ON BECOMING SCIENCE-INFORMED THEOLOGIANS: THE INTERSECTION OF EMOTION, RELATIONSHIPS, AND INTELLECTUAL COMMUNITY IN THE THEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF EMERGING ADULT CHRISTIANS A Practical Research Project presented to the Faculty of Claremont School of Theology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Siri C. Erickson May 2020 Copyright © 2020 by Siri C. Erickson NT S C HOOL OF T O H M E O E L R O A G L Y C 188 5 This professional project completed by SIRI C. ERICKSON has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the Claremont School of Theology in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree DOCTOR OF MINISTRY Faculty Committee The Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, Chairperson Dr. Andrew Schwartz Dean of the Faculty The Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook May 2020 ABSTRACT ON BECOMING SCIENCE-INFORMED THEOLOGIANS: THE INTERSECTION OF EMOTION, RELATIONSHIPS, AND INTELLECTUAL COMMUNITY IN THE THEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF EMERGING ADULT CHRISTIANS by Siri C. Erickson This study will show that science-loving Christian high school students enjoy becoming science-informed theologians as they explore and develop ideas about God through positive relationships with their peers, intellectual engagement with scientific and religious knowledge, and tending to their emotions. This process/post-intentional phenomenological study of high school students at the Gustavus Academy for Faith, Science, and Ethics explores how theological imagination develops as a process in and through these various relations. This project was set within the context of the Gustavus Academy for Faith, Science, and Ethics’ 2019 summer intensive on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College, where the theme was “Faith and Science in a Changing Climate: Modeling a Just Response.” Over fifty-five high school students participated in the 2019 summer intensive at the Gustavus Academy; sixteen of these students participated in this study by writing in daily reflection journals, engaging in facilitated theological conversations in response to expert presentations, describing their experience at the Gustavus Academy in researcher-led individual interviews, and creating and delivering oral presentations at the end of the summer intensive. The researcher is the Director of the Gustavus Academy for Faith, Science, and Ethics and Chaplain of the College at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Acknowledgements I would like to begin by thanking Marjorie Suchocki, my professor and academic advisor during my Master of Divinity degree program at Claremont School of Theology, who encouraged us to help every Christian become a theologian. I am grateful to all of the people who have supported my pursuit of this doctor of ministry degree, including my husband, Seth Erickson, and all of my amazing colleagues at Gustavus Adolphus College. Thanks to the Lilly Endowment for funding the Gustavus Academy for Faith, Science, and Ethics and for our whole Gustavus Academy team, including our Gustavus students who work as mentors in the summers, who collaboratively built this Academy out of a wild idea five years ago. Most of all, I would like to thank all of the high school students who have taken a chance on the Gustavus Academy and joined us in the journey of becoming science-informed theologians. You continue to inspire me and give me hope. ii i “I think that if God has a vision for the future, it is one where love and justice are centralized and followed to the extent that human imperfection allows.” –Ivy, 2019 Participant at the Gustavus Academy for Faith, Science, and Ethics iv Contents Chapter 1: Beginning in the Middle 1 Researcher Reflections – A Passion for Science-Informed Theologies Academy Dreams Faith, Science, and Emerging Adults Building the Gustavus Academy for Faith, Science, and Ethics The Research Problem and Question Chapter 2: Theories, Theologies, and Philosophies I am Thinking With 16 On Becoming On Becoming (High School) Theologians On Becoming Science-Informed Theologians On Becoming Science-Informed Theologians in a Changing Climate Researcher Reflections – Process-Relational Approaches to Providence and Eschatology Chapter 3: A Process/Post-Intentional Phenomenological Research Methodology 31 On Measuring Becoming Project Design – Faith and Science in a Changing Climate: Modeling a Just Response Co-Participants Phenomenological Materials Gathered Journals Interviews Small Group Conversations Student Presentations Researcher Reflections – The Joy (and Chaos) of Collaborative Research v Chapter 4: On Becoming Science-Informed Theologians 46 The Gustavus Academy Context The Role of Tending Emotions The Role of Peer Relationships The Role of Theological Insights Researcher Reflections – Thinking Theologically at the Intersection with Science Chapter 5: On Becoming Communities that Nurture Science-Informed Theologians 77 Trustworthiness and Triangulation Process/Post-Intentional Interpretations Significance and Implications for Faith Communities Additional Research Questions Concluding Reflections – Hopes for the Future of our World Appendix A: Sermon Given by Siri Erickson at Gustavus Academy Sunday Worship 2019 87 Appendix B: 2019 Gustavus Academy Summer Intensive Schedule Appendix C: 2019 Summer Intensive Biblical and Theological Readings Appendix D: 2019 Senior Fellows Training Schedule Appendix E: Worship Team Plan and Sample Appendix F: Curriculum Team Plan and Sample Appendix G: Recreation Team Plan Appendix H: Experts’ Presentation Themes Appendix I: Mentor Training Schedule Appendix J: Participant Invitation Letter and Consent Form Appendix K: Participant Journal Protocol v i Appendix L: Participant Journal Questions Appendix M: Small Group Theological Conversation Observation Protocol and Questions Appendix N: Interview Protocol and Questions Appendix O: Presentation Description and Observation Protocol Appendix P: Phenomenological Material Coding Scheme and Sample Quotes Bibliography 132 vi i Chapter 1 Beginning in the Middle “I believe that with this lack of theology and science in my life, there is a part of me that is missing. It is a feeling that I can only talk about my faith when I am at church and science when I am at school. If I try to mix the two, I feel as though I will be judged for it.”1 – Callie My earliest memories of church are an entanglement of discontent, beauty, and questions. These are not the words I would have used to describe my experiences in Christian worship and faith formation settings at the time, but looking back with the distance of time and the wisdom of experience, these words seem apt. I have always loved singing, and the beauty of music has consistently been a spiritual practice that connects me to God, community, and my own inner emotional life. When church seemed baffling or boring, it was singing in choirs, ensembles, and congregations that kept me from leaving the church completely. As a child and emerging adult, I was the kid in Sunday School and Confirmation who always had what felt like troubling questions about God and God’s relationship with the world. I am an introvert, so I usually did not raise these questions to my peers or adult mentors or parents. I also did not hear other people verbalizing questions about God, so I did not have a chance to work through my theological concerns in community with others. When I went to college, I encountered a whole new community of theologians who wrote books about their theological questions and concerns, and I met professors and peers who wanted to discuss things like feminist perspectives on God and the Bible, the use of inclusive language 1 Participant 8 Journal Entry, June 23, 2019. 1