Psyche, Soul, and Salvation:

An Interdisciplinary Conference on the Intersection of Psychology and Contemporary Christian Theology

Friday, March 15, 2019

Saint Vincent College 

Latrobe, PA 

CALL FOR PAPER PROPOSALS

The intersection between contemporary psychology and Christian theology has long been both troublesome and fruitful. The scientific precision of clinical psychology often runs up against the encroachment of religious ideas that mask and entrench pathologies, but the work of clinical and social psychology has also provided resources for the reconsideration of Christian claims and practices. Additionally, Christian theology and spirituality have also been fruitfully developed as vehicles for therapies and psychological healing. This conference and the resulting volume will explore the intersections, boundaries, and possibilities of the intersection of contemporary psychology and Christian theology.

Although the focus of the conference is on the Christian theological tradition in dialogue with contemporary psychology, the exploration of other religious traditions is welcome, but proposals should work to bring those traditions into contact/dialogue with the Christian tradition (e.g., Buddhist mindfulness might be connected to /or contrasted with  various traditions of meditative prayer in the Christian tradition). Selected papers will be peer viewed for inclusion in a special volume of the Journal of Moral Theology, a peer-reviewed journal indexed and available on the ATLAS  database. Paper proposals are due Monday, October 1, 2018. Several areas will focus the conference, even as the conference will retain a flexible structure as we move to make concrete plans for the conference (the areas of focus given here are more suggestive than normative).

· Abuse, Trauma, and Theology

· Children, Development, and Theology

· Theology, Spirituality, and Sexuality

· Ethical and Theological Engagements with Social Psychology (e.g., race, gender, identity)

· Soteriology and Addiction Recovery   

For more information, or to submit a proposal (200-300 words), please contact

          Christopher McMahon                                               

          Department of Theology                                              

          Saint Vincent College

          Latrobe, PA 15650

christopher.mcmahon@stvincent.edu

724 805 2841