On a recent trip to Sweden, some friends asked me about my work as a theologian, pastor, religion newswriter and scholar.
They were, understandably, a bit confused about how it all fit together. To be honest, sometimes so am I!
They were also a bit concerned.
How do I avoid a conflict of interest as a journalist? How do I deal with my outsider status as an ethnographer working with Muslim minority communities? How do I reconcile my interreligious encounters with my calling as a theologian?
Great questions.
Last month, Cristina Ochoa interviewed me for the ATLA (American Theological Library Association) blog. To say the least, I was pretty excited. The ATLA — a membership association of librarians and information professionals, and a producer of research tools, committed to advancing the study of religion and theology — often featured in my early theological research at Concordia University Irvine and I continue to use its tools today.
The result is an exploration of how my various vocations work together. It’s also a look into how I see my efforts as a religion scholar, newswriter, and theologian as part of a larger calling toward advancing religious literacy.