Jacobs, Naomi Lawson (2019) The Upside‐down Kingdom of God : A Disability Studies Perspective on Disabled People’s Experiences in Churches and Theologies of Disability. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/32204 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. The Upside-down Kingdom of God: A Disability Studies Perspective on Disabled People’s Experiences in Churches and Theologies of Disability NAOMI LAWSON JACOBS Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2019 Department of Religions and Philosophies SOAS, University of London 1 Abstract This thesis argues that, in many churches, disabled people are conceptualised as objects of care. However, disabled Christians are capable of being active agents in churches, with service, ministry and theologies of their own to offer. In Part A, I explore the discourses that have historically functioned in churches to marginalise disabled Christians. Using a Foucauldian approach, I argue that the Christian pastoral model has a fundamental orientation towards individualism, addressing disability through frameworks of care and charity, rather than through a model of justice. I compare this approach with the liberatory theologies of critical disability theologians, whose socially located perspectives are often marginalised in mainstream theology in favour of universalist theological approaches. In Part B, using data from interviews with 30 Christians, I argue that their subjugated perspectives highlight a precarious normalcy in churches, where environments do not sustain the bodyminds of many disabled worshippers. Using theories of misfitting from disability studies, I argue the study’s participants were often prevented from fitting in churches: in buildings, in worship contexts, in social interactions, and in their attempts to offer their own service and ministry to others. I theorise the concept of discipl(in)ing, where bodyminds are shaped towards norms as they participate in church life. Drawing on the Gospel parable of the banquet, I argue that, through the theological and ecclesial focus on hospitality, disabled people are offered a conditional welcome into churches, resulting in a power imbalance between non-disabled hosts and disabled permanent guests. In Part C I discuss the theological perspectives of participants, whose own theologies call for the churches to be the “Upside-down Kingdom of God.” They explore an alternative: transformation of churches so that all may have access to worship and church culture. I argue that the fields of academic and ecclesial theology have a responsibility to enable disabled people’s own socially contingent theologies and sharing of experience, if access to “all” for churches is to include disabled people as part of the “all.” 3 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms BSL British Sign Language CDA Critical Discourse Analysis CDS Critical disability studies PAR Participatory action research RAG Research Advisory Group WAVE (Church) We’re All Valued Equally 4 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 3 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms .......................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 8 Part A: Theorising and Contextualising Disability and Christianity ...................... 10 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 11 1. Structure of Thesis ....................................................................................................... 12 1.1 Research aims, objectives and questions .............................................................................. 14 2. The Research Paradigm: Key Concepts and Frameworks ...................................... 15 2.1 Disability studies and emancipatory and critical disability research .................................... 16 2.2 Defining “Christian” and “disabled Christian community”: Identity and liminality ............ 21 2.3 The pastoral model ................................................................................................................ 24 3. The Research Context ................................................................................................. 26 3.1 Academic perspectives: Christianity and disability .............................................................. 26 3.2 The role of disability studies and religious studies for representations of disability in churches and theology ................................................................................................................. 31 3.3 Church contexts for disabled people ..................................................................................... 32 Chapter 1. Methods and Methodology ..................................................................... 36 1.1.1 Locating myself in the research: Whose side am I on? ...................................................... 39 1.1.2 Reciprocity: My responsibilities to disabled Christian community/ies ............................. 44 1.1.3 The research advisory group .............................................................................................. 44 1.2 Designing Accessible Research: The Story of a Research Project ........................ 47 1.2.1 Research methods I did not use: Gatekeeping and clashing models of disability ............. 47 1.2.2 Research stage one: Fieldwork observational contexts ...................................................... 51 1.2.3 Research stage two: Interviews .......................................................................................... 53 1.2.4 Accessible and flexible research methods and data analysis ............................................. 60 1.2.5 Dissemination: Sharing useful and accessible research results .......................................... 65 1.3 Practical Ethical Research Methods ........................................................................ 67 1.3.1 Consent and access to information ..................................................................................... 67 1.3.2 Anonymity, confidentiality and ownership of data ............................................................ 68 1.3.3 Use of digital and online research methods ....................................................................... 69 Chapter 2. Theological and Ecclesial Perspectives on Disability ............................ 72 2.1 Theologies of Disability: Definitions and Contexts ................................................. 72 2.1.1 The Bible and disability: Resistant biblical readings ......................................................... 79 2.2 Pastoral Care Discourses and Disability in Churches ............................................ 85 2.2.1 Pastoral rejection of disabled people’s theological models ............................................... 91 2.2.2 Theologies of friendship and welcome .............................................................................. 94 Part B: Misfits in the Pews ..................................................................................... 101 Chapter 3. Misfitting: Experiences of Church Normalcy ..................................... 102 3.1 Disabled Christians as “Misfits” ............................................................................ 103 3.2 “Where can I put you?” Buildings and Spatial Segregation ............................... 105 5 3.3 Worship Norms in Churches .................................................................................. 111 3.3.1 Communion ...................................................................................................................... 112 3.3.2 Standing and sitting .......................................................................................................... 115 3.3.3 Audiocentric and visiocentric church cultures ................................................................. 118 3.3.4 Size and style of churches ................................................................................................ 122 3.4 Friendship and the Normative Social Church ...................................................... 124 3.4.1 Home groups .................................................................................................................... 125 3.4.2 Post-church coffee ............................................................................................................ 130 3.4.3 Attendance ........................................................................................................................ 133 3.4.4 Church norms of friendship and belonging .....................................................................