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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Serie: Blackwell Companions to Religion
- Sprache: Englisch
A unique introduction to the developing field of Theology and Qualitative Research In recent years, a growing number of scholars within the field of theological research have adopted qualitative empirical methods. The use of qualitative research is shaping the nature of theology and redefining what it means to be a theologian. Hence, contemporary scholars who are undertaking empirical fieldwork across a range of theological subdisciplines require authoritative guidance and well-developed frameworks of practice and theory. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Theology and Qualitative Research outlines the challenges and possibilities for theological research that engages with qualitative methods. It reflects more than 15 years of academic research within the Ecclesiology and Ethnography Network, and features an international group of scholars committed to the empirical and theological study of the Christian church. Edited by world-renowned experts, this unprecedented volume addresses the theological debates, methodological complexities, and future directions of this emerging field. Contributions from both established and emerging scholars describe key theoretical approaches, discuss how different empirical methods are used within theology, explore the links between qualitative researchand adjacent scholarly traditions, and more. The companion: * Discusses how qualitative empirical work changes the practice of theology, enabling a disciplined attention to the lived social realities of Christian religion and what theologians do * Introduces theoretical and methodological debates in the field, as well as central epistemological and ontological questions * Presents different approaches to Theology and Qualitative research, highlighting important issues and developments in the last decades * Explores how empirical insights are shaping areas such as liturgics, homiletics, youth ministry, and Christian education * Includes perspectives from scholars working in disciplines other than theology The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Theology and Qualitative Research is essential reading for graduate students, postgraduates, PhD students, researchers, and scholars in Christian Ethics, Systematic Theology, Practical Theology, Contemporary Worship, and related disciplines such as Ecclesiology, Mission Studies, World Christianity, Pastoral Theology, Political Theology, Worship Studies, and all forms of contextual theology.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
List of Contributors
About the Editors
CHAPTER 1: Introduction
Reference
PART I: Naming the Field
CHAPTER 2: Theology and Qualitative Research
Opting for Single Rooms
The Really Awkward Question
More than Just Data
More than Just Ideas
Theology and Qualitative Research: Bedding Down Research Design
References
CHAPTER 3: Qualitative Research in Theology
Qualitative Research and the Integration of Theology: A Mixed Blessing?
A Spiritual Turn in Systematic Theology: Some Learning for Practical Theology
Theological Action Research and the Call to a Whole Theology
Qualitative Research and Practical Theology: Discerning a Spiritual Turn
Believing in the Holy Spirit: Implications for Qualitative Research Methods in Theology
References
CHAPTER 4: The Craft of Theology and Qualitative Research
Meditations from the Field
Wonder and Surprise
References
CHAPTER 5: Ethnography as Critical Pedagogy
Ethnography as Critical Pedagogy
Ethnography as Critical Pedagogy in Religious Education
Ethnography as Critical Pedagogy in a US Prison for Women
Critical Ethnographic Pedagogy as Theological Practice
References
CHAPTER 6: Luring the Divine
Affect Theory: The Quick and the Murky
Queer Time Travel
Redistributing the Theological
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 7: Practical Theology Rooted in and from Africa
Introduction
Being in and from Africa
The Tide Is Turning: Practical Theology in and from Africa
References
CHAPTER 8: Lived Theology and Theology in the Lived
Lived Theology in the Making – Toward a Set of Definitions
Meaningful Theology. Meaningful Life
Studies of Participation and Reification in Lived Theology
Wiggle Room and Discipleship Vocabulary
In Conclusion: The Future of Lived Theology Research
References
PART II: Theology and Qualitative Research as Forms of Knowledge
CHAPTER 9: Empirical Research, Theological Limits, and Possibilities
What Does Qualitative Research Enable us to See?
What Does it Mean to Know Something?
Qualitative Research as Empirical Research
The Question of Objectivity: Ludwik Fleck, Thought Styles
The Nature of Revelation
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 10: Fieldwork in White Theology
Walking in Bijlmer
1
Theology as Descriptive and Eschatological
White Theology, Sin, and Critical Intersubjectivity
Standing where God Stands
References
CHAPTER 11: On the Nature of Ordering
Introduction
Method: The Ethics of Qualitative Research
A Cautionary Word: On the Nature of Ordering
Disorientation: Stumbling on the Field
Orientation: Ordering Religious Experience
Reorientation: Acknowledging and Living with the Tensions
In Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 12: Practicing Reflexivity
Introduction
Reflexivity – An Attempt at Categorization
Dealing Responsibly with the Conundrum of Reflexivity
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 13: Revelation and Normativity
Revelation and Normativity in Ethnography: A Conundrum
Normativity in Secular and Theological Ethnography
Reconstructing Norms and the Place of Revelation
Ethnography as a Means of Revelation and the Making of Theology
References
CHAPTER 14: Empathy and Immersion as Theological Values
Introduction
Empathy and Immersion
Overview of Research into Female Faith Lives
Theological Reflection
References
CHAPTER 15: Representation and Intersectionality
Representation
Intersectionality
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 16: Concrete Church
Introduction
Problem
Counter‐Cultural Theology and Practice
Qualitative Research and Practices
Messy Practices and Normativity
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 17: Qualitative Research and Young Adult Faith
Introduction
Why Qualitative Research?
