Volume 27, Issue 1

The article examines whether the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has become “dark green.” It explores CBCP’s pastoral letters on environmental issues from 1988 to 2019. Using the framework outlined by Bron Taylor in Dark Green Religion: Nature, Spirituality, and the Planetary Future , I argue that there are shifts in the environmental consciousness of the Catholic Bishops, as evident in the pastoral letters. Since 1988, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has exhibited a reliable commitment to environmentalism and its prophetic mission amidst various environmental challenges.

This article addresses the problem of human supremacy in the methods of practical theology. It puts forth a practical theological method for experimentation shaped around five interpenetrating dimensions: Ecological, Anthropological, Relational, Technological, and Health/Harm/Healing (the EARTH method). The anticipated outcome of this method is the construction of practical theological projects that aim toward practices of care that continue to address concerns of the human, but always and only as the human is understood to be inextricably situated in an expansive cosmic web of entanglement.

What characterises religious meaning-making on the boundary between church and sports? Drawing on Sanne F. Akkerman and Arthur Bakker’s theory about boundary crossing, this article analyses religious meaning-making in sermons from Christian services in the context of international sports events. The article demonstrates that potential learning mechanisms at this boundary are more effective when not only seeking harmonious coordination and legitimisation but also bringing out differences and confrontation.

This paper explores embodiment as a locus for theological practices of addressing socio-economic inequality, focusing particularly on the intersections of disability and poverty. Engaging the work of Sharon Betcher and Mayra Rivera, the paper explores the relationship between spirit and flesh, and highlights the need for theologies to engage with and learn from unruly, excluded bodies. The paper constructs three poetic accounts from a collaborative project with UK activists to highlight embodied practices of navigating and resisting inequality, and the creative, sensory knowledges necessary for developing critiques of oppressive systems.

This study explores how Hong Kong theological students understand the term “integration” and how they learn it. It adopts the constructivist approach of grounded theory as its research method to interview nineteen students. Five types of “integration” are identified, each referring to a different aspect of learning in field education. The analysis illustrates the multidimensional nature of the learning experience of the students. The final section of this paper makes practical recommendations on the future pedagogical development of theological field education.

The Christian spiritual practice of John of the Cross and the trauma recovery practice of Judith Herman both employ relational theories of healing change. This is a constructive claim that aims to facilitate greater communication between religious and secular approaches to trauma. It is demonstrated through emphases on two dynamics that can increase knowledge and love of self and others, namely empowerment and a three-fold, open-ended process of transformation. Correlating John’s collected works and Herman’s classic Trauma and Recovery , this essay gathers wisdom for healing vulnerable relational selves.

In this article practical theologians from three Dutch Protestant institutions reflect on developments in the field. Their institutions started as ministry training centers and still have a strong focus on ecclesial practices. This focus has been reinforced by international trends in Practical Theology, mainly by a gradual shift towards an empirical way of working, with an emphasis on participative methods and ethnography. However, the field in the Netherlands continues to have a strong connection with church history and systematic theology. The authors discern three themes that characterize their institutes’ contribution to the international conversation on PT: the divine action within the practices, God’s promises in the context of his covenant, and a realistic view of brokenness, sin, and failure.