illuminating theology through psychological science
a John Templeton project aimed at illuminating theological inquiry and christian ethics through training in psychological science
check out our resources
below you can find a collection of resources from the first two phases of the project that you can use for your own educational purposes
project phases
We have structured the activities across the three years of the grant to provide increasingly intensive training experiences that funnel theologians into higher levels of training based on their continued interest, prior engagement levels, and prior performance.
Phase 1
Theologians will receive intensive in-person trainings in the basic concepts and methods of collaboration in psychological science and participate in a twice monthly interdisciplinary seminar series with psychologists. Approximately 15 theologians will commit to participate in a 1-week intensive training May 2023, a twice monthly seminar series for the 2023-24 AY, and a second 1-week intensive training May 2024.
Phase 2
Theologians will apply to receive more in-depth training using a scholar-in-lab-residency model whereby they are mentored by a matched psychologist, integrated into various activities of the psychologist’s lab to provide in-depth awareness of the scientific process, and begin writing projects that integrate psychological science in theological discourse.
Phase 3
Approximately six theologian-psychological scientist teams who are competitively selected in a small grant competition will conduct a collaborative research study that addresses theological questions, some of which will subsequently be submitted for publication.
“Theologians have long been engaged in answering deep questions concerning human nature, the purposes of human life and how we ought to live, but they often do so by using an isolated set of humanities methodologies and lexicons. Strides are being made by individual theologians to incorporate the methods and insights of the psychological sciences into their work, but there is seldom opportunity for theological faculty to gain skills necessary to do this work effectively.”
Devan Stahl
Grant Co-Leader
Illuminating Theology 