Recent Research
Qualitative Methodologies and Theological Reflection in Action
In Conclusion
References
PART III: Theology and Qualitative Research
CHAPTER 18: Christian Ethics, Experience, and Qualitative Research
Experience in Christian Ethics
Life Story and Christian Narrative Ethics
Participatory Action Research and Christian Liberation Ethics
A Turn of Christian Ethics
References
CHAPTER 19: Contextual Theology
Introduction
Currently in the Field
Who Gets to Say What Matters?
What Does it Address?
A Way of Looking at it
Short‐Term Mission Trips: A Case Study
Contextual Theology a Form of Qualitative Research
References
Further Reading
CHAPTER 20: Postcolonial Theology
Acknowledging the Function of Colonialism in Lived Experience
Postcolonial Theology and Discourse
Practical Theologians and Postcolonial Theologies
Postcolonial Theology's Commitments
Related Research and Perspectives
Qualitative Research and Postcolonial Theology
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 21: Ecclesiology
Ecclesiology Defined
Ecclesiology and Social Sciences
Ecclesiology and Ethnography Agenda
References
CHAPTER 22: Ecclesiology in Ecclesial Movements such as Fresh Expressions of Church
Introduction
Fresh Expressions of Church and Continental European Reception
Qualitative Research in Ecclesial Movements: Two Examples
Conclusion: Qualitative Research in Ecclesial Movements
References
CHAPTER 23: Digital Theology and Qualitative Research
Introduction
Engaging Digital Theology
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 24: Queer Theology
Defining Queer Technology
Queer Questions the Norm
Queer Theology and the Empirical Turn
Concluding Remarks
References
CHAPTER 25: Political Theology and Qualitative Research
Introduction
Political Theology as Field Site
Political Theology, Qualitative Research, and Normativity
A Political Theology of Witness
References
CHAPTER 26: Biblical Studies
Navigating Bible User Research
Key Contributions to Bible User Research
Congregational Hermeneutics
What Bible User Research Offers Theology
References
CHAPTER 27: Theology, Qualitative Research, and World Christianity
The History of World Christianity as Theological Praxis
World Christianity's Contribution to Integrating Theology and Social Science
On the Road Between Particularity and Universality: Multidisciplinary Tensions
Worlding Theology: Toward the Study of Lived Theology in World Christianity
References
PART IV: The Empirical Turn in Practical Theology
CHAPTER 28: Anglo‐American Practical Theology
Anglo‐American Practical Theology on Practice and “Lived Religion”
Laying the Groundwork in Anglo‐American Practical Theology
Encouragement from Contemporary Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics
Encouragement from Developments in Anglo‐American Social Science
Notable Methodological Contributions
The Ecclesiology and Ethnography Network
Theological Criticism of this Development
Theological Considerations among Anglo‐American Approaches
The Reflexive Turn
References
CHAPTER 29: Continental Practical Theology
Qualitative Research and Practical Theology as a Discipline
Empirical Turns in Continental Practical Theology: Brief Historical Overview
Status in Current Research: Qualitative Research and Practical Theology
Knowing Death: Practical‐Theological Research of Death‐Related Practices
Conclusion: How Does Qualitative Research Contribute to Practical Theology as Discipline?
References
CHAPTER 30: Preaching
A Brief Overview of the Strongest Empirical Research into the Preaching Event
A Presentation of The Third Room of Preaching
How Qualitative Research Offers a New and Important Contribution to Theology
Toward a Participatory Homiletics
References
CHAPTER 31: Worship
The Value of Qualitative Research on Worship
Qualitative Research of Congregational Worship
Theological Ethnography of Congregational Worship
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 32: Pastoral Care
Exemplary Qualitative Studies
Care for Persons Identifying as LGBTQIA+
Theology of Children and Multiculturalism
Current Author Contributions and Projects
Impact of Qualitative Research on the Field
References
CHAPTER 33: Christian Education as a Community of Strangers
Language
Materiality
Community
References
CHAPTER 34: Church Organization
Introduction
Defining Church Organization
State of the Art
Three Key Theologians
My Research
Evaluating the Contribution of Qualitative Research to Theological Reflection on Church Organization
References
CHAPTER 35: Youth Ministry and the Empirical Turn
Introduction
A Conceptual Clarification
State of the Art of Qualitative Research on Youth Ministry
How Does Empirical Youth Ministry Contribute to Theology?
The Contribution of Qualitative Research to Theology in Youth Ministry
References
PART V: The Practice of Theology and Qualitative Research
CHAPTER 36: Fieldwork and the Person of the Theologian
Introduction
Contribution of this Chapter
Previous Studies of the Person in Fieldwork
The Person of the Theologian as Vehicle for Knowing
Mind the Body!
References
CHAPTER 37: Interviews and Observation
Our Stories
The Qualitative Research Challenge
The Practice of Interviewing and Observation
The Researcher Skills Required
Analytic Skills
General Considerations
Summary
References
CHAPTER 38: Analytical Strategies
Introduction
Where Is Theology?
