I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology of Religion at the University of Birmingham. I have a background in both Psychology (BA, PhD) and Theology/Religious Studies (BA, MTS). Within the psychology of religion, my research tends to focus on two broad areas. The first is investigating perceptions of the relationship between science and religion from a social and experimental psychology perspective. This has involved examining the roles of belief systems and social identities relating to religion, nonreligion, and science. Additionally, my research investigates social cognition (how we think about the self and others), particularly focusing on how people think about God. This research has implications for outcomes such as intergroup relations, stereotyping, prejudice, and mental health.

I am an Associate Professor in Practical Theology at the University of Birmingham. I understand theology to be a fundamentally practical endeavour, concerned with questions of responsibility, just institutions, and moral life in a plural society. Such questions are places where conceptual and contextual theology are necessarily mutually informing. My research consequently focuses on meeting points between theology, politics and practice. There are two strands to this work. This first is my established and ongoing work on Paul Ricoeur, whose understanding of self, other and institution offers ways to make sense of diverse questions of contemporary life, such as the rise of political populism, diversity within the political community, and the role of religion in public reasoning. Frequently this work also attends to the question of disciplinary distinctions. The second strand assesses a constellation of contemporary issues through the lenses of political theology. Most recently that has included work on development theory, relating the work of Catholic Social Thought and the capability approach. I am beginning to expand that work from CST into questions of care, labour and justice. While continuing to draw on public theology to frame my contributions to these questions, I situate my own perspective within the resources of Catholic theology.

Dr Jon Catling is a Professor of Psychology and Education, and is an expert in research design and analysis. His research interests cover three main areas: Language acquisition, especially the impact of the ‘Age of Acquisition’ of language; Resilience and the relationship between mental and physical health in young people; and the relationship between cognitive and physical functioning, mental health and immune function in older adults.

I am a Professor of Philosophical Theology at the University of Birmingham. My principal work has been on the ways changes in philosophical method have an impact on theological reasoning. I am especially interested in Kant’s attempt to combine subject and object (in his transcendental idealism) and Hegel’s correction of this in his account of the concept (in his logic). This has led to associated questions of truth, tradition, subjectivity and argumentation in inter-religious encounter (often stimulated by the practice of Scriptural Reasoning).

I am a Professor of Science, Knowledge, and Belief in Society at the University of Birmingham. I am a transdisciplinary researcher whose work is predominantly sociological, historical, philosophical, and psychological in approach. My research focuses on: the perception of, and engagement with, STEMM in diverse societies; National and international science communication: the role of 'science', non-religion and/or beliefs as identity markers, in public space 'conflict narratives', stereotypes or prejudice formation; and public perceptions of the relationship between science and belief.

Dr. Shoko Watanabe received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to specializing in social psychology, Dr. Watanabe received her M.S. in educational psychology from Oklahoma State University and her B.A. in theological-historical studies from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At the University of Birmingham, Dr. Watanabe conducts empirical research investigating hesitancies that theologians might have about engaging with psychology. In addition, she has two other streams of research. First, Dr. Watanabe's religious cognition research examines theodicy (how people perceive God amidst suffering), teleological reasoning (inferring purpose for natural entities and events), and longitudinal patterns of stability or change in religious doubt and engagement. Second, Dr. Watanabe's moral-social perception research addresses when and why uninvolved third parties perceive moral transgressors as deserving of forgiveness and conditions under which hypocrites are punished. Dr. Watanabe explores these topics in laboratory and online experiments using social cognitive and behavioral approaches, and through secondary data analyses using structural equation modeling.

Dr. Watanabe’s works have been published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Social Psychological and Personality Science, Social Psychology, Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion, and more. More information on Dr. Watanabe's educational journey and personal background can be found in an interview piece by the International Society for the Science of Existential Psychology.

Dr. Edward (Ward) B. Davis is a Professor of Psychology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois and the Director of Clinical Training in the Wheaton Doctoral Psychology Programs. His research focuses on positive psychology (the scientific study of strengths, virtues, and flourishing), the psychology of religion and spirituality (the scientific study of people’s search for and response to sacred meaning and connection), and God representations (how people doctrinally view and experientially relate with God). Most of Dr. Davis’s publications, presentations, and research grants have focused on these areas, including the recently published Handbook of Positive Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality. Dr. Davis also is a licensed clinical psychologist and serves on the Editorial Board of two journals: Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (PRS, Associate Editor) and Journal of Psychology and Theology (JPT, Editorial Board). On a more personal note, Dr. Davis enjoys spending time with his friends, his wife Meghan, and their three kids. He also enjoys backpacking, camping, working out, playing basketball, swimming, reading, singing, and playing the piano.

