journal: International Journal of Practical Theology

Impact Factor: 0.7

Published since January 1, 1997

International Journal of Practical Theology

ISSN: 1612-9768

Edited by: Júlio Cézar Adam, Jaco Dreyer, Solange Lefebvre, Swee Hong Lim, Vhumani Magezi, Bonnie Miller-McLemore, Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore, Richard Osmer, Friedrich Schweitzer, Terry A. Veling, Claire Wolfteich

In cooperation with: Nadine Bowers Du Toit, Nancy Ramsay, Kristin Merle

Managing Editors: Pamela Couture, Bernd Schröder

About this journal

The International Journal of Practical Theology is an academic journal. It is intended for practical theologians and teachers of religious education, scientists specializing in religion, and representatives of other cultural-scientific disciplines. The aim of the journal is to promote an international and interdisciplinary dialogue.

The journal contains contributions on an empirically descriptive and critically constructive theory of ecclesiastical and religious practice in society. Primarily, it deals with descriptions of religion as it is practised. Religion in this context can be understood in the broad sense of the word according to which all appreciative tendencies towards an ultimate view of oneself and of the world can be described as being religious. Thus the many different forms of religion as they are lived today are applied in a critically constructive manner to the normative self-image of churches, ecclesiastical groups and denominations. As contributions towards practical theology, they ultimately pursue the structure of practically orientated theories of ecclesiastical and ecclesiastically conveyed religious practice.

The spectrum of themes is divided into five groups. First, the articles deal with the global and regional different changes in religious practice in relation to the processes of socio-cultural modernization processes (individualization and pluralization). Second, they study the development of new forms of public religion (civil religion). Third, they analyse the life history of the formation and transformation of religion (religious development). Fourth, they examine the intercultural and interreligious dimensions of religion on an individual, social and ecclesiastical level (interreligious dialogue, syncretism). Fifth, they attempt to give a critical and constructive interpretation of the ecclesiastical fields of action (church service and sermon, religious instruction, pastoral care and spiritual guidance, organization and management).

In addition to essays, the International Journal of Practical Theology also offers research reports which provide information on the current state of affairs of interdisciplinary and international research of religion as far as this is relevant from a practical and theological point of view. Furthermore, the journal also contains situation reports which reveal the state of discussion of practical theology in various countries, regions and confessions. Finally, it also includes a review section which gives information on important new publications in the field of practical theology.

The International Journal of Practical Theology is neither the organ of a specific theological school nor of a particular ecclesiastical organization. The journal does not aim to present biased opinions of theological schools or confessional organizations but rather place in the foreground of discussion the differences between ecclesiastical and ecclesiastically conveyed practice of religion, the documentation and discussion of its development within its regional context, its international interweavement and different normative orientations. – The contributions are in English or German. A summary (abstract) is given in the other language respectively to give the reader a general idea of the article.

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Supplementary Materials

Topics

Volume 27 Issue 1

July 2023

Frontmatter

Publicly Available June 2, 2023

Frontmatter

Page range: I-IV

Download PDF

Research Articles

Open Access June 2, 2023

Vorwort

Bernd Schröder

Page range: 1-3

Download PDF

Open Access June 2, 2023

Wilhelm Gräb (1948–2023)

An Obituary

Birgit Weyel

Page range: 4-6

Download PDF

June 2, 2023

Is the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines Turning Dark Green? Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ Environmentalism from Anti-Mining to Climate Crisis Response

Jeane C. Peracullo

Page range: 7-22

Abstract

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.

June 2, 2023

Decentering the Human in Practical Theologies of Care: An EARTH Method

Cody J. Sanders

Page range: 23-45

Abstract

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.

June 2, 2023

Meaning-Making Mechanisms on the Boundary between Religion and Sports

An Analysis of Christian Sermons in the Context of Sports Events

Kristin Graff-Kallevåg, Sturla Johan Stålsett

Page range: 46-61

Abstract

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.

Open Access June 2, 2023

My Body is Where I Exist: Poverty, Disability, and Embodied Resistance as a Theology of Practice

Wren Radford

Page range: 62-79

More Download PDF

Abstract

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.

June 2, 2023

The Learning of “Integration” in Theological Field Education: A Grounded Theory Study in the Experience of Hong Kong Theological Students

Yuk Ping Pun

Page range: 80-98

Abstract

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.

June 2, 2023

Empowerment and Transformation: Correlating John of the Cross and Judith Herman for Trauma Healing

Heather M. DuBois

Page range: 99-113

Abstract

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.

Research Report

Open Access June 2, 2023

For the Sake of the Church

A Protestant-Reformed Practical Theological Perspective from the Netherlands

Hans Schaeffer, Bram de Muynck, Theo Pleizier, Maarten Kater

Page range: 114-135

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Abstract

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.

