Pilgrim Theological College staff and students continue to lead the way in research.
By Rev Prof Philip Hughes
At the heart of Pilgrim Theological College is its research activity.
Over the past 10 years of the life of the college, the research which has emerged has been very substantial.
All members of the academic faculty are active in research, and most are known internationally for the work they are doing.
Pilgrim staff are also involved in supervising research, and eight students are currently doing doctorates through the college.
Research is immensely valuable.
While we are well aware of the benefits of medical research, which has enabled the world to deal with pandemics like Covid-19, it is also important in relation to theology, Biblical studies, and ministry.
Interestingly, sociologists such as Ronald Inglehart have shown that the dramatic decline that we have seen in church attendance is related to medical research, and particularly the decline in infant mortality.
The relationship between rates of infant mortality and religious faith is complex and other factors are also important. However, understanding these factors can help us to respond to our changed situation.
I have explored these factors in my recent book ‘What is Happening to Religion in Australia? Understanding the Trends’ (Coventry Press, 2025).
The amount of research conducted by the faculty at Pilgrim is immense, and I can only give a few examples.
Some of the other research which has been done at Pilgrim has focused on responding to the changed place of the church in our society.
Rev Assoc Prof Sally Douglas wrote ‘The Church as Salt’, arguing that the Church is no longer ‘triumphant’, but is called to be salt in society.
It does that as people seek justice and compassion among small groups and in the larger society.
Assoc Prof Kerrie Handasyde and former Pilgrim principal, Assoc Prof Sean Winter, have edited a book which seeks to identify some of the images of Christ which can be identified in Australian history.
Here and there, in the midst of stories of pioneers, in the ANZACs, even in the stories of the pop idols, we can glimpse something of the graciousness and, in some places, the suffering of Christ.
“Pilgrim Theological College is a dynamic centre for research, as well as teaching,” says Acting Head of College Philip Hughes.
Rev Assoc Prof Robyn Whitaker has focused on the apocalyptic literature of the Bible and in 2023 published an introduction to the book of Revelation, ‘Revelation for Normal People’. The same year, she published a book on the understanding and interpretation of the Bible, ‘Even the Devil Quotes Scripture’.
Rev Assoc Prof Monica Melanchthon teaches the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and seeks to bring its text into conversation with issues of culture, gender, and social issues.
She draws on the experiences of marginalised people in interpreting the biblical text.
Later this year, she will be an invited speaker at the International Organisation for the Study of the Old Testament, speaking on how biblical exegesis is always both political and pastoral, illustrating that from Dalit feminist perspectives.
Rev Dr Daniel Sihombing is the most recent appointment to the faculty at Pilgrim.
He completed his doctorate in Indonesia where he critically engaged the stance of three Indonesian theologians in relation to the Soeharto regime in the light of the teaching of Karl Barth. He will soon publish his thesis as a book.
Rev Prof John Flett has focused on how the culture, history and context, and embodied forms of faith in Oceania can better help us understand our own context, the cross-cultural transmission and appropriation of the Christian gospel.
Rev Prof Stephen Burns has published a number of articles and edited books on contemporary theology and liturgy, particularly feminist theologies.
The University of Divinity held a research day in June, and two of Pilgrim’s doctoral students presented.
Elizabeth Lee presented an important paper on how a church can respond to issues of trauma in the community while seeking to maintain its strong practice of hospitality.
Sarah Callista spoke about bringing Indonesian voices into dialogue with the Gospel of Mark.
Other doctoral students are looking at the history of liturgy, the theology of pilgrimage, institutional responses to disability, the formation of the Churches of Christ, and Biblical accounts of what it means to be human.
While some students are doing doctorates so that they are better able to minister or to teach, for others it is a project for retirement.
It is a great way to spend one’s retirement drawing on one’s life experience and giving it back to the community in a significant way.
Pilgrim Theological College continues to offer students the best opportunity to reach their academic goals.
Several of my own doctoral students have been retired or semi-retired, such as Dr Leonie Bird, who graduated this year from the University of Divinity having completed an important piece of work on the implications for the churches of the Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Sexual Abuse.
A short version of her thesis is in the ‘Journal of Contemporary Ministry’, which is available free online at www.journalofcontemporaryministry.com
My current research project is on ‘communities of meaning’.
With a research team of seven people from across three University of Divinity colleges and three universities, as well as the Christian Research Association, we conducted 71 in-depth interviews with retired and semi-retired people to explore how their social connections contribute to a sense of meaning and purpose.
Looking at how the Christian faith gives meaning we noted how, for some, it was the sense of personal connection with God. For others, the focus was on how faith gives values. As one man said:
“My whole worldview flows out of being Christian … and so you have the opportunity to build up relationships by serving and by being kind and helping, and so modelling a lot of those sorts of things that Jesus modelled.”
However, the key finding was the importance of those personal relationships which can develop in small groups, in devotional groups or mission groups, and sometimes even in a church council. One woman said:
“So in (Life) group we grow in our faith and knowledge of God … so we care for one another and sort of share life with each other. That’s the meaningful thing.”
The majority of church attenders whom we interviewed pointed to a small group of people where they felt they were valued and to which they felt they could contribute. A church service is not the key to meaning, it is rather the small group where each person is appreciated and where each can contribute.
Australian culture is diverse and rapidly changing.
It changes with immigrants arriving among us, and as the technology we use to perform everyday tasks changes.
To keep a track on these changes and their significance for personal faith and church life, research is needed.
Pilgrim Theological College is a dynamic centre for research, as well as teaching.
Rev Prof Philip Hughes is Pilgrim Theological College’s Acting Head of College
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