Emily Reed Burdett graduated BS in psychology from Azusa Pacific University and MS in clinical psychology from California State University, Fullerton. She completed a DPhil at Oxford in 2013 researching the cognitive, cultural, and developmental foundations of children’s understanding of God and humans. Following her DPhil she was a research fellow at the University of St Andrews for three years, examining the developmental origins of culture and innovation. She now is Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham and retains a research associate post with the University of Oxford. She is currently investigating the development of belief across 30 different sites globally (developingbelief.com) as well as the developmental origins of creativity. Her research interests include science and religion, child development, the developmental origins of creativity and learning, morality, and social cognition. Her work has been published most recently in Developmental Psychology, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, and Child Development.

Frank D. Fincham is Eminent Scholar and Director of the Florida State University Family Institute. As a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, he obtained his doctoral degree in social psychology. After postdoctoral training in clinical psychology at Stony Brook University he was an assistant professor at University of Illinois where he ultimately became professor and Director of Clinical Training. The author of over 400 publications, his research has been widely recognized by numerous awards, including the President’s Award for “distinguished contributions to psychological knowledge” from the British Psychological Society, the Ernest Burgess Award for “outstanding scholarly and career achievement in the study of families” from the National Council for Family Relations, the Distinguished Career Award from the International Association for Relationship Research, and most recently, the Bier Award for “outstanding interdisciplinary work on issues of psychology of religion,” from Division 36 of the American Psychological Association. His current research focus is on divine forgiveness.

Dr Joanna Leidenhag is Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy at the University of Leeds. She has published two monographs, Minding Creation: Theological Panpsychism and the Doctrine of Creation (Bloomsbury/T&T Clark, 2021), and Science-Engaged Theology (Cambridge University Press, 2023). Her current work is on a science-engaged theology of autism and neurodiversity.

Kathryn A. Johnson (Ph.D., Arizona State University) is an Associate Research Professor in the Psychology Department at ASU. Merging her backgrounds in Religious Studies and Social Psychology, her research focuses on the social perception of non-human agents (e.g., God, robots, viruses). For example, much of her research has focused on the influence of diverse God representations on values, social attitudes, and prosocial behavior. She received Religions journal’s Young Investigator Award in 2021 and has authored over 50 publications which have appeared in outlets such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and Perspectives on Psychological Science. She currently serves as an associate editor of Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.

Peter C. Hill, Ph.D. (Social Psychology), Professor of Psychology at the Rosemead School of Psychology and Director of the Office of Academic Research and Grants, Biola University, is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and is a past president of APA’s Division 36 (Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality). His research interests include religious and spiritual measurement as well as positive psychological virtues such as humility (both intellectual and otherwise), forgiveness, and gratitude, particularly as they relate to religious experience. Other interests include religious fundamentalism, and the role of affect in religious and spiritual experience.

Pierre-Yves Brandt is Professor for the Psychology of Religion at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. His interests include children’s representations of God, psychological construction of religious identity, religious coping among seniors and among patients with schizophrenia, and spiritual care in hospitals, care homes and home care. He was the dean of the Faculty of Theology and Sciences of Religions (FTSR), University of Lausanne (2006-2010) and the chair of the Institute of Social Sciences of Religions (ISSR) of the FTSR (2016-2020). He was the president of the International Association for the Psychology of Religion (IAPR) from 2015 to 2019, and is the President of the Fondation des Archives Jean Piaget (since 2001).

Rebekah A. Richert earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology (BA) from Calvin College (1999) and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Virginia (2003). Funded by a National Science Foundation International Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, she was a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Harvey Whitehouse at Queens University-Belfast (2003-2004) and with Dr. Paul Harris at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education (2004-2005).
Dr. Richert has developed various lines of research into how children’s developing social cognition influences their understanding of religion, fantasy, and media. In particular, she studies cultural and developmental mechanisms in the development of concepts of God, the soul, prayer and rituals, as well as children’s commitments to the reality status of religious entities and the efficacy of religious practices. Bridging the study of developing fantasy-reality distinctions, Dr. Richert also examines how the fantastical content and characters in children’s media can both support and hinder children’s learning from books, videos, and interactive games. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, The John Templeton Foundation, and the Templeton World Charity Trust.

