The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Theology and Qualitative Research

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.

Pete Ward is Professor of Practical Theology at Durham University, UK, the Norwegian School of Theology, and NLA University College in Bergen, Norway. He founded, together with Christian Scharen, the Ecclesiology and Ethnography (E&E) Network and served as Editor of of the journal Ecclesial Practices. He is the author of Participation and Mediation: A Practical Theology for the Liquid Church and the editor of Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ethnography.

Knut Tveitereid is Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Head of Ministry Training at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society in Oslo, and NLA University College in Bergen, Norway. He is closely involved with the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry and the Ecclesiology and Ethnography (E&E) Network. He is Academic Coordinator for the E&E Network's annual Durham Conference.

List of Contributors ix

About the Editors xiii

1 Introduction 1
Pete Ward and Knut Tveitereid

Part I Naming the Field 5

2 Theology and Qualitative Research: An Uneasy Relationship 7
Pete Ward

3 Qualitative Research in Theology: A Spiritual Turn? 16
Clare Watkins

4 The Craft of Theology and Qualitative Research 27
Dustin D. Benac

5 Ethnography as Critical Pedagogy: Prisons, Pedagogy, and Theological Education 38
Rachelle R. Green

6 Luring the Divine: Affect, Esthetics, and Future Directions for Ethnographic Theology’s Contribution to the Christian Traditions 49
Natalie Wigg-Stevenson

7 Practical Theology Rooted in and from Africa: The Tide Is Turning 58
Shantelle Weber

8 Lived Theology and Theology in the Lived 67
Knut Tveitereid

Part II Theology and Qualitative Research as Forms of Knowledge 79

9 Empirical Research, Theological Limits, and Possibilities 81
John Swinton

10 Fieldwork in White Theology 91
Christian Scharen

11 On the Nature of Ordering 101
Tanya Riches

12 Practicing Reflexivity: Becoming Aware of One’s Default Mode and Developing an Epistemic Advantage 111
Tone Stangeland Kaufman

13 Revelation and Normativity 121
Paul S. Fiddes

14 Empathy and Immersion as Theological Values 131
Nicola Slee

15 Representation and Intersectionality 141
Janna L. Hunter-Bowman

16 Concrete Church: Qualitative Research and Ecclesial Practices 151
Hans Schaeffer

17 Qualitative Research and Young Adult Faith 162
Ruth Perrin

Part III Theology and Qualitative Research: Continuities and Discontinuities 173

18 Christian Ethics, Experience, and Qualitative Research 175
Lap Yan Kung

19 Contextual Theology 185
Yara González-Justiniano

20 Postcolonial Theology: Naming Coloniality and the Problem of Definitions 195
Christine J. Hong

21 Ecclesiology: The Study of the Formal Church 207
Rein Brouwer

22 Ecclesiology in Ecclesial Movements such as Fresh Expressions of Church 219
Sabrina Müller

23 Digital Theology and Qualitative Research 231
Stephen Garner

24 Queer Theology 243
Ninna Edgardh

25 Political Theology and Qualitative Research 252
Luke Bretherton

26 Biblical Studies 262
Andrew P. Rogers

27 Theology, Qualitative Research, and World Christianity 273
Easten Law

Part IV The Empirical Turn in Practical Theology 285

28 Anglo-American Practical Theology 287
Christopher Craig Brittain

29 Continental Practical Theology 298
Ulla Schmidt

30 Preaching 309
Marianne Gaarden

31 Worship 319
Glenn Packiam

32 Pastoral Care 330
Mary Clark Moschella

33 Christian Education as a Community of Strangers 340
Elisabeth Tveito Johnsen

34 Church Organization 351
Helen Cameron

35 Youth Ministry and the Empirical Turn 361
P.M. (Ronelle) Sonnenberg

Part V The Practice of Theology and Qualitative Research 371

36 Fieldwork and the Person of the Theologian 373
Kirsten Donskov Felter

37 Interviews and Observation 382
Harriet Mowat

38 Analytical Strategies 393
Kirstine Helboe Johansen

39 Writing Qualitative Research and Theology: Thoughts for Beginners 403
Eileen R. Campbell-Reed

40 Visual Ethnography 415
Sarah Dunlop

41 Action Research and Theology 425
Jonas Ideström

42 Collaborative Research 435
Henk de Roest

43 Ethnography as Community Action 446
Angela Cowser

Part VI Responses and Dissent 459

44 Understanding Lived Theology: Is Qualitative Research the Best or Only Way? 461
Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore

45 Ethnography as a Tool for Genuine Surprise: Found Theologies Versus Imposed Theologies 471
Gerardo Martí

46 Receiving the Gift of Women’s Voices: The Place of Qualitative Research in Ecumenical Theology and Practice 483
Gabrielle Thomas

47 Theology and Qualitative Research: Limits and New Directions 493
Swee Sum Lam

48 Congregations in Changing Times: Challenges Facing Romanian Churches After the Fall of Communism 503
Otniel Ioan Bunaciu

49 The Presence of Christ in Qualitative Research: Four Models and an Epilogue 514
Bård Norheim

Index 525

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