Callid Keefe-Perry | Boston College (original) (raw)

Books by Callid Keefe-Perry

Way to Water has two primary intentions: to trace the development of the nascent field of theolog... more Way to Water has two primary intentions: to trace the development of the nascent field of theological inquiry known as theopoetics and to make an argument that theopoetics provides both theological and practical resources for contemporary people of faith who seek to maintain a confessional Christian life that is also intellectually critical.

Beginning with the work of Stanley Hopper in the late 1960s, and addressing the early scholarship of key theopoetics authors like Rubem Alves and Amos Wilder, this text explores how theopoetics was originally developed as a response to the American death-of-God movement, and has since grown into a method for engaging in theological thought in a way that more fully honors embodiment and aesthetic dimensions of human experience. Most of the extant literature in the field is addressed to allow for a cumulative and comprehensive articulation of the nature and function of theopoetics.

The text includes an exploration of how theopoetic insights might aid in the development of tangible church practices, and concludes with a series of theopoetic reflections.

Papers by Callid Keefe-Perry

Numen

Neste ensaio considero algumas das implicações do pensamento de Alves ao lado do trabalho da teól... more Neste ensaio considero algumas das implicações do pensamento de Alves ao lado do trabalho da teóloga feminista Grace Jantzen, cujas consequências proporcionam um terreno fértil para a reflexão futura. Primeiro exploro algumas das maneiras pelas quais a ênfase de Alves na saudade pode ser vista como intimamente relacionada ao seu pensamento sobre utopia e imaginação. Interpretar esses temas em relação ao pensamento de Jantzen mostraa importância de prestar atenção à materialidade e às formas pelas quais a preocupação positiva com a personificação e a particularidade servem para nos convidar a um maior florescimento e engajamento com o sofrimento.

Theopoetic Folds, Dec 31, 2022

Religious Education, 2018

This article explores the powerful influence that trauma can have on individuals and the ways in ... more This article explores the powerful influence that trauma can have on individuals and the ways in which this influence might be addressed in the development of adult religious education. It asks how we can facilitate deepening a person's relationship with God and others when trauma has damaged a person's capacity to relate. Suggestions are made for future work by integrating trauma analysis from Judith Herman and Bessel van der Kolk with theological insight from Mary Elizabeth Moore and Rebecca Chopp. Five qualities of a trauma-informed approach to adult religious education are proposed.  We follow Jeff Astley's position in that "Christian Education … marks out those educational processes through which people learn to become Christian and to be more Christian" (, ). That is, this article assumes ARE will be congregationally based and will encourage confessional religious formation in a particular tradition. Although we acknowledge that religious education for children and youth could also benefit from developing an explicitly trauma-informed approach, our focus in this piece is on adult religious education, a decision that comes about as a result of our own experiences and expertise as well as the space limitations of a single article.

International Journal of Practical Theology, 2016

This article reports on the current status and key findings of a growing body of empirical resear... more This article reports on the current status and key findings of a growing body of empirical research on humility; argues for further interdisciplinary, collaborative research between empirical psychology and practical theology; and outlines several generative future research trajectories. Scientific studies of humility could be quite relevant to practical theology, particularly informing research on spiritual formation, intercultural competence, theological education, leadership development, and clinical care. At the same time, we argue for increased attention to theology and spirituality in psychological research on humility, particularly given the strong role of religious and spiritual traditions/communities in promoting humility as a virtue and recent feminist practical theological critiques of humility constructions. Engagement between social scientists and theologians enables sharper reflection upon the moral values implicit in the expanding body of empirical research on humility. Such collaborative, interdisciplinary work is essential in shaping research-based interventions in clinical and religious practice.