Rev. Dr. Sarah Ann Bixler is Assistant Professor of Formation and Practical Theology and Associate Dean of the Seminary at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA. She holds a PhD in practical theology and MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a BA in English education from Eastern Mennonite University. Before entering higher education, she worked in congregational youth ministry, secondary education and ecclesial administration. Sarah is currently working on a book drawn from her dissertation, advised by Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean, utilizing attachment theory to understand and respond to the paradox of adolescent happiness without belonging in religious communities. Sarah was recently awarded a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. for an interdisciplinary collaboration to support caregivers in contextualized Christian practices that foster faith formation and attachment security.

Thoko is a sociologist of Science and Religion based at St John’s College, Durham University. Her academic background is in the Sociology of Religion (MA), the History and Theory of Psychology (MSc) and Science and Technology Studies (Ph.D.). Her work is grounded in the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) and explores notions of rationality, the relationship between the construction of scientific and religious knowledge, and the correlation between funding cultures and discipline formation. She is currently spearheading a cross-national study on the attitudes of senior church leaders toward science and science-engaged theology. She is also engaged in bringing STS into the social study of science and religion by consolidating existing work and building a network of scholars who take an STS approach to the science/religion intersection.

Carolina Montero Orphanopoulos holds a master's degree in Bioethics and a doctorate in Theological Ethics. Her doctoral thesis, entitled "Vulnerability: Towards a More Human Ethics" (Ed. Dykinson, 2022), proposes a Christian ethics grounded in the anthropology of vulnerability, approached from an interdisciplinary perspective. In 2024, she was honored with the Centessimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation Prize for this work.

With eighteen years of teaching experience at various universities in the country, she has instructed courses in Fundamental Moral, Bioethics, Philosophical Ethics, and various subjects in General Theological Formation. Driven by both vocation and training toward dialogue between theology and other disciplines, she has taught at faculties of theology, liberal arts, and medicine at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Since 2021, she has been working at the Catholic University Silva Henríquez as a research academic at the Egidio Viganò Institute of Theology. Within the research line of Praxis, Christianity, and theology, she focuses on the ethics of vulnerability, global bioethics, and the ecclesial crisis due to abuse. Also the author of the books "Vulnerability, Recognition, and Repair: Christian Praxis and Human Fulfillment" (2012) and "Bioethics and Vulnerability: Deliberating on Life from a More Human Paradigm" (2023), she serves on the Editorial Board of the Ibero-American Journal of Bioethics, the Manuel Larraín Theological Center (PUC - UAH), and the global network CTEWC (Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church).

I'm an Affiliated Researcher at the Two Wings Institute in Wrocław, Poland, and a Visiting Lecturer at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in Cambridge, UK. I'm also a member of the IDEAS Lab at the University of Warsaw. I hold a PhD in Biblical Studies from the University of Manchester. My educational background also includes Polish and Hebrew philologies (University of Warsaw) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Coaching and Mentoring (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw). My research interests encompass areas such as prophetic literature, biblical reception and models of engagement with Scripture in the Catholic Church. As an Associate Lecturer at the Medical University of Warsaw, I teach in medical humanities. Additionally, I practise as a coach, specialising in academic coaching and academic writing coaching. I see my commitment to education as an active practitioner of Godly Play. Moving between these areas of engagement, I discovered the diverse and rich zone in which different paradigms of reasoning – scientific and artistic, or critical and empathic – intersect and influence each other in what has been described by the renowned cellist Yo-yo Ma as the "edge effect." Since then, I have been exploring this zone in poetry and collage. Having resided in Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Manchester, and Cambridge, I currently live in the Żywiec area in southern Poland, together with my astronomer husband, our three children, and our dog.

Dr. Francis Ethelbert Kwabena Benyah is a researcher at the Department for the Study of Religions, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland. Dr. Benyah’s doctoral thesis explored the religious, human rights and media dimensions of the activities of prayer camps in relation to mental illness in Ghana. His research interest focuses on African Pentecostal Christianity with a special interest in how it intersects and interacts with public life in areas such as media, politics, health and human rights. Dr. Benyah co-edited the book Contemporary Discourses in Social Exclusion published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2023.

