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Religion in Contemporary Societies

The key concerns of this group are with religion in the contemporary world, particularly the UK and South Asia, and including both Christianity and other modern religions (especially Islam and Buddhism). The group includes three centres and sub-groups (ISLAM-UK, BAHAR and the planned Centre for Chaplaincy Studies), nine academic and research staff in RELIG (including an Emeritus professor) and four in our two affiliated Colleges (St Michael's College and the South Wales Baptist College), and several large externally-funded research projects.

Principal areas of focus include

  • health and the body, including work on Asian health and yogic traditions, and a new initiative on religion and autism spectrum conditions (Trevett, Samuel);
  • gender and religion,
  • religion, politics and economics, including theological ethics
  • religion in contemporary culture
  • the role of religious professionals in modern society, including a major new initiative in chaplaincy studies.

Paul Ballard is an Emeritus Professor and former Head of School, and a distinguished scholar in the field of Pastoral Theology. His interests include theological reflection and practical theological methodology; the Church and its social setting; ministry, especially in the medical context.

Cathy Cantwell is a Senior Research Fellow working on the Tibetan Longevity Practices project. She is an anthropologist and textual scholar working on Tibetan religion. Her recent works include an electronic text edition of The Rig ’dzin Tshe dbang nor bu Edition of the rNying ma’i rgyud ’bum (with Robert Mayer and Michael Fischer) and an edition and translation of The Kila Nirvana Tantra and the Vajra Wrath Tantra: two texts from the Ancient Tantra Collection (with Robert Mayer), as well as a number of book chapters and refereed journal articles.

Louise Child is a Lecturer in the School. Her research interests are in Tantric Buddhism, the theories of Durkheim and Mauss, altered states of consciousness (including shamanism and possession trance), gender, psychology, and contemporary film. She is also a member of the History of Asian Religions group.

Sophie Gilliat-Ray is a Senior Lecturer in the School and Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK (ISLAM-UK). She is director of the Muslim Chaplains in the UK project and co-director of the Welsh Muslim Family Identity.

Robert Mayer is a Senior Research Fellow working on the Tibetan Longevity Practices project. He is a Buddhist textual scholar working on Tibetan religion, and is the author of A Scripture of the Ancient Tantra Collection. The Phur-pa bcu-gnyis and as a number of book chapters and refereed journal articles . Other recent works include recent works include an electronic text edition of The Rig ’dzin Tshe dbang nor bu Edition of the rNying ma’i rgyud ’bum (with Cathy Cantwell and Michael Fischer) and an edition and translation of The Kila Nirvana Tantra and the Vajra Wrath Tantra (with Cathy Cantwell).

Colin Millard recently completed a PhD in social anthropology on a Tibetan medical school in Western Nepal. He is a full-time researcher on the Tibetan Bon Medicine project.

Santi Rozario is a Senior Lecturer in the School, teaching on gender and religion, and Senior Research Fellow and Principal Investigator on the Islam and Young Bangladeshis project. Her primary research focus is on the anthropological study of women in Bangladeshi society.

Geoffrey Samuel is a Professorial Fellow in the School and works on the anthropology and history of religion in Asian societies, particularly Tibet and South Asia, as well as on contemporary Western religion, including Western Buddhism, modern pagan and shamanic movements. Much of his current work concerns health and medical aspects of Tibetan society, including yogic practices for health. He is director of the Cardiff Humanities Research Institute (CHRI), and of the Body, Health and Religion sub-group. He is Principal Investigator on the Tibetan Longevity Practices and Tibetan Bon Medicine project, and is also a co-investigator on the Islam and Young Bangladeshis project. He is also a member of the History of Asian Religions group.

Peter Sedgwick is the Principal of St Michael’s College Llandaff. His research interests include criminal justice, mental health, social ethics, economics and theology, and modern Anglican theology. Recent publications include the books Economic Theory and Christian Belief (with Andrew Britton) and The Future of Criminal Justice (with Christopher Jones).

Graeme Smith is Dean of Non-Residential Training at St Michael’s College Llandaff. His most recent publication is the book ‘A Short History of Secularism’ published by IB Taurus. He edits the international journal ‘Political Theology’ (www.equinoxpub.com) and has written articles on social and political theology, ecumenism and teaching practical theology.

Andrew Todd joined the staff of at St Michael’s College Llandaff in November 2006, to direct courses in Chaplaincy Studies and to develop a joint research centre with Cardiff University which will focus on the ministry of chaplains and the issues and theology with which they engage. Prior to that, he was the Continuing Ministerial Education Officer for the Diocese of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich and Sub-Dean of St. Edmundsbury Cathedral.  He is also the Dean of the newly established Centre for Chaplaincy Studies.

Christine Trevett is involved in research on religion and autism spectrum conditions within this group. She is also a member of the Religion in Late Antiquity group, where she carries out research on Christianity in the Roman empire of the 2nd-3rd centuries, especially with reference to authority and ecclesiology, and has further research interests in sectarians (especially Quakers) of the seventeenth century in England and Wales. Her recent publications include the book, Christian Women and the Time of the Apostolic Fathers.

John Weaver is the Principal of South Wales Baptist College. His research interests include the dialogue between science and faith; environmental theology; theological reflection; film and theology; theology and practice of ministry (especially in a Baptist context). Recent publications include The Place of Environmental Theology: A Guide for Seminaries, Colleges and Universities and Outside in: Theological Reflections on Life. He is the current President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.

Major current and recent externally-funded research projects in this research group include