Christianity & Literature, 2009

CrossCurrents, 2014

God chose to be born as a body, in spite of all the risks, including the risk of dying.. . Thus G... more God chose to be born as a body, in spite of all the risks, including the risk of dying.. . Thus God was born, which means that the body is eternally destined to a divine reality. Isn't it curious that humans prefer Heaven while God prefers the earth? Rubem Alves, Transparencies of Eternity 1 I n working on Way to Water, my book on the history, theologies, and practices of theopoetics, I noted that the theopoetic impulse has more than a strong affinity for the flesh. As early as Amos Wilder's 1976 Theopoetic, he emphasized that "the dimension too often missing [from Christianity] is that of rooted-ness, creaturehood, and embodied humanness." 2 This perspective is held by other theopoetics thinkers as well. Melanie Duguid-May writes that "what our bodies know is a life-giving source of our knowledge of God," 3 Catherine Keller says succinctly that "if God is immaterial, God doesn't matter," 4 and more recently, Patrick Reyes has argued for the importance of theopoetics "written on the body like tattoos." 5 In spite of this professed affinity, I wonder whether the contemporary discourse on theopoetics-still in its early adolescence-might need a bit of a course correction.. . I wish that I could say that I've come to write this essay by means of prayer or the slow building promptings of God. I wish that I could report truthfully that I have known the structure and content of this piece for months and that it is only now that it has ripened. I wish these things largely because in that wishing I seek to hide from the truth of things: I

CrossCurrents, 2010

I n a recent essay, 1 Eric McLuhan reiterates the argument that his late father, Marshall McLuhan... more I n a recent essay, 1 Eric McLuhan reiterates the argument that his late father, Marshall McLuhan, oft-termed a media theorist, worked without the use of theories. He supports this claim by suggesting that while his father did use theories, he did not use them in a consistent way. Rather than attempting to develop a culminating thesis, the elder McLuhan was more interested in the work of aphorism and art than explication and exegesis: he was most content when probing and observing, asking questions and exploring. This elusive and playful spirit of inquiry and expression has been the inspiration for much of my own work and is at the heart of the essay you now read. I write to share with you some ideas I have discovered in my own journey and will not consider it a failure should this piece raise more questions than it answers. Those looking for a more exhaustive and traditional treatment of theopoetics are encouraged to see my recent piece in Christianity & Literature 2 or the website I maintain, http://theopoetics.net. It is a matter of how you begin: if you begin with theory, then one way or another your research winds up geared to making the case for or against the truth of the theory. Begin with theory, you begin with the answer; begin with observation, you begin with questions. A theory always turns into a scientist's point of view and a way of seeing the job at hand. Begin with observation and your task is to look at things and to look at what happens. To see.

Religious Education, 2018

This is an exploration of the psycho-spiritual concept of moral injury (MI) in public school sett... more This is an exploration of the psycho-spiritual concept of moral injury (MI) in public school settings. Many teachers must enforce practices (high-stakes standardized testing, suspension, etc.) that data suggest are unlikely to help children in the long run. Teachers enter their profession responding to a sense of call to do good and yet can encounter situations where they are expected to do and support actions that they think might be detrimental to the youth in their care. As a result of these converging vectors sometimes there is tension and fracture: on a regular basis, many teachers go to work knowing that they will encounter circumstances that challenge their moral conscience, identity, and the values that got them into teaching in the first place. This is a form of MI. Through an engagement with MI literature and scholarship from education, religious education, and spirituality studies, I argue that MI ought to be included in (1) teacher training programs, (2) the ongoing support of teachers who find themselves in morally injurious contexts, and (3) the development of policy that impacts educational and pedagogical mandates.

This thesis has two primary foci: to trace the development of the nascent field of theological in... more This thesis has two primary foci: to trace the development of the nascent field of theological inquiry known as theopoetics and to make an argument that theopoetics provides both theological and practical resources for contemporary people of faith who seek to maintain a confessional Christian life that is also intellectually critical. Beginning with the work of Stanley Hopper in the late 1960s, and addressing the early scholarship of key theopoetics figures such as Amos Wilder and Rubem Alves, this thesis explores how theopoetics was originally developed as a response to the American Death of God movement, and has since grown into a method for engaging in theological thought in a way that more fully honors embodiment and the effect of human finitude upon theological proclamation. Most of the extant literature in the field is addressed within, including both literary and process theology approaches to the topic. The thesis includes a cumulative articulation of the nature and function...

This article reports on the current status and key findings of a growing body of empirical resear... more This article reports on the current status and key findings of a growing body of empirical research on humility; argues for further interdisciplinary, collaborative research between empirical psychology and practical theology; and outlines several generative future research trajectories. Scientific studies of humility could be quite relevant to practical theology, particularly informing research on spiritual formation, intercultural competence, theological education, leadership development, and clinical care. At the same time, we argue for increased attention to theology and spirituality in psychological research on humility, particularly given the strong role of religious and spiritual traditions/communities in promoting humility as a virtue and recent feminist practical theological critiques of humility constructions. Engagement between social scientists and theologians enables sharper reflection upon the moral values implicit in the expanding body of empirical research on humility. Such collaborative, interdisciplinary work is essential in shaping research-based interventions in clinical and religious practice.

