they face in the migration of their children and grandchildren.
While this fellowship project is meant to train theologians, the research assistant for our project, Claire Hiu-ching Cheung, is a philosopher by training. Learning about psychology as a discipline has broadened Claire’s horizon as well. In this blog post, we hope to illustrate how we, as a theologian (Gillian) and a philosopher (Claire), gained different perspectives by engaging with psychological methods in our study.
The Power of Religion
We began by conducting a literature review of psychological research on this topic to inform our theological and philosophical work. In the process, we have made interesting discoveries—in particular, we found a connection between traumatic events, the process of meaning-making, and the power of religion. Many studies (e.g., Koltko-Rivera, Silberman, and Park) have suggested that the quest for meaning is essential for adjusting to loss, proposing religion as one way to fulfil this need. According to Park’s meaning-making model, religious beliefs can offer frameworks for understanding, reinterpreting, and adding value to suffering, as well as perspectives that reveal a larger divine purpose and plan, helping individuals make sense of their struggles. Further, Tedeschi and Calhoun, as well as Pargament, theorise that religious participation has been shown to be highly connected to posttraumatic growth. This suggests individuals experiencing posttraumatic growth may actively seek out religious experiences or that their engagement in religious practices prepares them for spiritual development.
While adult children moving away for work is normal in many other cultures, it has a larger impact in Hong Kong, since Hong Kong is a geographically small and densely populated region, providing lots of opportunities for young adults to remain in Hong Kong instead of necessarily having to venture abroad for study and work opportunities. There are eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong, and many more privately funded ones, meaning most local students do not need to leave the city to study for their undergraduate degree. There are also many graduate job opportunities in the city, meaning many locals might not have ever lived outside of Hong Kong prior to their move to Britain. As such, there were reasonable expectations from older adults that their adult children would remain in Hong Kong…until the BN(O) visa scheme was announced. This unexpected change could be traumatic for older adults as the loneliness induced by their children’s sudden migration might resemble the sense of loss experienced through death of loved ones. Older adults, aided by their faith and their faith communities, are creating new meanings in their lives, through volunteer work, renewed faith in God, and deepened involvement in faith communities.
Challenges in the Field: Recruitment
After the literature review, our next step was conducting in-person interviews with older Christian adults in Hong Kong whose children recently migrated abroad, to learn more about their experiences, how they make sense of their feelings in relation to their faith, and how they receive support from faith-based organisations. Even though we were excited about this research opportunity, there were many challenges, particularly when it came to accessing interview participants from local Christian organisations that provide services to older adults. This obstacle was a bit disheartening, but it ultimately motivated us to investigate further, transforming it into an opportunity for our growth and learning as researchers.
We found that older adults were a bit hesitant to talk about themselves, thinking that they were not articulate or educated enough to say anything worthy of analysing, or they had a sense of honour/shame that they felt like they could not say anything bad about their children to strangers. This difficulty might be unique to our research context. In the end, we started to interview faith-based organisation service providers first, gaining their trust and as gatekeepers, they were able to introduce us to suitable older adults who, because of their relationship with the service providers, were willing to talk to us about themselves. Additionally, we learned that some faith-based organisations we cold-called were reluctant to talk to us, as they found the term BN(O) to be politically sensitive. We found this to be surprising, and from this finding, we reflected on our own stance and that of the service providers. We found that we should not just presume everybody would feel the same way about their political stability.
Ultimately, we have been unsuccessful in recruiting from organisations we had not previously connect with—the current participant pool is mainly from my (Gillian) personal connections. So far, since we started conducting this research project in November 2024, we have been able to connect with and interview social workers, pastors, and older adults from seven different faith-based organisations in Hong Kong, which include Protestant Christian churches and church-funded social services.
We also sought experiences from other studies that explored why people might hesitate to participate in interviews and how researchers might address the issue, hoping to find ways to improve our project and make future initiatives more inviting to participants. Söderström et al. noted that interactions with potential participants can often be uncomfortable due to their scepticism about the research project. This scepticism is heightened if they view universities as untrustworthy or politicised. Concerns about safety may also arise if participants fear their political beliefs could be exposed through their involvement in the study. As Claire brought this point up, Gillian, from her empirical research experiences, suggested that providing details about the project, outlining potential risks of participation, and explaining how data will be stored and used could help alleviate these concerns and foster a sense of security.
Patel et al. also proposed the need to consider the participant's perspective, which often involves weighing the associated costs and benefits. Participants often conduct a personal analysis of these factors: the potential of lengthy or frequent appointments, tedious and repetitive questionnaires, enjoyable personal interactions, and financial incentives. Paying attention to these factors help gain the participant’s confidence, leading to more successful recruitment. These costs might include the possibility of triggering negative emotions among the left-behind older adults and the sensitivity surrounding the immigration trend in the current political climate in Hong Kong. Notably, one organisation that declined our invitation cited concerns that participating might risk violating the national security law, particularly if the interview content touches on politically sensitive topics. These insights from prior literature have not only deepened our theoretical understanding of the topic, but we are also now more sensitised to the practical realities of conducting meaningful research.
