Zoom Meeting

to obtain the link, contact Nick Brewin sfnorfolk1@gmail.com

The Revd Canon Dr Joanna Collicutt

Lecturer in Psychology and Spirituality

Ripon College, Oxford University

Monday 7th September

7.30 – 8.45 pm

Joanna Cullicott will describe how the complex relationship between the brain, the person and their faith can be explored using the medical discipline of neurology. She will explain how neurologists observe and characterise patterns of brain activity in people undergoing religious experiences and will examine the clinical data from people whose religious life has been significantly affected as a result of brain impairment due to injury or illness. Present-day and historical examples are the writer Karen Armstrong and Fyodor Dostoevsky, respectively. There are many other examples from neurology that provide new ways to explore the relationship between brain, person, faith and spirituality.

Joanna is both a clinical psychologist and a lecturer in psychology and spirituality at Ripon College, an Anglican seminary associated with Oxford University. She studied experimental psychology and theology at Oxford University, and clinical psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London. She is an associate priest in a west Oxfordshire parish and an honorary canon of Christ Church Cathedral. Her wide range of interests are reflected in her publications on positive psychology, brain and behaviour, natural theology, psychological approaches to the Bible, psychological trauma, the spirituality of children and people with special needs, theology and death, and medical ethics. Her most recent books are 'The psychology of Christian character formation' (SCM, 2015), 'Being mindful being Christian' (Monarch, 2016), 'Thinking of you: A theological and practical resource for the spiritual care of people with dementia'(BRF, 2017), 'When you pray' (BRF, 2019), 'Seriously Messy' (BRF, 2019), and 'Neurology and religion' (CUP, 2019).

After the speaker’s presentation (30 minutes) there will be an opportunity for discussion. To obtain the link for the ZOOM meeting, please contact Nick Brewin at sfnorfolk1@gmail.com. The number of participants will be limited so please register your interest as soon as possible.

More information from the secretary, Professor Nick Brewin sfnorfolk1@gmail.com