Research projects

Many researchers within the School are engaged in funded research projects.

Major ongoing projects 

• The St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (led by Dr Brendan Wolfe, Principal Editor) is building a massive open-access reference for theology. Dr Steve Holmes, Prof. Judith Wolfe, and Prof N.T. Wright are Senior Editors.  Dr Rebekah Dyer, Dr Oliver Langworthy, Dr Mikael Leidenhag, Dr Andrew Mein, William Shackman, and Dr Alexander Wain are Academic Editors.  The project is funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

• The Logos Institute for Analytic and Exegetical Theology: the Templeton Religion Trust-funded Logos project was a grant that helped to establish the Logos Institute for Analytic and Exegetical Theology. This Institute is a centre for research in the Divinity School, and is led by its current Director, Prof Oliver Crisp, alongside Dr Andrew Torrance, who co-founded the Institute with Prof Alan Torrance.
  
  
• Widening Horizons in Philosophical Theology (led by Prof Judith Wolfe, funded by the Templeton Religion Trust).

Other important ongoing projects

• "Hidden Texts of the Andes" (Principal Investigator is Prof Sabine Hyland) funded by a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.
  
  
• Iperion-HS "Meaningful Materials in the Khipu Code"; Prof Sabine Hyland is part of an inter-disciplinary team collaborating with the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science.
  
  
• Pierre Mandonnet, Dante the Theologian (funded by the Carnegie Trust). The first English translation, with introduction and notes, of this important work of scholarship by one of the foremost Thomists and medieval historians of his generation (Dr George Corbett and Dr Patricia Kelly). Listen to Drs Corbett and Kelly talk about the project.

• A critical edition of the poetic works of Lord Byron (led by Dr Gavin Hopps).
  
  
• Mapping the Imagination and Text & Image (led by Prof Judith Wolfe, funded by Templeton Religion Trust).

• Mark, Matthew and mixed genres: what the mind-narrative nexus reveals about the Gospels (led by Dr Elizabeth Shively, funded by the Carnegie Trust)
  
  
• The shorthand sermons of Andrew Fuller (led by Dr Steve Holmes).
  
  
• Texture: structure and composition of ancient Jewish literature (led by Dr Bill Tooman, funded by Mohr Siebeck).

• Figuring the Enemy: Socio-Cognitive and Political Theological Approaches to the Question of Enmity: Elizabeth Shively (Divinity) and Kenneth Mavor (Psychology) are co-investigators in a project funded and led by the University of Divinity (Melbourne, Australia). The project seeks to illuminate the shape of the theological frames in which Christianity has positioned the enemy, using two distinct methodologies in tandem: socio-cognitive approaches to theology and religion, and political-theological critique. For more information, visit the Figuring the Enemy Project Facebook page.
  

• The Text & Image Project (led by Brendan Wolfe, with Dr Dhanraj Vishwanath and Dr Nicole Ruta) is part of the Art Seeking Understanding funding initiative of the Templeton Religion Trust.  The project investigates the cognitive psychology of religious art and sponsors the 2021 TheoArtistry programme with additional funding from the KE & Impact Fund.

• The Sacred Landscape Project (led by Brendan Wolfe with Dr William Hyland), which investigates and presents the religious history coast of Fife and St Mary’s College’s place in that history.  It employs Dr Bess Rhodes, Dr Tom Turpie, and Dr Miriam Buncombe and is supported by the SARIRF and Deas Fund.

• Faith Communities Disseminating Public Health Information During Covid-19 Pandemic examines the role of faith communities in the UK in public health strategies.  Engagement with public health information has taken place at national/state level by contributing to boards advising government. Some faith communities have regional/denominational advisory boards shaping policy and guidance. Local faith leaders have applied policy and guidance in their own contexts. By exploring with these stakeholders (through interviews and/or focus groups) the challenges and opportunities of the recent emergency, the project will identify best practice for the remainder of the pandemic and future emergencies. Principal Investigator: Dr Eric Stoddart (School of Divinity); Research Associate: Dr Morven Shearer (School of Medicine); Research Assistant: Daniel Roberts.

Details of research projects that are not grant-funded, and of wider research networks, can be found on individual staff pages.