Hannah holds a PhD in Practical Theology from the University of Aberdeen. Her doctoral work examined the lived experience of stigma in the lives of Christians with bipolar disorder. Before gaining her PhD in Practical Theology Hannah received an undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Aberdeen and holds qualifications in counselling skills and mental health first aid. Hannah is an honorary associate at the Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability at the University of Aberdeen. On top of conducting this research, Hannah has been working as a visiting lecturer at London School of Theology where she has been leading a module on Empirical Research Methods. Prior to this, she worked as a postdoctoral research associate for Equipping Christian Leaders in an Age of Science and as a mixed methods researcher for Theos Think Tank where she examined the landscape of science and religion. Hannah has worked as a consultant researcher for charities examining mental health and church practice, and continues to contribute to the ongoing work of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. The cross section of psychology and theology has always been an area Hannah has been extremely passionate about, and is excited about the possibilities and connections this fellowship will bring. Together with Nick Spencer (Senior Fellow at Theos), Hannah has recently co-authored a book titled, Playing God: Science, Religion, and the Future of Humanity, which has been reviewed by the Church Times.

Jahdiel Perez is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Humanities at Villanova University. He recently completed his D.Phil in Theology and Literature at the University of Oxford. Perez’s dissertation, supervised by Dr. Alister McGrath and Dr. Michael Ward, analyzed how C.S. Lewis reconciled joy and sorrow throughout his theological writings. While at Oxford, he was President of the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society and a Doctoral Fellow with the OCCA Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics.
In his research and teaching, Perez integrates theology, philosophy, and literature to show how Christian insights can respond to some of the most pressing questions of our time. Before attending Oxford, Perez earned his BA in Philosophy from University of Massachusetts in Boston and his M.Div in Christian Theology from Harvard University. His research interests range from analytic and continental philosophy of religion to modern theology and English literature. Perez lives near Philadelphia, PA with his wife Wendy and 2-year-old son Jezekiel.

Jasmine Hieronymi-Suhner is currently serving as the Co-Principal Investigator of the interdisciplinary research project titled "Interreligious Challenges and Learning in Digital Society," which is part of the University Research Focus "Digital Religion(s): Communication, Interaction and Transformation in the Digital Society" at the University of Zurich (www.digitalreligions.uzh.ch).

Additionally, Hieronymi-Suhner holds a position as a Lecturer in (Inter-)Religious Education, Psychology, and Leadership at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland.

She completed her doctoral dissertation on the interplay between human rights, (public) education, and religion. Her research spans multiple disciplines, including interreligious learning, digital society, embodiment in religious education, and the psychology and philosophy of religion. She has studied music (guitar) and has spent several years working as a dancer (tango argentino).

Keith Dow is a visiting researcher with Martin Luther University College (Waterloo) and serves as pastor and theologian on the Organizational and Spiritual Life team at Karis Disability Services. He has worked in various capacities with people with intellectual disabilities and their support teams over the past eighteen years.

After completing his PhD in caregiving ethics through Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam under the supervision of Hans Reinders (2019), he authored Formed Together: Mystery, Narrative, and Virtue in Christian Caregiving (Baylor, 2021). He is the current president of the Religion & Spirituality Interest Network of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Keith lives in the woods just South of Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) with his family and stereotypically enjoys wearing flannel, making maple syrup, and playing ice hockey.

Lynne is Jack Somerville Senior Lecturer in Pastoral Theology at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Her PhD (2017, Flinders University of South Australia) explored why previously unchurched Australians become Christians today, and she continues to be curious about how God is at work in the world (and how that is perceived and experienced). Lynne’s recent research investigates churches’ responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, exploring their mission, ministry, and pastoral care practices. Overall, her research is broadly focused on human flourishing, considering how chaplains, churches and Christians can support the holistic wellbeing of careseekers, congregations and wider communities. Prior to (and in conjunction with) her academic role, Lynne has worked and volunteered in pastoral ministry, and engaged in congregational and denominational research. She is married to Steve and they have two young-adult daughters, one of whom is studying in the UK. (They’re both pretty excited about seeing each other!)