To Play Stranger with the Old and Familiar
Generational Differences in Wedding Theologies
Approaches to Analytical Strategies
Operationalizing Practice Theory to Study Christmas
Analysis in Theological Research
References
CHAPTER 39: Writing Qualitative Research and Theology
Introduction
Integration: Bringing Qualitative Research and Theology Together
Practice: Learning to Write for Publication
Presence: Key Moments of Writing in Research Practice
References
CHAPTER 40: Visual Ethnography
Introduction – Enlarging the Possibilities of Theology
Visual Ethnographic Research in Practical Theology – A Slow Release of Meaning
A Research Journey with Visual Ethnographic Methods
Contributions of Visual Ethnography to Practical Theology
Conclusions
References
CHAPTER 41: Action Research and Theology
What Is Action Research?
Theology and Action Research
Theological Action Research
Action Research and Theology (ART)
Liberation Theology and Participatory Action Research
References
CHAPTER 42: Collaborative Research
Introduction
Background, Distinguishing Characteristics, and Rationales
Strong Research in the Field: From Action Research to Research Circles and Professional Research Communities
Some Caveats around Collaborative Research
Prospects for the Use of Collaborative Research in Theology
References
CHAPTER 43: Ethnography as Community Action
Part 1A: An Overview of the Strongest Research in Ethnography as Community Action
Part 1B: A Summary of the Four Major PAR‐Using Community Organizing Networks in the US
Part 1C: A Select Summary of Successful Issue Campaigns
Part 1D: An Outline of a Community Organizing Campaign
Part 2: My Own Related Research Projects and Research Perspectives
Part 3: An Elaboration and Reflection on How Ethnography as Community Action Offers a New, Original, and Important Contribution to Theology in this Area
References
PART VI: Responses and Dissent
CHAPTER 44: Understanding Lived Theology
Where Is Theology Located? A Material Turn
1
What Is the Place and Nature of Empirical Study?
What Are Benefits and Limitations of Empirical Research?
References
CHAPTER 45: Ethnography as a Tool for Genuine Surprise
Faith and Empirical Observation
Imposing Theologies on Observed Behavior
Finding Theologies in Context
Ethics and the Analysis of Power
References
CHAPTER 46: Receiving the Gift of Women's Voices
Receptive Ecumenism
Adapting Receptive Ecumenism to Explore Women's Experiences of Working in Churches in England
Learning from Women's Voices
Concluding Thoughts
References
CHAPTER 47: Theology and Qualitative Research
Understanding Theology and Qualitative Research: Limits
Understanding Theology and Qualitative Research: New Directions
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 48: Congregations in Changing Times
Introduction
The Context
Two Explorations
Theological Reflections and Recommendations
Remaining Questions
References
CHAPTER 49: The Presence of Christ in Qualitative Research
Introduction
Four Models
Conclusion
Epilogue
References
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 22
Table 22.1 Overview of criteria for each project.
Chapter 43
Table 43.1 New and revised methods of data collection by discipline.
List of Illustrations
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 Research overview.
Figure 4.2 Sample network visualization.
Chapter 9
Figure 9.1 The dynamics of knowing.
Figure 9.2 The dynamics of theological knowing.
Chapter 23
Figure 23.1 Photo 3:
Te Ahurewa Tapu, Meri Tapu, Tikitiki
(used with permiss...
Chapter 37
Figure 37.1 Observation and interviews: Investigating a “situation.”
Guide
Cover Page
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
List of Contributors
About the Editors
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Index
Wiley End User License Agreement
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Names: Ward, Pete, 1959‐ editor. | Tveitereid, Knut, editor.Title: The Wiley Blackwell companion to theology and qualitative research / edited by Pete Ward, Knut Tveitereid.Description: Hoboken, NJ : Wiley‐Blackwell, 2022. | Series: Wiley Blackwell companions to religion | Includes bibliographical references and index.Identifiers: LCCN 2022012518 (print) | LCCN 2022012519 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119756897 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119756910 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119756934 (epub) | ISBN 9781119756927 (obook)Subjects: LCSH: Theology–Research. | Qualitative research.Classification: LCC BR118 .W55 2022 (print) | LCC BR118 (ebook) | DDC 230.0072–dc23/eng/20220511LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022012518LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022012519
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List of Contributors
Dustin D. Benac. Visiting Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Co‐Director of the Program for the Future Church at Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, US.
Luke Bretherton. Robert E. Cushman Distinguished Professor of Moral and Political Theology at Duke Divinity School, US.
Christopher Craig Brittain. Dean of Divinity and the Margaret E. Fleck Chair in Anglican Studies at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, Canada.
Rein Brouwer. Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Protestant Theological University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Otniel Ioan Bunaciu. Professor at University of Bucharest, Romania.
Helen Cameron. Research Fellow in Baptist Studies at Regent's Park College, Oxford, UK.
Eileen R. Campbell‐Reed. Visiting Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care at Union Theological Seminary, New York, US.
Angela Cowser. Associate Dean of Black Church Studies and Doctor of Ministry Programs and Associate Professor of Black Church Studies at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, US.
Sarah Dunlop. Lecturer in Practical Theology at Ridley Hall, University of Cambridge, UK.
Ninna Edgardh. Professor in Ecclesiology at Uppsala University, Sweden.