Book Reviews

Open Access June 2, 2023

Kirstine Helboe Johansen and Ulla Schmidt (eds.), Practice, Practice Theory and Theology. Scandinavian and German Perspectives, Practical Theology in the Discourse of the Humanities, Vol. 28, Berlin/Boston (DeGruyter) 2022, 286 pp., ISBN 9783110743760, €99.95

Manuel Stetter

Page range: 136-137

Download PDF

June 2, 2023

Darren J. Dias, Jaroslav Z. Skira, Michael S. Attridge, Gerard Mannion (eds.), The Church, Migration, and Global (In)Difference, Cham, Switzerland (Palgrave Macmillan) 2021, 419pp., ISBN 978-3-030-54225-2, $132.82

Daniel S. Schipani

Page range: 138-140

June 2, 2023

Hans-Ulrich Probst, Fußball als Religion? Eine lebensweltanalytische Ethnographie, Bielefeld (transcript) 2022, 343 pp., ISBN 9783837661101, €48.00

Henk de Roest

Page range: 141-143

June 2, 2023

Wendy Cadge and Shelly Rambo (eds.), Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-first Century: An Introduction (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press), 2022, 320pp., ISBN 978-1-4696-6760-7, $24.95.

Nancy J. Ramsay

Page range: 144-146

Ahead of Print / Just Accepted

Ahead of Print / Just Accepted

Volume 27 (2023)

Issue 1

Volume 26 (2022)

Volume 25 (2021)

Volume 24 (2020)

Volume 23 (2019)

Volume 22 (2018)

Volume 21 (2017)

Volume 20 (2016)

Volume 19 (2015)

Volume 18 (2014)

Volume 17 (2013)

Volume 16 (2013)

Volume 15 (2011)

Volume 14 (2011)

Volume 13 (2010)

Volume 12 (2008)

Volume 11 (2007)

Volume 10 (2007)

Volume 9 (2005)

Volume 8 (2004)

Volume 7 (2003)

Volume 6 (2002)

Volume 5 (2001)

Volume 4 (2000)

Volume 3 (1999)

Volume 2 (1998)

Volume 1 (1997)

Journal Impact Factor	0.7	2022, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2023)
5-year Journal Impact Factor	0.3	2022, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2023)
Journal Citation Indicator	0.99	2022, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2023)
CiteScore	0.7	2022, Scopus (Elsevier B.V., 2023)
SCImago Journal Rank	0.190	2022, SJR (Scimago Lab, 2023; Data Source: Scopus)
Source Normalized Impact per Paper	0.697	2022, CWTS Journal Indicators (CWTS B.V., 2023; Data Source: Scopus)

More information about journal rankings

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Editorial

Editors-in-Chief

Prof. Dr. Pamela Couture
Director, Toronto School of Theology
47 Queen’s Park Crescent
Toronto, Ontario M5S2C3
Jane and Geoffrey Martin Chair of Church and Community
Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto
75 Queen's Park Crescent
Toronto, ON M5S 1K7
e-Mail: pamela.couture@utoronto.ca

Prof. Dr. Bernd Schröder
Georg-August Universität Göttingen
Theologische Fakultät
Platz der Göttinger Sieben 2
37073 Göttingen
e-mail: bernd.schroeder@theologie.uni-goettingen.de

Book Review Editors

Prof. Dr. Nancy Ramsay
Professor of Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Care
Brite Divinity School
TCU Box 298130
Fort Worth, TX 76129
817-257-5807
e-Mail: n.ramsay@tcu.edu

Dr. Nadine Bowers Du Toit
Senior Lecturer in Theology and Development
Dept. Practical Theology and Missiology
University of Stellenbosch
e-Mail: nbowers@sun.ac.za

Prof. Dr. Kristin Merle
Universität Hamburg
Institut für Praktische Theologie
FB Evangelische Theologie
Gorch-Fock-Wall 7
20354 Hamburg
e-Mail: kristin.merle@uni-hamburg.de

Assistant Managing Editor

Moritz Emmelmann
Georg-August Universität Göttingen
Theologische Fakultät
Platz der Göttinger Sieben 2
37073 Göttingen
e-mail: moritz.emmelmann@theologie.uni-goettingen.de

Prof. Dr. Stephen Simmons, retired
Moravian Theological Seminary
60 West Locust Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018 USA
Email: simmonss@moravian.edu

(Deutsch)

Online ISSN: 1612-9768
Print ISSN: 1430-6921
Type: Journal
Languages: English, German
Publisher: De Gruyter
First published: January 1, 1997
Publication Frequency: 2 Issues per Year