Practical Theology

Contemporary Issues in Adult Theological Education

Since 2018 the Practical Theology journal has included one issue per year solely dedicated to Adult Theological Education.  The audience for the journal is practitioners in religious institutions and workplaces, students doing masters courses and professional doctoral work in practical theology, theological educators as well as traditional readers of the journal who have found it a continuing source of enrichment for their day to day practice of faith and ministry.

Previous special issues have explored how adult theological education interacts with the purposes and nature of church; listening to voices to enable flourishing and growth; reflection on leadership styles and the importance of relationships and institutions. Causes and consequences of transition, alongside attentiveness to agency and voice are fundamental to these conversations. There is a long-standing history of this annual special issue seeking to raise pioneering and boundary-pushing topics to hold meaningful dialogue relating to challenges directly related to theological education. Gathering of empirical and theoretical insights to inform practice and drive innovation in the sector are at the heart of this journal.

This special edition calls for papers focussing on contemporary issues in adult theological education. Theological education faces a complex interplay of challenges and issues, often intensified by contextual matters. Education more broadly battles with societal challenges of falling recruitment, funding shortages and technological influences on academic rigor. Shifting demographics and secularism wreak havoc for the place of theology in higher education in some parts of the world, whilst in other contexts there are challenges of funding, ethics and pedagogy. Realities of migration, communism, climate crisis or violent extremism are ever-present in many settings and simply cannot be ignored. Whilst awareness of vulnerabilities and power dynamics must be at the heart of decision-making and strategic development. The consequent demands and identity of adult theological education within these pressures and tensions seem continuously under scrutiny. Frequent desires to see ministry formation with a more contextual and relevant framing can lead to criticism of curricula being too theoretical or overly academic.

There have been calls to reimagine the identity, curriculum and pedagogy of theological education to be more relevant to the contemporary context. But what does this look like? How can this be formed and shaped? What compromises are required? And what is the impact of this? This special issue of Practical Theology focuses on contemporary issues in Adult Theological Education. This call for papers seeks to explore some of these aspects empirically or theoretically. Practical Theology accepts original research papers, theological reflections, “soap box” articles (where an author shares a strong opinion), auto/biographical reflections, and poetry. Possible topics for this special issue include:

•           Student recruitment challenges
•       Contextualized theological reflection
•           Decolonial/postcolonial awareness
•       Disability and inclusion barriers to theological education
•           Controversial or contemporary issues in theological education
•       Comparisons of institutional, financial or cultural contexts of theological education
•       The impact of AI on theological education
•           Power, voice, agency and coercion
•       Identity and purpose of theological education