Friday, August 29, 2025
the anxiety of interdisciplinary research
Interdisciplinary research is certainly anxious making. Last week, I presented my social impact of selected religious practices research at the biennial International Association for the Psychology of Religion conference in Birmingham.
Presenting internationally to psychologists researching religion was certainly not on my 2025 bingo sheet as the year begun. But with the encouragement of the Psychology and Theology Cross training team at the University of Birmingham and the generous offer of financial support from the John Templeton Foundation, my abstract was accepted and I found myself as a practical theologian stepping across academic disciplines.
It was a work in progress presentation. I had completed data collection the evening before I departed New Zealand, so my paper focused on the value of listening in community building and the lack of empirical research into participant experiences of engaging in religious practices. I introduced my research methods, sharing how I was doing action research, inviting participants to share in 8 sessions of lectio divina and gathering data through focus groups, a longitudinal survey, individual diaries and my participant observation. I offered some memorable quotes, from an initial code of two focus groups that I wrapped up, one in June, the other in early July.
And then the time for questions. From experts from other disciplines! How would they respond to my research? Anxiously, I invited questions.
- A first hand went up. They asked why I called what I was doing action research. I noted first that I was researching action, in the sharing together of the practice of lectio divina. Further, as I implemented my design, I made adjustments in response to events that occurred during sessions. Third, my grant application included the words “pilot study” and one of my stated outcomes was to make connections with other scholars researching spiritual practices with a view to further research. So I hoped my initial work would spiral into further research of action.
- A second hand went up. They said they liked the design and asked what Bible passages I used in the lectio divina sessions. I replied the story of Moses and the burning bush in Exodus 3 and the transfiguration in Matthew 17.
- A third hand went up. They congratulated me on my research and asked for more understanding of how practising lectio divina might strengthen community. I responded with a story shared by one of my participants in an interview.
The five minutes for questions was complete. I was done. I had survived. And still alive.
My research into the social impact of selected religious practices had been treated with thoughtful respect. The questions had been genuine.
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