Kirsten Donskov Felter. Senior Researcher / Associate Professor of Theological Issues at Centre for Pastoral Education and Research, Evangelical‐Lutheran Church of Denmark.
Paul S. Fiddes. Professor of Systematic Theology at University of Oxford, UK.
Marianne Gaarden. Bishop in the diocese of Lolland‐Falster, Church of Denmark.
Stephen Garner. Academic Dean and Senior Lecturer in Theology at Laidlaw College, Auckland, New Zealand and Senior Research Fellow at the Australian College of Theology, Sydney, Australia.
Yara González‐Justiniano. Assistant Professor of Religion, Psychology, and Culture at Vanderbilt University, US.
Rachelle R. Green. Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Education at Fordham University's Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, US.
Christine J. Hong. Associate Professor of Educational Ministry at Columbia Theological Seminary, US.
Janna L. Hunter‐Bowman. Associate Professor of Peace Studies and Christian Social Ethics at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, US.
Jonas Ideström. Professor of Practical Theology at Stockholm School of Theology, Sweden.
Kirstine Helboe Johansen. Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Aarhus University, Denmark.
Elisabeth Tveito Johnsen. Associate Professor of Practical Theology at University of Oslo, Norway.
Tone Stangeland Kaufman. Professor of Practical Theology at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Norway.
Lap Yan Kung. Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Swee Sum Lam. Senior Fellow at the National University of Singapore Business School, and Director at the Asian Pastoral Institute, Singapore.
Easten Law. Assistant Director for Academic Programs, Overseas Ministries Study Center at Princeton Theological Seminary, US.
Gerardo Martí. William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology at Davidson College, US.
Bonnie J. Miller‐McLemore. E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Religion, Psychology, and Culture, Emerita, at Vanderbilt University, US.
Mary Clark Moschella. Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care at Yale Divinity School, US.
Harriet Mowat. An author in Practical Theology and Tutor at St John’s College, Durham University, UK.
Sabrina Müller. Managing Director of the University Research Priority Program “Digital Religion(s)”, Co‐Director Center for Church Development and Senior Lecturer in Practical Theology at University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Bård Norheim. Professor of Theology at NLA University College, Norway.
Glenn Packiam. Associate Senior Pastor, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, and Visiting Fellow at St. John’s College, Durham University, UK.
Ruth Perrin. Research Fellow at St John’s College, University of Durham, UK.
Tanya Riches. Senior Lecturer of Theology, Religion and Culture at Hillsong College, Australia.
Henk de Roest. Professor of Practical Theology at Protestant Theological University, The Netherlands.
Andrew P. Rogers. Principal Lecturer in Practical Theology at the University of Roehampton, UK.
Hans Schaeffer. Professor of Practical Theology at Kampen Theological University, The Netherlands.
Christian Scharen. Pastor at St. Lydia's Dinner Church, NY, US.
Ulla Schmidt. Professor WSR of Practical Theology at Aarhus University, Denmark.
Nicola Slee. Professor of Feminist Practical Theology at The Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and the Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education, UK.
P.M (Ronelle) Sonnenberg. Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at the Protestant Theological University, The Netherlands.
John Swinton. Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral Care at University of Aberdeen, UK.
Gabrielle Thomas. Assistant Professor of Early Christianity and Anglican Studies at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, US.
Knut Tveitereid. Associate Professor of Practical Theology at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Norway.
Pete Ward. Professor of Practical Theology at Durham University, UK and NLA University College, Norway.
Clare Watkins. Reader in Ecclesiology and Practical Theology at University of Roehampton, UK.
Shantelle Weber. Associate Professor in Practical Theology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Natalie Wigg‐Stevenson. Associate Professor of Contextual Education and Theology at Emmanuel College of Victoria University and Toronto School of Theology, Canada.
About the Editors
Pete Ward is Professor of Practical Theology at Durham University, UK and NLA University College in Bergen, Norway. He is one of the network co‐ordinators of the Ecclesiology and Ethnography Network (E&E) and served as Editor of the journal Ecclesial Practices. He is the author of Liquid Ecclesiology: The Gospel and the Church and Celebrity Worship.
Knut Tveitereid is Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Head of Ministry Training at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society in Oslo, Norway. He is closely involved in the Ecclesiology and Ethnography Network (E&E) and serves as Academic Coordinator for the E&E Network’s annual Durham Conference.
CHAPTER 1Introduction
Pete Ward and Knut Tveitereid
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Theology and Qualitative Research has its origins in the conversations that have taken place within the Ecclesiology and Ethnography Network. The network started in 2007 with a conference exploring how theologians might work more closely with what was at the time loosely called “ethnography.” These debates have continued at the American Academy of Religion in the Ecclesial Practices group and through the journal Ecclesial Practices published by Brill.
