Psychology of Faith Academic Cross-Training Grant

With the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation, the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota is hosting an academic cross-training program in the psychological sciences for scholars of Christian theology or philosophy of religion with research interests relating to religious belief or religious commitment. The eight members of the team will work with mentors from the psychological sciences to engage in a 2-year intensive study, in order to apply and leverage insights from the psychological sciences in their work as theologians and philosophers.

People

Michael Rota-Project Director and Professor of Philosophy

Dr. Rota will be researching the question of why those raised within a religious tradition choose to leave or stay, and the question of what Catholic parents might do to most effectively share the Faith with their children. He is the author of Taking Pascal’s Wager: Faith, Evidence and the Abundant Life (InterVarsity Press, 2016) and, with Kevin Bales, Under the Yoke: The Tangled Bonds of Religion and Slavery (forthcoming). Dr. Sam Hardy (BYU) and Dr. Jonathan Jong (Coventry) will serve as Dr. Rota’s mentors.

Contact: mwrota@stthomas.edu

Michael Rota Website

Liz Jackson-Project Co-Director and Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Dr. Jackson (Ph.D., Notre Dame) is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Toronto Metropolitan University. In epistemology, she has recently published work on the belief-credence connection, epistemic permissivism, and pragmatic and moral encroachment. In philosophy of religion, her work focuses on the rationality of religious commitment.

Contact:lizjackson111@ryerson.ca

Liz Jackson Website

Mark Boespflug

Mark Boespflug is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. He works on epistemology and its history as well as its intersection with philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, and metaethics. His work in association with the Psychology and Theology of Faith Project will focus on empirical research concerning doxastic voluntarism—the thesis that belief is under one’s direct voluntary control.

Dr. Tania Lombrozo (Princeton) will serve as Dr. Boespflug’s mentor.

Contact:mboespflug@fortlewis.edu

Mark Boespflug Website

Stephen Bullivant

Stephen Bullivant is Professor of Theology and the Sociology of Religion at St Mary's University, UK, and Professorial Research Fellow in Theology and Sociology at the University of Notre Dame, Australia. He has aparticular interest in the psychology of evangelization, conversion, and intergenerational transmission, which he'll be exploring as part of the project.

Dr. Sam Hardy (BYU) and Dr. Jonathan Jong (Coventry) will serve as Dr. Bullivant’s mentors.

Contact: stephen.bullivant@stmarys.ac.uk

Stephen Bullivant Website

Rebecca Chan

Rebecca Chan is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at San José State University. She works on metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of law. Her interest in choice--especially in the context of "big" life decisions--has recently led her to economics. As part of this grant, Rebecca plans on pursuing questions such as: How do we choose to adopt a life of faith, especially given that doing so has the potential to change features we take to be central to ourselves? And, how do the situations in which we find ourselves influence our choices regarding faith?

Dr. Metin Cosgel (UConn) will serve as Dr. Chan’s mentor.

Contact: rebecca.s.chan@sjsu.edu

Rebecca Chan Website

Victoria Lorrimar

Victoria Lorrimar is Senior Research Fellow in the School of Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia. Her research areas include the intersection of religion and technologies of human augmentation, theological anthropology and the imagination. In this cross-training grant she will be exploring how cognitive science and psychology help us to think about the role of the imagination in religious belief, and particularly in the visions we have for the human future.

Dr. Thomas Suddendorf (University of Queensland) will serve as Dr. Lorrimar’s mentor.

Contact: victoria.lorrimar@nd.edu.au

Victoria Lorrimar

Bethany Sollereder

Bethany received her PhD in Theology from the University of Exeter and an MCS in interdisciplinary studies from Regent College, Vancouver. She specializes in theology concerning evolution and the problem of suffering. Her current work is about the theological possibilities and human vocation in the light of irreversible changes in ecological degradation.

Dr. Joanna Collicutt (Oxford) will serve as Dr. Solleredfer’s mentor.

Contact: b.sollereder@ed.ac.uk

Bethany Sollereder

Michael Waddell

Dr. Michael Waddell is the Edna and George McMahon Aquinas Chair in Philosophy and the director of the Master of Autism Studies program at Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame, IN, USA. His early work focused on Thomas Aquinas's psychology, especially Thomas' accounts of graced modes of cognition such as faith, prophecy and rapture. His more recent work has focused on philosophical and theological issues related to autism. With the support of the Templeton grant, Dr. Waddell will develop a virtue-based account of faith in the lives of people on the autism spectrum.

Dr. Daniel Lapsley (Notre Dame) will serve as Dr. Waddell’s mentor.

Contact: mwaddell@saintmarys.edu

Michael Waddell Website

Contact Us

For more information about the Psychology and Faith grant, contact project leaders Michael Rota or Liz Jackson.

John Templeton Foundation

Academic Cross-Training for Christian Theologians and Philosophers of Religion

Call for Applications

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The Psychology of Faith Academic Cross-Training

People

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John Templeton Foundation

Call for Applications