Man-Hei Yip is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.A. She holds a PhD in Theology of Mission at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary). Her appointments have included Visiting Researcher at Boston University School of Theology in connection with the Center for Global Christianity and Mission, and work for the offices of the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva, Switzerland and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She is author of Interrogating the Language of “Self” and “Other” in the History of Modern Christian Mission: Contestation, Subversion, and Re-imagination (2020). She is also a contributor to Global Lutheranism: Vitality and Challenges (2018) and Luther’s Small Catechism: An Exposition of the Christian Faith in Asian Contexts and Cultures (2019).

Dr Pavlína Kašparová is the Director of Studies at The Faraday Institute and The Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide. Her academic journey includes a PhD in Fine Art and Theology from Anglia Ruskin University and The Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, where she has been a Research Associate since 2022. Since April 2024, she has also held the position of Post-doctoral Research Associate at St. Edmund's College in Cambridge. Pavlína holds two MA degrees in Catholic Theology and Art Theory and History and a BA in Design.

Pavlína's research focuses on the intersection of art practice and theological scholarship, exploring how visual expression can enhance our understanding of complex theological concepts. As a practising artist, she pioneers innovative research methodologies that blend practice-based approaches with theological reflection, pushing the boundaries of traditional linguistic frameworks to uncover new realms of knowledge and understanding.

Through her long-term research, drawing on feminist theology, she explores the expression of religious identity through physical appearance. Her research employs photography, collages, and video to create a visual diary that conveys people's perceptions of their bodies. The artist's perspective is to investigate how women view and represent other women. She uses a practice-based research methodology to examine how individuals communicate their self-awareness and identity through visual narratives.

Peter Kline is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at St Francis College, University of Divinity. He received his PhD from Vanderbilt University as part of their Theology and Practice program, and his first book is titled Passion for Nothing: Kierkegaard’s Apophatic Theology (Fortress Press, 2017). Peter’s current research is at the intersections of psychoanalysis and religion. He is currently working on a monograph with the provisional title Infinite Seduction: Religion and the Sexual Unconscious, which seeks to offer a psychoanalytic account of religious subjectivity in conversation with Jean Laplanche. The research aims to use Laplanche’s “general theory of seduction” as a framework to explore sexuality, alterity, and trauma in the construction and deconstruction of theological meaning. The core thesis of the book is that religion (its practices and theories) variously stages and works on “the originary relation to the enigma of the other” (Laplanche). Rather than simply explain religion by way of psychoanalysis, the book will venture a theology of the unconscious that thinks God under the name “infinite seduction.”

I am a Research Fellow at the Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education in Birmingham. I have a PhD in Theology and for most of my academic career have worked as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing (ITSEE) at the University of Birmingham, working on various ancient Greek manuscripts of the Bible.

In recent years, my research interests have returned to the subject of Christian mysticism, the roots of which formed the subject of my PhD. My main research interest at present is the ambivalence within Christianity about the human body, particularly within Christian mystical theology. Employing the psychological framework of embodied cognition, I am exploring the relationship between mystical experience and the experience of the body in first-hand accounts of religious and spiritual experiences in the Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre archive.

I am also a self-employed teacher of the Alexander Technique, a body/mind discipline that encourages a contemplative or mindful attitude to everyday living. I live in Worcester, UK, with my husband and have two adult children and a granddaughter.

I’m currently an Early Career Fellow in Science and Religion at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. My graduate research focused on theological engagements with ‘embodied cognition’, a new paradigm in the cognitive sciences. I considered the way in which various hypotheses in embodied cognition posed interesting questions for theology: Are theological concepts grounded in embodied experience? How do the cognitive effects of religious rituals and liturgies contribute to the theological meaning of these embodied practices? And do we scaffold or offload parts of our cognition onto religious material culture? I proposed the principle of divine accommodation (from Christian and Jewish theology) as a theological framework for this engagement: if theological understanding is accommodated to limited human understanding, then cognitive science ought to be helpful in delineating the kinds of human cognitive profiles to which this understanding is accommodated. (If you’d like to more, I’ve published this work in Corporeal Theology (OUP, 2023) and ‘Accommodating Embodied Thinkers’ in Modern Theology). I’m currently working on spin off projects on embodiment, and am in the early stages of devising future projects on how psychology could be helpful for ecotheology, and a science-engaged theology of sleep.