Dr Andrew Village

Head of Programme - MA in Theology & Religious Studies

Reader in Practical and Empirical Theology

Contact Details

T: 01904 876723

E: a.village@yorksj.ac.uk

Information

BSc (Hons) Zoology Durham (1975)

PhD (Ecology of Kestrels) Edinburgh University (1980)

BA (Hons) Theological Studies Trinity College, Bristol (1992)

PhD (Bible and Lay People) Bristol University (2003)

Research

I began my academic career by studying zoology, and in particular the ecology of birds of prey. In 1989 I changed careers and trained for the Anglican ministry at Trinity College, Bristol. I served as a curate in Northampton and then as incumbent of two parishes near Banbury in the Peterborough diocese.
During my time in ministry I became interested in how lay people use and interpret the Bible, and began researching this part time from the mid 1990s. My approach was driven by my natural science background, and I was drawn to the notion of gathering empirical evidence as a basis for theological reflection. This put me in touch with Professor Leslie Francis (then at Carmarthen and later at Bangor), and I have worked closely with his team since then.

I moved to Bangor University in 2004 to run the Centre for Ministry Studies, working with a wide range of churches to deliver ministry training. In 2007 I moved to York where my research interests have broadened and developed, but still centre on the gathering of empirical data and its interpretation in theological discourse.

The research on lay people and the Bible led to a PhD in 2003, a number of papers and a book The Bible and Lay People published by Ashgate in 2007. In this I try to demonstrate how empirical study can raise questions and issues that shed new light on theological questions related to the way that people use Scripture. I have continued this study by looking at similar questions with a large sample of Anglican clergy, and these results are being published in journals. One aspect of this work has been the relationship between psychological type and interpretation. Leslie Francis and I published a book which examines this in a more theoretical manner in relation to the process of preaching (Preaching with All our Souls, Continuum 2008).

Work with others over the last few years has involved helping to analyse data from a range of surveys- notably the Church Times survey, which has proved a very useful dataset for investigating attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of lay and ordained members of the Church of England. Areas of interest have included the changing patterns of beliefs among different traditions in the Anglican Church, beliefs about homosexuality, and factors shaping civic volunteerism. One particular result from this survey was a detailed look at Anglican clergy, published in The mind of the Anglican clergy: assessing attitudes and beliefs in the Church of England (Mellen Press, 2009).

Co-operation with Adrian Brockett at YSJU has led to series of papers that explore racial and religious prejudice among teenagers. This is based on surveys in Northern England, which led to the development of measures of outgroup prejudice. My particular interest has been to see how prejudice relates to both personality and to religion. Many studies have looked at prejudice and religion or prejudice and personality, but very few if any have brought them to together.

My broad research interests are shaped by the belief that an informed understanding of the sociology or psychology of religion is an important basis for theological reflection. My particular interests continue to be with ‘ordinary readers’ of the Bible, with attitudes and beliefs of lay people (I am currently looking at views on Creationism and the environment and involved in the Anglican Communion's Bible in the Life of the Church project as a consultant), and with teenage values and beliefs. I have a developing interest in studying cathedrals and I am supervising a PhD student looking at the Friends of Cathedrals associations. Wider interests include faith and education, and I am running a survey of those who take our degrees in Theology & Ministry (The Faith & Higher Education Project), as well as helping York Diocese Board of Education with a survey of those involved with Church Schools.

PhD supervision (as main supervisor):

Cathedrals Making Friends; A study of Cathedral Friends Associations

An evaluation of the 'Messy Church' movement in terms of its missiology and ecclesiology

Teaching

My main teaching is related to being Head of Programme for the Masters in Theology & Religious Studies. I teach modules on Biblical Studies, Ordinary Hermeneutics and Religion, Science & the Arts.

At undergraduate level, I teach New Testament at Level 2, Biblical Studies at Level 3, and supervise undergraduate dissertations.