The challenge of organisations unwilling to participate in our project led me (Claire) to wonder if our inability to alleviate their concerns stems from a lack of mutual trust, and so I have often hoped that the importance of this project has been clearly conveyed to the organisations. My perspective shifted when I read an insightful blog post by Rev Dr Lauren Lisa Ng, who said, “Silence is an act of thoughtfulness, caution, or care”. As a researcher, I long for the voices of the left-behind older adults to be heard, but I began to comprehend the rejection from organisations as a form of thoughtful silence—a way to protect this vulnerable group from potential distress or political risk. As we proceed, I will continue to reach out to relevant organisations, and when I face rejections, I will remember this inherent goodness in their silence and accept it with appreciation and gratitude.
How Is Psychology Helpful for a Theologian?
As a theologian, I (Gillian) can better appreciate how the discipline of psychology structures research and findings and how I can present my work meaningfully to psychologists. Prior to this project, I had been exclusively conducting qualitative research, though I have used quantitative data to triangulate my findings. Conversations with Professor Jon Catling have helped me reflect on how to better use published quantitative data to support my qualitative research findings and analyses. Knowing how to read psychology research work, especially related to the study of religion, opens doors to further research opportunities, especially in understanding and presenting statistics to support practical theology ventures. For example, by understanding congregational behaviours and reflecting on its theology, we can then introduce transformative practices back in Christian communities (Swinton and Mowatt, 2016).
In addition to the three on-site sessions in Birmingham, UK, we also had monthly online trainings, in which we learned different aspects of psychology research. We have been learning about reading psychology research (especially quantitative research), how to design our own psychology experiments, how to analyse quantitative data, and more—all tailored to our sub-grant projects. We were assigned a psychology mentor, and mine is Dr Renate Ysseldyk. She is an expert in studying the psychology of older adults, and having monthly meetings with her has been immensely beneficial as I continue to shape my research. I began to see how the two disciplines can meaningfully converse with one another, especially within my own project.
Religious institutions have been a place of faith, community, hope, ritual practice, and support during experiences of loss and grief, providing people with ways to understand the world and their experiences in it. Understanding how psychologists analyse loss and social identity has allowed me to merge psychology and religious frameworks in understanding human resilience and faith identity, and how that coincides with the narratives of our interview participants.
Additionally, I hope to communicate my theological research to a psychology audience in a way that makes sense to them, and not simply talking past one another (Watanabe et al., in press).[1] My doctoral supervisor, Dr John Perry, coined the term “plurality of disciplines,” with which I identify as I engage with several disciplines; however, I only speak as a theologian and theological ethicist rather than as an expert in all fields engaged. As such, multidisciplinary research discussions have prompted me to think deeply about what they mean to my research trajectory. Rather than situating myself in fields outside of theology, I find the plurality of disciplines to be most suitable for my research purpose. I am not aiming to become a psychologist—that is not the point. Instead, I hope to be somewhat psychology-savvy. When communicating my work with those from a psychology background, I hope to be able to use their academic language and theories to make my point, demonstrating why my project matters to their field.
In Turn, How Is Psychology Helpful for a Philosopher?
I (Claire) was born and raised in Hong Kong and continue to live in Hong Kong. Before this project, my understanding of the BN(O) migration trend mostly came from the stories of my peers who had migrated to the UK. I listened to their experiences—how they adapted to life after leaving home and the highs and lows of starting fresh in a different country. I empathised with them deeply, and I often pondered whether we should follow this path, considering the future uncertainties of Hong Kong. The focus for my generation has always been on leaving. But it was not until this project that I began to see the other side of the story—the perspective of the older generation left behind when their children migrated.
As I am a young former believer of Christianity in Hong Kong, participating in this project has been truly eye-opening. As I listened to the experiences of those left behind, such as fellow older adults in church communities providing support to other older adults whose main caregiver migrated abroad, it was both heartwarming and inspiring to witness the dedication of local Christian organisations that care for those who often get overlooked in the bigger picture, ensuring no one is forgotten. This journey has allowed me to reflect anew on the essence of love within the Christian spirit and my own beliefs. Reading Cross-training mentor Professor Daryl van Tongeren’s latest work, Done: How to Flourish After Leaving Religion, as part of my literature review for this project has given me a framework to think about my own departure and how to make sense of and create meaning from it.
As a philosopher trained in the phenomenological tradition (a study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view), I find even more significance in this project on an academic level. I value subjective experiences, believing they are essential to lead us to the truth of humanity and the world around us. On one hand, I feel at ease working on a project that emphasises qualitative methods, as it expands my knowledge of religious studies in a way that feels comfortable and familiar; on the other hand, I face the challenge of reconciling the gap between qualitative and quantitative psychology, which underpins this project and often feels at odds with my intuition. This is a challenge to my own beliefs about how knowledge is possible, but challenges come with opportunities for growth. Right now, I am still unsure how to navigate this tension, but I do know that I am growing as a researcher in this early stage of my academic career. Now, when I see older adults in this crowded city, I often experience sonder, wondering about the rich stories each carries. It fills me with gratitude to know many have likely been cared for by the Christians in Hong Kong and are enjoying fulfilling lives, and I am excited to share their stories with the world through my newfound knowledge, hoping they inspire others as they have inspired me.
[1] Watanabe, S., Kašparová, P., Lazarewicz-Wyrzykowska, E., Perez, J., Tanton, T., & Waite, H. (in press). Voices in the (Interdisciplinary) Wilderness: Reflections from a Psychology Cross-Training Project for Theologians. Reviews in Science, Religion and Theology.