A chapter investigating communal discernment practices with college students. In The Prophetic V... more A chapter investigating communal discernment practices with college students.

In The Prophetic Voice and Making Peace.
(Armistead & Charlton Eds.), 2016.

A (functional) post-script to the book, Way to Water: A Theopoetics Primer. Specifically takes up... more A (functional) post-script to the book, Way to Water: A Theopoetics Primer. Specifically takes up embodiment and issues of race and gender within theopoetics discourse.

In Transformative Language Arts in Action, edited by Ruth Farmer and Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, 2014

This essay accessibly details the origins of theopoetics as well as its current state in academia... more This essay accessibly details the origins of theopoetics as well as its current state in academia. It then moves to highlight parallels between some key texts from both theopoetics and the field of Transformative Language Arts, drawing insight from the work of Amos Wilder, Rubem Alves, James Sparrell, and David Abram.

Way to Water has two primary intentions: to trace the development of the nascent field of theolog... more Way to Water has two primary intentions: to trace the development of the nascent field of theological inquiry known as theopoetics and to make an argument that theopoetics provides both theological and practical resources for contemporary people of faith who seek to maintain a confessional Christian life that is also intellectually critical.

Beginning with the work of Stanley Hopper in the late 1960s, and addressing the early scholarship of key theopoetics authors like Rubem Alves and Amos Wilder, this text explores how theopoetics was originally developed as a response to the American death-of-God movement, and has since grown into a method for engaging in theological thought in a way that more fully honors embodiment and aesthetic dimensions of human experience. Most of the extant literature in the field is addressed to allow for a cumulative and comprehensive articulation of the nature and function of theopoetics.

The text includes an exploration of how theopoetic insights might aid in the development of tangible church practices, and concludes with a series of theopoetic reflections.

Numen

Neste ensaio considero algumas das implicações do pensamento de Alves ao lado do trabalho da teól... more Neste ensaio considero algumas das implicações do pensamento de Alves ao lado do trabalho da teóloga feminista Grace Jantzen, cujas consequências proporcionam um terreno fértil para a reflexão futura. Primeiro exploro algumas das maneiras pelas quais a ênfase de Alves na saudade pode ser vista como intimamente relacionada ao seu pensamento sobre utopia e imaginação. Interpretar esses temas em relação ao pensamento de Jantzen mostraa importância de prestar atenção à materialidade e às formas pelas quais a preocupação positiva com a personificação e a particularidade servem para nos convidar a um maior florescimento e engajamento com o sofrimento.

Theopoetic Folds, Dec 31, 2022

Religious Education, 2018

This article explores the powerful influence that trauma can have on individuals and the ways in ... more This article explores the powerful influence that trauma can have on individuals and the ways in which this influence might be addressed in the development of adult religious education. It asks how we can facilitate deepening a person's relationship with God and others when trauma has damaged a person's capacity to relate. Suggestions are made for future work by integrating trauma analysis from Judith Herman and Bessel van der Kolk with theological insight from Mary Elizabeth Moore and Rebecca Chopp. Five qualities of a trauma-informed approach to adult religious education are proposed.  We follow Jeff Astley's position in that "Christian Education … marks out those educational processes through which people learn to become Christian and to be more Christian" (, ). That is, this article assumes ARE will be congregationally based and will encourage confessional religious formation in a particular tradition. Although we acknowledge that religious education for children and youth could also benefit from developing an explicitly trauma-informed approach, our focus in this piece is on adult religious education, a decision that comes about as a result of our own experiences and expertise as well as the space limitations of a single article.

International Journal of Practical Theology, 2016

This article reports on the current status and key findings of a growing body of empirical resear... more This article reports on the current status and key findings of a growing body of empirical research on humility; argues for further interdisciplinary, collaborative research between empirical psychology and practical theology; and outlines several generative future research trajectories. Scientific studies of humility could be quite relevant to practical theology, particularly informing research on spiritual formation, intercultural competence, theological education, leadership development, and clinical care. At the same time, we argue for increased attention to theology and spirituality in psychological research on humility, particularly given the strong role of religious and spiritual traditions/communities in promoting humility as a virtue and recent feminist practical theological critiques of humility constructions. Engagement between social scientists and theologians enables sharper reflection upon the moral values implicit in the expanding body of empirical research on humility. Such collaborative, interdisciplinary work is essential in shaping research-based interventions in clinical and religious practice.

