Dr. Fran Porter

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Chair of Academic Oversight Committee

Dr. Fran Porter

BA (London School of Theology), MSc (University of Ulster), PhD (University of Ulster)

Dr Fran Porter is Chair of Academic Oversight Committee and Senior Research Fellow at IBTS. Based in the UK, she has conducted or contributed to projects for the University of Ulster, the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland, the Irish School of Ecumenics, Queen’s University Belfast, the Irish Peace Centres, Coventry University, the Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education in Birmingham, and the Anabaptist Theology Forum. Much of this work has been interdisciplinary in nature, exploring faith in the contexts of gender power relations, social diversity and sectarian conflict. Fran describes her research work, which often involves an empirical component, as socially engaged theology, exploring the church’s mission and relationship to wider society. Disseminating academic research to church, community and voluntary sectors in an accessible format has been an integral part of her work. She brings her research experience to her work with IBTS, providing academic oversight, contributing to the Postgraduate Certificate and the Thesis Bridging Programme, and supervising doctoral students.

Research Interests

“My research interests are in socially engaged theology; I have explored Christian faith, feminism, gender, equality, social diversity, and the dynamics of conflict, peace and reconciliation in deeply divided societies. I have a particular interest inthe following: feminist engagement with women’s Christian experience; gender (including theological, biblical and historical perspectives, contemporary Christian practices, and social commentary); and empirical methodologies. I am currently investigating responses to tainted Anabaptist theological legacies.

My own postgraduate studies within an empirically oriented university department shaped my socially engaged theology, which was also formed in the context of 27 years studying and working in Northern Ireland. In engaging with the church’s mission and relationship to wider society, I am keen to understand the various dynamics at work in particular contexts (whether of gender, conflict or social diversity), drawing on analytical tools through which we can question our working assumptions and practices.”

Publications

Why Women Doing Theology Matters for Everyone: Sexual Violence, Tainted Legacies, and the Integrity of Anabaptist Theology’ (forthcoming), in JEBS.

'Researching “Faith” beyond the Congregation: Testing terminology in a Pilot Project’, written with Ian Jones, in Ecclesial Practices, 9 no. 2 (2022): 227–248.

‘Facing Harm: What to Do with the Theology of John Howard Yoder?’, in Anabaptism Today, 4 no. 1 (2022).

‘From Washing Feet to Shaking Hands: Footwashing, Gender and the Things that Make for Peace’, in Anabaptism Today, 2 no. 2 (2020): 53–67.

‘The Who, What and How of Remembering God: A Response to Brian Haymes and Kyle Gingerich Hiebert, “Misremembering God”’, in Anabaptism Today, 2 no. 1 (2020): 4–8.

Researching Female Faith: Qualitative Research Methods, edited with Nicola Slee and Anne Phillips (Abingdon: Routledge, 2018).

'"Sometimes you need a question": Structure and Flexibility in Feminist Interviewing' in Nicole Slee, Fran Porter and Anne Phillips (eds), Researching Female Faith: Qualitative Research Methods (Abingdon: Routledge, 2018), pp. 83–97.

'Gender Relations in the New Testament: A Feminist Anabaptist Reading', in Baptistic Theologies, 9 no. 1 (2017): 33–48.

Women and Men after Christendom: The Dis-Ordering of Gender Relationships (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2015).

The Faith Lives of Women and Girls: Qualitative Research Perspectives, edited with Nicola Slee and Anne Phillips (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013).

‘The “In-the-Middle” God: Women, Community Conflict and Power in Northern Ireland’ in Nicola Slee, Fran Porter and Anne Phillips (eds), The Faith Lives of Women and Girls: Qualitative Research Perspectives, (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013) pp. 91–101.

‘Restoring Original Settings: Other as Christian Norm?’ in Being the Other: Transactions from a Theological Conference, Experiential Learning Paper No. 6, (Belfast: Irish Peace Centres, 2011) pp. 32–40.

‘Review Essay: Studying Faith, Practising Peace’ in Faith and Positive Relations: Studying Faith, Practising Peace, Experiential Learning Paper No. 4, (Belfast: Irish Peace Centres, 2010) pp. 84–91.

‘Thinking About Ourselves: Christian Theology and Rights Discourse in Northern Ireland’ in David Tombs (ed) Rights and Righteousness: Perspectives on Religious Pluralism and Human Rights, (Belfast: NIHRC, 2010) pp. 55–60.

‘Faith in a Plural Society: The Values, Attitudes and Practices of Churches in Protecting Minority Participation’ in The Challenges of Peace (Belfast:CRC, 2009) pp. 101–113.

‘Women’s dignity and the church’s tainted love’ in Thinking for a Change (15 October 2009, Issue 57), http://ekklesia.co.uk/node/10403.

‘From Divided to Diverse Society: Reflections on Sectarianism and Social Diversity from the Churches Sector’, in Shared Space, no. 7 (2009): 5–19.

Faith in a Plural Society: The Values, Attitudes and Practices of Churches in Protecting Minority Participation (Belfast: CCCI, 2008).

It Will Not Be Taken Away from Her: A Feminist Engagement with Women’s Christian Experience (London: DLT, 2004).

Changing Women, Changing Worlds: Evangelical Women in Church, Community and Politics (Belfast: Blackstaff, 2002).

Memberships & Networks

Anabaptist Theology Forum (steering group member).

Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education in Birmingham, UK (external supervisor).

Society for the Study of Theology.

The British and Irish Association for Practical Theology.

Other Activities

Book Reviews:

Review of ‘For the Good of the Church: Unity, Theology and Women’, by Gabrielle Thomas in Journal of European Baptist Studies, 24, no. 2 (2024): 220–221.

Review of ‘Blessing the Curse? A Biblical Approach for Restoring Relationships in the Church’, by Ksenija Magda in Journal of European Baptist Studies, 22 no. 1 (2022): 206–208.

Review of ‘Liberating the Politics of Jesus: Renewing Peace Theology Through the Wisdom of Women’, ed by Elizabeth Soto Albrecht and Darryl W Stephens in Practical Theology, 14 no. 5 (2021): 493–495, doi.org/10.1080/1756073X.2021.1980701.

Review of ‘Reordering Theological Reflection: Starting with Scripture’, Helen Collins in Journal of European Baptist Studies, 21 no. 1 (2021): 204–205, doi.org/10.25782/jebs.v21i1.717.

Review of ‘Recovering from the Anabaptist Vision: New Essays in Anabaptist Identity and Theological Method’, ed Laura Schmidt Roberts, Paul Martens and Myron A. Penner in Anabaptism Today, 3 no. 1 (2021): 82–84.

Review of ‘The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theology’, ed Mary McClintock Fulkerson and Sheila Briggs in Journal of European Baptist Studies, 19 no.1 (2109): 157–159.

Review of ‘Recognizing the Non-Religious’, by Lois Lee in Anvil, 35 no. 1 (2019):52–53.

Review of ‘Embodied Peacebuilding: Reconciliation as Practical Theology', by Leah E Robinson in Practical Theology, 9 no. 2 (2015):158–159, doi/full/10.1080/1756073X.2016.1192090.

Review of ‘The Faith of Girls: Children’s Spirituality and Transition to Adulthood’, by Anne Phillips in Journal of Beliefs and Values, 33 no. 2 (2012): 243–245, doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2012.695054.