Our interest in this area was, in part, spawned by George Lindbeck's proposal in The Nature of Doctrine (1984) that ethnography should have a significant role to play in theological method. Qualitative research had for some time been used within practical theology and fields such as liturgical studies and Christian education. Here the convention had been that social science formed a moment in the examination of practice. The researcher was expected to step into a new discipline to complete a certain kind of analysis through empirical methods, and then they were to move to the theological discipline to reflect on the social scientific data that had been gathered. What has generally been termed the “correlational approach” became institutionalized within theological education through the pastoral cycle. Something akin to correlation is inherent in Lindbeck's thinking, but for many of us the interesting questions and challenges emerged when we began to use qualitative methods as theologians without assuming that, in order to do this, we had to switch disciplinary identities. In other words, reaching beyond correlation and the assumption that specific methods, such as interviews or participant observation or focus groups, necessarily meant juggling different disciplinary hats, to a place where theological questions and concerns would remain the focus of research throughout.
In the last 20 years, there has been a steady rise in the number of doctoral students and academics who have taken up the challenge of working as theologians with qualitative methods of inquiry. This upsurge in interest has been driven by the sense that theology needs to be deeply rooted in contexts. Qualitative research has become a way to pay close attention to communities and individuals who have previously been excluded or silenced in theological work. Alongside this, there has been a deep desire to do research that makes a difference in the Church and wider society. Qualitative research offers the promise of a robust and disciplined means of paying attention that can shape theological engagement. The sense is that theological proposals for the life of the Church and for society, in order to be useful and credible, need to be formulated in and through a deep engagement with communities. In the process of generating new insights and perspectives, it has become clear that what is meant by theology and, indeed, what it means to be a theologian has undergone significant revision. This volume is born of an excitement around these developments.
In the chapters that follow, different researchers set out their journey in this fast‐emerging field of study. It is worth saying at the outset that while many of us have been involved in the Ecclesiology and Ethnography Network, it would be wrong to assume that suggests a unified approach or viewpoint. We come with different theological commitments and disciplinary locations. We also represent a variety of approaches to and uses of qualitative methods. What the chapters in this book represent is a convergence around the epistemological and methodological issues that arise in the intersection between theology and qualitative research.
The conversation has led us to at least three realizations thus far: First, when theology and qualitative research are brought together, theology is shaped by it. Qualitative research offers theology access to voices from below in a systematic manner. New forms of theology are given a voice, albeit these voices are not new in the sense that they are produced by the research – they are there already – but brought to attention and given status through qualitative methods. These voices often bring critique, nuance, messiness, expansion, creativity, and revelation to the table of theology. An apparent aim for this book is to underline these kinds of contributions.
Second, when theology and qualitative methods are brought together, qualitative research is shaped by it. Theology, at its best, makes people see. Theology offers language, concepts, and models for the researcher to see what is in the empirical field. Theology, then, can give the researcher – and thereby the reader – a richer and truer image of what is already at play. Over time, some qualitative approaches methods have proven particularly helpful. Other approaches have been developed further to better fit with studying theology in practice, to which this book accounts.
Third, when theology and qualitative methods are brought together, new problems arise. The relationship between the two is not an obvious one, nor is it frictionless. Traditionally theology is, in Kantian terms, situated within the “world of ideas,” whereas qualitative methods aim at describing the “world of experiences.” In theory, the two are incommensurable. In practice, however, an increasing number of researchers insist on the relationship and find it fruitful. We have tried not to let the newly won enthusiasm overshadow the proper problems that are present. Several limitations, reservations, and dilemmas are identified and discussed throughout the book.
The book is divided into parts. Part I “Naming the Field” depicts how theology and qualitative research represents different things to different people, depending on the angle of approach and the perspectives they bring to the conversation. In this first part, we have invited central scholars to describe the field from their perspective, identify what is at stake, and name this emerging research interest. Driving questions are: What is the contribution of qualitative research to the field of theology? How is the field of theology and qualitative research perceived from various perspectives? How does theology and qualitative research change what it means to be a theologian?
Part II “Theology and Qualitative Research as Forms of Knowledge” aims to qualify theology and qualitative research epistemologically. Whenever a theologian adopts qualitative research methods, fundamental questions could and should be raised: How is qualitative research theological, and how do we know that? What is theology, and where is it found? What is its revelatory status and its normativity?
Part III “Theology and Qualitative Research: Continuities and Discontinuities” highlights how theology and qualitative research relies on several theological traditions in critical dialogue. This part positions theology and qualitative research by describing continuities and discontinuities in selected theological traditions. The central question in this is: What is the theological contribution of qualitative research beyond practical theology?
Part IV “The Empirical Turn in Practical Theology” describes how qualitative research has become the modus operandi of practical theological research, thereby changing the discipline from within. Even practical theology's clerical subdisciplines are broadened and reshaped by empirical insights. Core questions are: How is theology and qualitative research shaping practical theology? How can theology and qualitative research contribute to the understanding of Church ministry, including education for ministry?
Part V “The Practice Theology and Qualitative Research” critically explores what happens to the craft of qualitative research when used by theologians. The chapters are not an exhaustive review of all methods or phases of research but seek to highlight some of the more common approaches to qualitative research in theology and its implications: Is there something distinctly unique in how a theologian is doing qualitative research? What methods have, in particular, proven valuable within theology?
In the final part, “Responses and Dissent,” we let voices from the outside be heard. Selected scholars – familiar to, but not necessarily acquainted with Ecclesiology and Ethnography –describe and assess theology and qualitative research from their perspective. Central questions are: What are the blind spots of theology and qualitative research? Which areas should future scholarship pay better attention to? How is the contribution of theology and qualitative research viewed outside the western world?
