Spirituality and Disability Symposium

 

April 8, 2022 Symposium Recording

April 9, 2022 Symposium Recording

The Fordham University Research Consortium on Disability (RCD) and Graduate School of Religion (GRE) succefully organized the multidisciplinary and international online conference on Spirituality and Disability. This symposium provided a forum discussion on both religious and non-religious perspectives on the intersections of spirituality and disability in terms of lived experience and viewed through multiple models, such as those employed by medical, social (relational), and theological discourses.

Questions about this event, including disability access or accommodation questions, can be directed to [email protected].

Symposium Schedule

Friday April 8, 2022

9:00-10:15 AM (Eastern Daylight Time)

Keynote Address by John Swinton, B.D., Ph.D., RMN, RNMD: 

Spirituality and Disability: What do we mean and why does it matter?

Moderator: Francis X. McAloon, S.J., Ph.D.

• Q&A

10:30 AM-12:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)

Panel #1: Neurodiversity and Spirituality

Moderator: Shannon M. McAlister, Ph.D.

• Samuel J. Levine, LL.M, J.D.:

Was Yosef on The Spectrum? Neurodiversity in the Torah and Today

• John Elder Robison:

Historical and Theological Reflections on Autism and Neurodiversity

• Stephen Bedard, D.Min.:

Uniquely Spiritual: Neurodiversity and Spiritual Formation

• Q&A

12:30-2:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)

Panel #2: Ministry and Disability

Moderator: Samuel J. Levine, LL.M, J.D.

• John Parrett, M.T.S.:

Theology in the Field: When Community Based Staff Encounter Misguided Theology 

• Anne M. Masters, Ph.D., FAAIDD:

Challenge to the Church: The Principles of Catholic Social Teaching, Human Flourishing, and Individuals with Disabilities

• Q&A

Saturday, April 9, 2022

9:00-10:15 AM (Eastern Daylight Time)

Keynote Address by Thomas E. Reynolds, Ph.D.: 

Prophetic Belonging: Disability and Being Church Together

Moderator: Lisa Cataldo, M.Div., Ph.D.

• Q&A

10:30 AM-12:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)

Panel #3: Access and Inclusion within Christian Contexts

Moderator: Harold D. Horell, Ph.D.

• Thomas N. Murphy, Ph.D. cand.:

Fostering Access and Inclusion within Theological and Religious Education through a Universal Design for Learning Framework

• Thomas Grinter, M.Div., Th.M.; Ph.D.: 

Blackness, Disability, and Neo-Pentecostal Discourse

• Allison Connelly-Vetter, M. Div.:

What Is Christian Ableism?

• Q&A

12:30-2:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)

Panel #4: Spirituality, Vision Loss, and Chronic Illness

Moderator: Francis X. McAloon, S.J., Ph.D.

• Bernadette Masterson, Ph.D.: 

Sickness, Stigma and Spiritual Awakening: A Seven-Stage Model of Spiritual Awakening for Women with Prolonged Contested/Invisible Illnesses

• Lynn Fuentes, J.D., Ph.D.:

Chronic Illness as a Path to Personal and Collective Growth: Re-seeing Illness through the Lens of Integral Theory

• Holly Bonner, D.Min.:

The Role of Spirituality and Coping with Vision Loss: Integrating Spirituality within the Context of Care

• Q&A