» For further information on the MA in Theology & Religious Studies

» For further information on the Research Degrees

Selected Publications

Books

Village, A. (2007). The bible and lay people: An empirical approach to ordinary hermeneutics. Aldershot & Burlington VT: Ashgate.
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2009). The mind of the Anglican clergy: Assessing attitudes and beliefs in the Church of England. Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press.
Francis, L. J., & Village, A. (2008). Preaching with all our Souls. London: Continuum.

Articles

Sole-authored

Village, A. (in press). The Charismatic imagination: Clergy reading Mark 9: 14-29. Pentecostudies.
Village, A. (in press). The Bible and Ordinary Readers. In J. Astley (Ed.), Studies in ordinary Theology. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Village, A. (In press). Psychological type profiles of biblical scholars: An empirical enquiry among members of the Society of Biblical Literature. Mental Health Religion and Culture.
Village, A. (In press). Biblical interpretative horizons and Anglican readers: An empirical enquiry. In C. Amos (Ed.), Anglican approaches to the Bible. Norwich: Canterbury Press.
Village, A. (2012). English Anglicanism: Construct validity of a scale of Anglo-catholic versus evangelical self-identification. In F.-V. Anthony & H.-G. Ziebertz (Eds.), Religious identity and national heritage: Empirical-theological perspectives (pp. 93-122). Leiden: Brill.
Village, A. (2012). Biblical literalism: A test of the compensatory schema hypothesis among Anglicans in England. Review of Religious Research, 54, 175-196.
Village, A. (2012). Biblical literalism among Anglican clergy: What is the role of psychological type? Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 1-14.
Village, A. (2011). Outgroup prejudice, personality, and religiosity: Disentangling a complex web of relationships among adolescents in the UK. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 3, 269-284
Village, A. (2011). Gifts differing? Psychological type among stipendiary and non-stipendiary Anglican clergy. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 22, 230-250.
Village, A. (2010). Psychological type and biblical interpretation among Anglican clergy in the UK. Journal of Empirical Theology, 23, 179-200.
Village, A. (2009). The influence of psychological type preferences on readers trying to imagine themselves in a New Testament healing story HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies 65 Art. # 162. , 6 pages.
Village, A. (2007). Feeling in and falling out: Sense of belonging and frequency of disagreeing among Anglican congregations. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 29, 268-288.
Village, A. (2005). Dimensions of belief about miraculous healing. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 8, 97-107.
Village, A. (2005). Christian belief about the Bible and the Holy Spirit in relation to psychological type. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 16, 1-16.
Village, A. (2005). Assessing belief about the Bible: A study among Anglican laity. Review of Religious Research, 46, 243-254.

Co-authored

Village, A., & Baker, S. (Accepted, due August 2013). Reasons given by UK churchgoers for their stance on evolution. Journal of Beliefs and Values.
Village, A., Baker, S., & Howat, S. (2012). Psychological type profiles of churchgoers in England. Mental Health, Religion & Culture.
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2005). The relationship of psychological type preferences to biblical interpretation. Journal of Empirical Theology, 18, 74-89.
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2008). Attitude toward homosexuality among Anglicans in England: The effects of theological orientation and personality. Journal of Empirical Theology, 21, 68-87.
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2010). All in the mind? Psychological, social and religious predictors of civic volunteerism among churchgoers in England. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 21, 1-26.
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2010). An anatomy of change: Profiling cohort-difference in beliefs and attitudes among Anglicans in England. Journal of Anglican Studies, 8, 59-81.
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2011). The visibility of mission agencies in general and USPG in particular among recently ordained Anglican clergy: An empirical enquiry. Transformation, 28, 129-137.
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2012). Have Anglo-catholics lost their vision for mission agencies? An empirical enquiry among newly ordained clergy in Britain. Journal of Anglican Studies, 10, 52-67.
Village, A., Francis, L. J., & Craig, C. L. (2009). Church tradition and psychological type preferences among Anglicans in England. Journal of Anglican Studies, 7, 93-109.
Village, A., Williams, E., & Francis, L. J. (2010). Does religion make a difference? Assessing the effects of Christian affiliation and practice on marital solidarity and divorce in Britain, 1985-2005 Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 51, 327-338.
Village, A., Williams, E., & Francis, L. J. (2010). Living in sin? Religion and cohabitation in Britain 1985-2005. Marriage and Family Review, 46, 468-479.
Francis, L. J., Village, A., Robbins, M., & Wulff, K. (2011). Work-related psychological health among clergy serving in the Presbyterian Church (USA): Testing the idea of balanced affect. Review of Religious Research, 53, 9-22.
Jones, S. H., Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2011). Assessing the impact of Ordained Local Ministry on the performance of Church of England Dioceses 1991-2003. Practical Theology, 4, 231-226.