Christianity & Literature, 2009

CrossCurrents, 2014

God chose to be born as a body, in spite of all the risks, including the risk of dying.. . Thus G... more God chose to be born as a body, in spite of all the risks, including the risk of dying.. . Thus God was born, which means that the body is eternally destined to a divine reality. Isn't it curious that humans prefer Heaven while God prefers the earth? Rubem Alves, Transparencies of Eternity 1 I n working on Way to Water, my book on the history, theologies, and practices of theopoetics, I noted that the theopoetic impulse has more than a strong affinity for the flesh. As early as Amos Wilder's 1976 Theopoetic, he emphasized that "the dimension too often missing [from Christianity] is that of rooted-ness, creaturehood, and embodied humanness." 2 This perspective is held by other theopoetics thinkers as well. Melanie Duguid-May writes that "what our bodies know is a life-giving source of our knowledge of God," 3 Catherine Keller says succinctly that "if God is immaterial, God doesn't matter," 4 and more recently, Patrick Reyes has argued for the importance of theopoetics "written on the body like tattoos." 5 In spite of this professed affinity, I wonder whether the contemporary discourse on theopoetics-still in its early adolescence-might need a bit of a course correction.. . I wish that I could say that I've come to write this essay by means of prayer or the slow building promptings of God. I wish that I could report truthfully that I have known the structure and content of this piece for months and that it is only now that it has ripened. I wish these things largely because in that wishing I seek to hide from the truth of things: I

CrossCurrents, 2010

I n a recent essay, 1 Eric McLuhan reiterates the argument that his late father, Marshall McLuhan... more I n a recent essay, 1 Eric McLuhan reiterates the argument that his late father, Marshall McLuhan, oft-termed a media theorist, worked without the use of theories. He supports this claim by suggesting that while his father did use theories, he did not use them in a consistent way. Rather than attempting to develop a culminating thesis, the elder McLuhan was more interested in the work of aphorism and art than explication and exegesis: he was most content when probing and observing, asking questions and exploring. This elusive and playful spirit of inquiry and expression has been the inspiration for much of my own work and is at the heart of the essay you now read. I write to share with you some ideas I have discovered in my own journey and will not consider it a failure should this piece raise more questions than it answers. Those looking for a more exhaustive and traditional treatment of theopoetics are encouraged to see my recent piece in Christianity & Literature 2 or the website I maintain, http://theopoetics.net. It is a matter of how you begin: if you begin with theory, then one way or another your research winds up geared to making the case for or against the truth of the theory. Begin with theory, you begin with the answer; begin with observation, you begin with questions. A theory always turns into a scientist's point of view and a way of seeing the job at hand. Begin with observation and your task is to look at things and to look at what happens. To see.

Religious Education, 2018

This is an exploration of the psycho-spiritual concept of moral injury (MI) in public school sett... more This is an exploration of the psycho-spiritual concept of moral injury (MI) in public school settings. Many teachers must enforce practices (high-stakes standardized testing, suspension, etc.) that data suggest are unlikely to help children in the long run. Teachers enter their profession responding to a sense of call to do good and yet can encounter situations where they are expected to do and support actions that they think might be detrimental to the youth in their care. As a result of these converging vectors sometimes there is tension and fracture: on a regular basis, many teachers go to work knowing that they will encounter circumstances that challenge their moral conscience, identity, and the values that got them into teaching in the first place. This is a form of MI. Through an engagement with MI literature and scholarship from education, religious education, and spirituality studies, I argue that MI ought to be included in (1) teacher training programs, (2) the ongoing support of teachers who find themselves in morally injurious contexts, and (3) the development of policy that impacts educational and pedagogical mandates.

