Theological reflection was first pioneered by Evelyn and James Whitehead in their book Method in Ministry. They proposed the practice of theological reflection to provide a way for seminary students to relate their experiences in field work to their theological studies in the classroom.

The National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC) posts a resource on their site for chaplains to learn more about theological reflection. You can view the power point slides here by clicking on the first option: “This is what theological reflection seeks to do…” This model, derived from the Whitehead’s theories, overlays culture/context, tradition, and experience to find meaning and theological relevance in everyday experiences.

I find these three overlapping categories helpful as I explore more models of theological reflection. I found that some models of theological reflection combine tradition and culture/context into one – or even exclude culture and context. Thus, the root version of theological reflection is: putting everyday experiences into conversation with religious tradition.

One of NACC’s slides defines theological reflection as serving “both to interpret life’s experiences in light of God’s purposes in Jesus, and to understand the Christian story about God in the light of what we are experiencing day-to-day.” This quote comes from Richard Gula’s Ethics in Pastoral Ministry. Again, this conversation between lived experience and the Christian story and traditions is the foundation of theological reflection.

Elaine Graham puts a spin on these categories in what she calls a “critical theology of pastoral practice” (Graham, 1996, p. 172). By incorporating feminist and gender theory, she names what was missing from original articulations of pastoral theology. In a sense, women’s experiences was the null (or omitted) curriculum of theological reflection. In her theological reflection, she uses women’s experience, the faith tradition, and the community of faith as sources for practical theology (p.173). This triad is more communally focused, incorporating community experience instead of personal experience.

Thomas Groome also suggests a triad for reflective learning using the concepts of time: past, present, and future. The past concerns disciplines and traditions; the present concerns lived experience now; and the future is the hoped-for vision of a better world. Tradition, lived experience, and current context and culture once again intersect in reflection. Groome also emphasizes the ongoing nature of this model – the ongoingness of learning, of reflecting, of becoming (Groome, 1980, p. 5-17).