A standing joke compares a theologian to a blind person who enters a dark room searching for a black cat that is not there – and finds it. Admittedly, theologians have blind spots, but this book argues that theologians equipped with qualitative ways of seeing have better vision than those without. The question of whether or not the cat – in the sense of God – is there will always be a question of faith, not scientific observation. Nevertheless, this book argues, alongside the rest of the theological field, that theology, indeed, is present in most rooms, in and out of Church. The cat – understood as words, interpretations, practices, and experiences about God – is there to be observed. In fact, more often than not, there is more than one theology present. Theology and qualitative research represent this diversity, complexity, and richness, which corresponds well to theologies in the lived.
Reference
Lindbeck, G. (1984).
The Nature of Doctrine: Religion and Theology in a Postliberal Age
. London: SPCK.
PART INaming the Field
As the interest in theology and qualitative research has grown, academics have journeyed with its possibilities in different ways. The effect has been not simply the challenge and opportunity of a new research method but also a sense of excitement around the new insights and perspectives that qualitative research brings to the task of doing theology. In this first part, we have invited people to write about their experience and the various ways they have found qualitative research to be a fruitful and challenging approach to doing theology.
2 Theology and Qualitative Research: An Uneasy Relationship
Pete Ward
3 Qualitative Research in Theology: A Spiritual Turn?
Clare Watkins
4 The Craft of Theology and Qualitative Research
Dustin D. Benac
5 Ethnography as Critical Pedagogy: Prisons, Pedagogy, and Theological Education
Rachelle R. Green
6 Luring the Divine: Affect, Esthetics, and Future Directions for Ethnographic Theology's Contribution to the Christian Traditions
Natalie Wigg‐Stevenson
7 Practical Theology Rooted in and from Africa: The Tide is Turning
Shantelle Weber
8 Lived Theology and Theology in the Lived
Knut Tveitereid
CHAPTER 2Theology and Qualitative Research: An Uneasy Relationship
Pete Ward
There is a joke that I think neatly encapsulates our conversations around theology and qualitative research. It is loosely based on Isaiah 11:6, but somehow the biblical vision of peace and harmony is given a world‐weary twist, “And the lion shall lie down with the lamb, but the lamb won't get much sleep.” The joke of course relies on the power imbalance between the lion and the lamb, and it is precisely this issue that lies at the heart of the academic consideration of the relationship between theology and qualitative research, although which might be considered as being the lamb and which the lion might vary. Both carry in them an epistemological force. Qualitative research implies notions of empirical evidence and observation; theology, on the other hand, has tended to align itself with notions of revelation and rationality. These epistemological concerns are shaped by disciplinary norms and conventions that have until quite recently served to structure the relationship between theology and qualitative research in ways that mean they generally regard themselves as distinct. Keeping things separate has been orientated in different ways depending on disciplinary identity but, put simply, theologians and social scientists have established conventions that, although differently configured, serve as a way to ensure that theology and qualitative research do not have to lie down together.
Opting for Single Rooms
The standard approach to this issue in theology has been to utilize ideas of correlation (Tracy 1975). Basic to this approach is the conviction that while theology should draw upon forms of knowledge generated by qualitative methods, the conversation is structured around distinct moments (Browning 1991). The forms of knowledge that come from empirical work are then to be correlated with forms of knowledge that are seen as theological. It is fundamental to this approach that qualitative research methods are seen as being part of a distinct discipline, namely social science, and that theology is in its essence something distinct. Correlation was institutionalized in practical theology through various versions of the pastoral cycle where students were taught to negotiate a path from practice to theory via stages that start with analysis drawn from the social sciences followed by biblical and doctrinal reflection (Thompson 2008). Correlation in a sense solved the problem by keeping theology and qualitative research in separate rooms. While a conversation takes place, fundamentally each is allowed its own space to be its own person (Pattison 2007). Here notions of respect and hearing the other are key, but for many in the theological world there has been a distinct concern to maintain strict boundaries. Theology, it is argued, is a discipline set apart and it alone is able to speak about God (Milbank 1990). Social science might have a place, but it also needs to know its place.
These kinds of attitudes are not found only among theologians, social science has also been concerned to draw lines in ways that establish clear disciplinary boundaries. Here theology is acceptable as long as it is seen as being data, so a consideration of the beliefs, myths, rituals, and practices of a particular group or community often forms a part of the study of religion (Marti 2016). Theology might be discussed, but it features because it is part of the fieldwork context. Theology is important to the participants and the context and as such it is rightfully a part of a study. Theology as data is acceptable, but theology as an external theoretical framework or critical form of analysis is not. This means that when it comes to theoretical considerations, analysis, and most significantly any attempt to draw implications and conclusions, theological voices from outside the data set are not normally seen as playing a role.