This thesis has two primary foci: to trace the development of the nascent field of theological in... more This thesis has two primary foci: to trace the development of the nascent field of theological inquiry known as theopoetics and to make an argument that theopoetics provides both theological and practical resources for contemporary people of faith who seek to maintain a confessional Christian life that is also intellectually critical. Beginning with the work of Stanley Hopper in the late 1960s, and addressing the early scholarship of key theopoetics figures such as Amos Wilder and Rubem Alves, this thesis explores how theopoetics was originally developed as a response to the American Death of God movement, and has since grown into a method for engaging in theological thought in a way that more fully honors embodiment and the effect of human finitude upon theological proclamation. Most of the extant literature in the field is addressed within, including both literary and process theology approaches to the topic. The thesis includes a cumulative articulation of the nature and function...

This article reports on the current status and key findings of a growing body of empirical resear... more This article reports on the current status and key findings of a growing body of empirical research on humility; argues for further interdisciplinary, collaborative research between empirical psychology and practical theology; and outlines several generative future research trajectories. Scientific studies of humility could be quite relevant to practical theology, particularly informing research on spiritual formation, intercultural competence, theological education, leadership development, and clinical care. At the same time, we argue for increased attention to theology and spirituality in psychological research on humility, particularly given the strong role of religious and spiritual traditions/communities in promoting humility as a virtue and recent feminist practical theological critiques of humility constructions. Engagement between social scientists and theologians enables sharper reflection upon the moral values implicit in the expanding body of empirical research on humility. Such collaborative, interdisciplinary work is essential in shaping research-based interventions in clinical and religious practice.

A chapter investigating communal discernment practices with college students. In The Prophetic V... more A chapter investigating communal discernment practices with college students.

In The Prophetic Voice and Making Peace.
(Armistead & Charlton Eds.), 2016.

A (functional) post-script to the book, Way to Water: A Theopoetics Primer. Specifically takes up... more A (functional) post-script to the book, Way to Water: A Theopoetics Primer. Specifically takes up embodiment and issues of race and gender within theopoetics discourse.

In Transformative Language Arts in Action, edited by Ruth Farmer and Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, 2014

This essay accessibly details the origins of theopoetics as well as its current state in academia... more This essay accessibly details the origins of theopoetics as well as its current state in academia. It then moves to highlight parallels between some key texts from both theopoetics and the field of Transformative Language Arts, drawing insight from the work of Amos Wilder, Rubem Alves, James Sparrell, and David Abram.

This paper claims that the experience of trauma is both woefully unacknowledged and that wherever... more This paper claims that the experience of trauma is both woefully unacknowledged and that wherever it is present its influence is profound. Consequently, it asks how adult Religious Educators can best proceed given the realities of trauma and its effects. How can we facilitate deepening a person's relationship with God and others when trauma has damaged a person's capacity to relate? Suggestions are
made for future work by integrating trauma analysis from Judith Herman and Bessel van der Kolk with theological insight from Mary Elizabeth Moore and Rebecca Chopp.

A brief reflection on the need for risk for spiritual growth in congregational life within The Re... more A brief reflection on the need for risk for spiritual growth in congregational life within The Religious Society of Friends. Uses the work of Sharon Welch as a jumping off point.

A brief overview of the nascent field of theopoetics. Produced by Wipf & Stock Press.

A brief piece about an understanding of worship in The Religious Society of Friends. Done in part... more A brief piece about an understanding of worship in The Religious Society of Friends. Done in partnership with Jon Watts of QuakerSpeak.

Beginning with an overview of the emerging literature on theopoetics, this paper considers the im... more Beginning with an overview of the emerging literature on theopoetics, this paper considers the implications of a theopoetic critique across five domains of theological education: reading, writing, research methods, pedagogy, and publication. It argues that the theopoetic impulse to value embodiment and aesthetics asks more of current religious education practices than they currently provide. Suggestions are made for areas of growth that support a theological imaginary that is more fully incarnational and prophetic.

Literature & Theology, vol. 33., núm. 3, septiembre, 2019

This article explores a significant stream of theopoetics largely informed by Rubem Alves and the... more This article explores a significant stream of theopoetics largely informed by Rubem Alves and the work of ARC: Arts Religion Culture. It considers some of the features that differentiate theopoetic engagement from the scholarship of "Theology and The Arts" and reflects on the relationship between theopoetics and the academy more broadly. It also grapples with the impact of coloniality on theopoetics and the ways in which this may have influenced the aversion to ideas like 'rationalism' and 'objectivity' in the Alvesian stream.