Ashley Cocksworth

I work in the area of Christian theology. More specifically, I am interested in the relation between religious belief and religious practice. I am particularly interested how these questions get framed and theorised in modern theology and increasingly in Anglican systematic theology. 

In terms of actual religious practices, I am primarily interested in ‘everyday’ (or nearly everyday) religious practices and some of the ordinary things religious people do. I have written on Evening Prayer in Anglican liturgy, the Sabbath as a form of contemplation, the Sabbath as a form of ecological practice, baptism, the saying of the creeds in worship, the idea of giving glory to God, the practice of 'reading', the smile, and more generally and variously theological matters relating to the practice of prayer - including when prayer goes wrong. I have found prayer to be a useful ‘way in’ to investigate the relation between belief-formation and practice. My next major research project develops a theology of joy in dialogue with strands of social and developmental psychology.

I am currently the PI on an externally funding project exploring the experiences of saying creeds among older Christian in local Roehampton churches. 

Publications

• Karl Barth on Prayer (Studies in Systematic Theology Series; T&T Clark / Bloomsbury, 2015)
• Prayer: A Guide for the Perplexed (Bloomsbury, 2018)
• The Grammar of Grace: Readings from the Christian Tradition (Cascade Books, 2019).
• The T&T Clark Handbook of Christian Prayer (Bloomsbury, 2021).
• Karl Barth: Spiritual Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality Series; Paulist Press, 2022).

For some reviews of Karl Barth on Prayer, see: Religion and Theology, 23.2 (2016); Choice (2016); Theology in Scotland, 23.1 (2016); Expository Times, 28.3 (2016); International Journal of Systematic Theology, 19.2 (2017); Modern Theology, 33.3 (2017); Theologischen Literaturzeitung (2017, Nr. 4); Centre for Karl Barth Studies, Princeton Theological Seminary (December 2017); Journal of Reformed Theology, 11.4 (2018).

For some reviews of Prayer: A Guide for the Perplexed, see: Church of England Newspaper (Sep 2018); The Way, 58.2 (2019); The Reader Magazine (Winter, 2018); Church Times (January 2019); Reviews in Religion and Theology, 26.1 (2019); Theology, 122.2 (2019); Regents Review, 10.2 (2019); Anglican Theological Review, 102.2 (2020); Theological Studies, 81.2 (2020); Reading Religion, American Academy of Religion (2020); Scottish Journal of Theology, 73.4 (2021). 

Publications [in preparation]

• Glorification, co-authored with David F. Ford (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic)
• From the Shores of Silence: Conversations in Feminist Practical Theology, co-edited with Rachel Starr and Stephen Burns (London: SCM Press)
• The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology Since 1918, co-edited with Rachel Muers (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell).

I am Programme Convener of the Practical Theology (DTh). If you are interested in the Professional Doctorate in Practical Theology, please contact me and I will be pleased to provide further information.

I have convened a variety of modules accross all levels (FdA, BTh, BA, MA, DTh). In 2021/22, I am convening the following:

• Christian Doctrine in Practice [L6]
• Publishable Article [L8]
• Research Design (1): Literature Review and Research Question

• British and Irish Association for Practical Theology
• Society for the Study of Theology
• American Academy of Religion
• Karl Barth Society of North America.