Opting for single rooms makes a great deal of sense. It solves the uncomfortable task of finding a way to get along. It keeps things simple, and it fulfills the requirements of academic convention. It is worth being straightforward about precisely what lies at the heart of the problem. The word “theology” is basically a polite way to introduce God into the conversation. The real issue is not how disciplines work or what methods are required; the fundamental point of contention is God. Social scientists for the most part don't do God. Theologians, on the other hand, think they are uniquely placed to talk about God. This is what makes the relationship awkward. Getting to grips with what exactly is going on, however, requires some fancy academic footwork or at least the odd nimble dance move. The first move relates to qualitative research itself.
The convention has been to regard qualitative research as social science. This means that the theologian does not simply immediately adopt new methods of inquiry, but also tends to internalize some sense that they are moving outside their discipline. This is a form of correlation that is carried inside a disciplinary identity. The first nimble dance step, then, is to begin to see the methods associated with qualitative research as something distinct from any disciplinary location within the social sciences. This should not mean setting on one side all the wisdom gained, for instance in ethnographic research within anthropology, or the methodological discussions around participation and fieldwork within sociology. Theologians should be open to learning and theory from a range of sources. The key issue that is at stake here is the simple move that says the methods that make up qualitative research are not inevitably or essentially located within one disciplinary context. Removing this assumption means that is perfectly possible for a theologian to make use of qualitative research methods in much the same way as geographers, educationalists, criminologists and ethnomusicologists routinely do. The point here is that the methods used in qualitative research do not of themselves predetermine any disciplinary location. The historic reluctance on the part of theologians to embrace qualitative research is slightly curious given the ease with which forms of literary criticism or philosophy or history are incorporated in a range of theological projects. On a practical level it is important to note that fieldwork takes a significant investment not simply in terms of the time it takes, but also in the engagement and apprentice‐based learning of the craft that is required to do it well. For a theologian who has already been expected to master philosophy, languages, biblical studies, and the history of doctrine this can feel daunting. That said it is not really the demands of fieldwork that stand in the way of theology and qualitative research finding a way to coexist; basically it boils down to the question of God and negotiating the God question requires more nimble footwork.
The Really Awkward Question
I was first drawn to qualitative research as a result of my work among young people (Ward 2008). A few years working as a youth minister convinced me that the issues that I was facing were in some sense cultural as much as they were spiritual or theological (Ward 1997). Moving into qualitative research has been a logical outworking of this realization. There were, however, significant theological concerns at play for me. Questions of culture also led toward contextual theology. Here the central concern rotated around what exactly was meant by theology and who should be considered as a theologian. Assumptions then around what was meant when we used the word “theology” became problematized (Bevans 1992). Qualitative research was a vantage point, or a means to explore the dynamics of contextualization. If theology was to be seen as positioned in social and cultural locations, then the obvious way to address this insight is to adopt a form of social inquiry that paid close attention to these dynamics. Qualitative research was an ideal method to explore this kind of contextual theology but in truth it has been a road less traveled, with contextual theologians often choosing to work with philosophy or critical theory rather than fieldwork. What qualitative research brings to contextual theology is a disciplined and structured approach to hearing the voices of individuals and communities who have often been overlooked, which has been one of the most closely held values of contextual theology from its outset.
When theologians engage deeply in fieldwork awkwardness is ever present. Qualitative research disrupts settled positions and assumptions (Swinton and Mowat 2006). Within some theological circles it has been assumed that there is a distinction between first and second order forms of theology (Lindbeck 1984). First order theology is found in the everyday life of the Christian community, and it is intimately related to scripture and shaped by liturgical life and the sacraments. Second order theology is, by contrast conducted by academic theologians who engage in critical conversation, primarily with each other, but also in relation to first order theology. In practice the first order theology is often unexamined or introduced as anecdote. Qualitative research serves to complicate this distinction. Through close and disciplined attention to the theological expression of the Christian community a distinctive and authentic voice, or to be more accurate voices, can emerge (Cameron et al. 2010). The assumption that it is for second order theological work to generate rules and norms becomes less credible as the designated role and purpose of the theologian is problematized by the realization that critical reflection and issues of normativity are also located within communities as much as they might be in professional theologians. The theologian who engages in qualitative research therefore almost inevitably finds themselves acting as an arbiter between theological voices generated through fieldwork and those external theological sources that form the substance of academic debate and reference. Doing qualitative research as a theologian is also in itself a theological task.
Qualitative research makes the questions “what is theology?” and “how is it done?” much more complicated. The slippery 3D game of chess that develops around theology and qualitative research, however, becomes much more serious when the idea of God is introduced. The word “theology” in a sense brings a polite edge to the debates. It hides the real sticking point with the pretense that what is being discussed is something to do with academic disciplines when, to be frank, it is not and it never was. The really awkward truth is that theology and qualitative research are uneasy bedfellows because of conflicting approaches to God. This is laid bare if we ask: Is it possible to learn anything about God using qualitative empirical methods? Pressing such a question reveals the parting of the ways. It seems a crude and an inappropriate question to introduce. Some theologians might object to the suggestion that God might be “seen” in qualitative data because this appears to bypass notions of revelation (Webster 2012). Others, however, might have chosen to adopt qualitative methods precisely because they believe that in the depth of human experience, and in particular among the marginal and those who suffer, the divine is uniquely to be found. The turn toward new sources of theology is often motivated by the sense that the canon of doctrinal theology has been dominated by white male authors and that tradition has served to exclude the voices of women and the marginalized. Qualitative research becomes then a method that opens up new directions in theological study while at the same time disrupting previous positions. While this is a liberationist journey driven by critical theory what makes it theological is what this process says of God, i.e. that God is present and revealed in and through the experiences of particular groups and individuals. Once again, the awkwardness around theology and qualitative research is linked to the God question. When theology is seen as a reference to an academic discipline, or a cultural expression of belief, things are complex, but this complexity is not really insurmountable. It is the claim that something that is called theology is basically about God that rests at the heart of the uneasy relationship.