Presentations at National/International Conferences
Invited keynote addresses

International Society for Empirical research in Theology (ISERT) biennial conference: Rome, April 2010 Keynote address: ‘English Anglicanism: Individual identities in a national church’
Network of Psychological Type and Faith annual meeting: Hawarden, Flintshire. November 2010. Keynote address: ‘Preaching with all our souls: Psychology and preaching’

Externally funded conference attendance

Society for the Scientific Study of Religion / Religious Research Association annual conference: Denver, CO, October 2009. ‘Type and tradition: psychological type and church tradition among recently ordained Anglican clergy’
Society for Biblical Literature annual meeting: New Orleans, LA, November 2009. ‘The Bible and Clergy: Psychological Type and biblical interpretation among Anglican clergy in England’

Other conferences

Society for the Scientific Study of Religion / Religious Research Association annual conference: Phoenix, Az, November 2012. 'Assessing out-group prejudice among 13- to 15-year-old students in Northern Ireland' and 'Work-related psychological health among pastoral leaders: Testing the theory of balanced affect'
Society for Biblical Literature annual meeting: Chicago, Il, November 2012. 'Literal, Anti-literal and Metaphorical interpretations of Genesis in relation to psychological type: a study of UK churchgoers' and 'The Bible in the Life of the Church project: An empirical study of Anglican hermeneutics'
International Society for Empirical research in Theology (ISERT) biennial conference: Nijmegen, Netherlands, April 2012 'Measuring the contribution of Roman Catholic schools to students’ religious, personal and social values'
Society for Biblical Literature annual meeting: San Francisco, CA, November 2011. 'Psychological type and biblical scholarship: An empirical study among members of the SBL'
Internal Society for the Sociology of Religion: Aix-en-Provence, France, July 2011. 'Environmentalism, creationism and religious tradition: A study among UK congregations'
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion / Religious Research Association annual conference: Baltimore, MA, October 2010. ‘Use your imagination: Psychological type, sex and bible reading among Anglican clergy in the UK’
International Society for the Sociology of Religion (ISSR) biennial conference: Santiago de Compostela, Spain, July 2009. ‘Volunteerism among Anglican clergy in the UK’
International Society for Empirical research in Theology (ISERT) biennial conference: Würtzburg, Germany, April 2008 ‘Social capital among Anglicans in England’
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion / Religious Research Association annual conference: Louisville, KY, October 2008. ‘Social concern among Anglican laity: A matter of belief?’
Society for Biblical Literature annual meeting: Boston, MA, November 2008. ‘The influence of Psychological Type preferences on readers trying to imagine themselves in a New Testament healing story’

Professional Membership

International Society for Empirical Research in Theology, ISERT (Treasurer)
International Society for the Sociology of Religion (ISSR)
Religious Research Association (RRA)
Rural Theology Association (RTA)
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR)
Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)

Professional Activities

Co-Editor, Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion
Editorial Board, Rural Theology and Soma

The Bible, Creation and You Survey 2011 For a description of the survey and links to the report please click here.