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Union

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Lecturer in Practical Theology

Dr. Olwyn Mark

BA, MA & PhD

I completed a BA Hons in European Business Studies at Ulster University, Coleraine in 2001, and went on to graduate with an MA in European Politics from Brunel University, Uxbridge (2002). After completing CARE’s Leadership Programme, I spent a couple of years working as a Parliamentary Assistant in the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg. I am motivated and excited about the transformative impact that Christians can have in the public square, and have worked with a number of Christian organisations to develop their public ministry, including with CARE as their Northern Ireland Public Policy Officer and as Programme Manager with Love for Life.

I hold a MA in Bioethics from St. Mary’s University College, Twickenham (2011), and completed a DipHe in Theology at the London School of Theology (LST) before undertaking and completing doctoral studies at LST (2015). My research was subsequently published by Peter Lang (Oxford) in their series on Religion, Education and Values under the title: Educating for Sexual Virtue: A Moral Vision for Relationships and Sex Education (2017). Following the completion of my PhD, I undertook a postdoctoral research project at the National Institute for Christian Education Research (NICER) at Canterbury Christ Church University, exploring the passing on of faith in the home.

After seven years in London, I moved back to Northern Ireland in 2017 to rejoin the team at Love for Life as Head of Research and Strategic Partnerships. I am a Visiting Lecturer and Research Fellow at the London School of Theology, and teach and supervise students in various areas of practical theology, including the engagement of faith in contemporary culture, and ethics. In my teaching, research and writing, I am committed to encouraging and equipping the church to engage and impact society and culture with the transformative good news of the gospel.

I joined the faculty at Union as Lecturer in Practical Theology in August 2021, and am programme co–ordinator for the new undergraduate degree programme.

My research interests include the role and place of religion in contemporary culture, in particular, in public education and more specifically, teaching and learning in relationships and sexuality education. I am also interested in the place of moral and spiritual development in education and the role of Christian virtue in shaping a vision of character education. I would also welcome discussion with potential research students interested in engaging theologically with  developments in the field of bioethics.

 

Publications

'Relationships and Sex Education’ in Debates in Religious Education (2nd ed.), London: Routledge, 2023.

‘Educating for the Common Good: Engaging Relational Truth in a World of Ideas’ in Evangelicals Engaging in Practical Theology: Theology that Impacts Church and World, Abingdon: Routledge, 2022.

Educating for Sexual Virtue: A Moral Vision for Relationships and Sex Education, Oxford: Peter Lang, 2017.

‘Passing on Faith in the Home’ in The Bible in Transmission, Bible Society, 2017.

Passing on Faith, London: Theos, 2016.