More than Just Data
The claim that qualitative research can be a means to generate knowledge of God is uncomfortable. One reason for this lies in the word “empirical.” The assumption in qualitative methods is that it is possible through interviews and participant observation and other forms of data gathering to observe something; of course, at the heart of all of this there is the one doing the observing: the researcher. It is the researcher who interprets and chooses and edits material. Qualitative research is by its nature subjective rather than objective. It is perhaps closer to being an art than a science. It uncovers meaning rather than measuring numerical trends. Having said all of this, the claim that using these means it is possible to say something about God feels on the face of it to be wrong. God, it is argued, can't be seen or observed or recorded and transcribed. It is then much more comfortable to say that what can be recorded are the beliefs and experiences of communities and individuals. According to this view we can speak with confidence about God as an agent in the lives of the Church we are studying when expressing the views of this community or the individual we are interviewing as long as this view is that of the interviewee. What we cannot do is come to a judgment that this experience and these beliefs are actually knowledge of God. This approach then denies theology a normative role in relations to questions of the divine. Such an approach in effect returns to the notion that theology is really only data and we retreat to our separate rooms for the night.
Interestingly, where those who have drawn deeply from the social sciences are reluctant to consider the God question, except as a part of the data, many theologians have no such problems. Theologians of all kinds appear to have few or no worries about saying things about God, often with remarkable certainty; in fact, debating normative claims about the action and being of God are the bread and butter of the discipline. The move toward qualitative research presses on the theologian's happy acceptance of speech about God and asks: “Is it possible that we can see God in the lived experience of communities and individuals?” At its heart this is what is at stake in the debate around theology and qualitative research. The awkwardness that is felt by many theologians in this question needs to be understood through the turf wars of modern theological debate. Put simply, the theological world is marked by the trenches and bunkers that have been made by the conflict between liberal and conservative forms of theology (Ford 2005). Liberal theology tended to see human experience as a site for theological knowledge. Conservative theology has tended to prioritize doctrine and propositional truth. Correlation was in essence an attempt to mediate between these two positions to find a middle way (Lindbeck 1984). The proposal that qualitative research might generate knowledge of God is all too easily read through this turf war. On the one hand, there are those who still cling to a liberal position, embracing qualitative research as the means to press further with their preferred approach. For others, qualitative research as a form of theology is seen as being anathema or only acceptable if contained by a clearly defined correlational demarcation.
The contemporary move toward qualitative research among theologians is an attempt to break out of the trenches of previous positions (Healy 2000). Correlation and liberal theology have been replaced by a desire among some to see previous distinctions collapse into one another or, if we like, lie down with one another. The God question has been central to these developments. For those who seek to prioritize voices that have been largely ignored, qualitative research takes on a salvific purpose. Adopting the method of research is, then, itself a theological position that brings about transformation. At its heart this collapses the binary positions generated by correlation, and qualitative research moves from a method to a means of realizing a theological goal. This move arises from commitments around who God is and how God might be apprehended and, above all, what it means to encounter this God. This further complicates what we mean by the word “theology” as it becomes intertwined with the method as a result of the intentions of the researcher. At the same time this method generates data that itself can speak in new ways of God and the world from the perspective of those who previously had not been heard. Qualitative research thus generates a further layer to what it means to say the word “theology.”
Parts of the contemporary theological scene in the UK and in the US has been characterized by a return to scripture and doctrine as an organizing lens (Ford 2005). In particular there has been a renewed interest in Trinitarian and Christological thought as a framework for structuring debates around the Church, wider society, politics, and ethics. Perhaps surprisingly, qualitative research has been adopted by a number of prominent theologians as a partner to this kind of theological discussion (Healy 2000; Bretherton 2014; Watkins 2021). Here the justification for such a move also relates directly to God, for while the source of doctrinally informed theology is rooted in scripture and revelation, these sources point toward divine agency in the Church and in wider society. Theologians who turn to qualitative research, then, are taking seriously the doctrinally based theological claims that, for instance, God might be present and active in the worship, teaching, and fellowship of a local Church, or indeed that God might be active in creation, or in the beauty of human cultural creativity. Qualitative research then becomes a means to discern divine agency and to explore the gritty reality of the movement of the Spirit in the Church and in the world (Watkins 2021). There is a mischievousness to these kinds of projects, not simply because they collapse correlation, but because they take the claims of doctrinally constructed theology at their word.
More than Just Ideas
The uneasy relationship between theology and qualitative research is further complicated by the way in which fieldwork reconfigures and disrupts what is meant by the term “theology” (Swinton and Mowat 2006
