Martin Poulsom SDB
Email: m.poulsom@heythrop.ac.uk
Telephone: 020 7795 4268
Biography
Martin Poulsom is a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco, a Roman Catholic religious congregation that specializes in youth work. As a Salesian (since 1987), he has lived in various places in England and Ireland and has had experience of running residential retreats, youth work, leadership training for youth ministers, parish and ecumenical work, and various forms of music ministry. He has been a presbyter since 1997. He is currently Vocations Animator for the British Province of the Salesians and is a member of the Youth Team of the Salesian Province with responsibility for young adult work and vocations. He is vice-rector of the community in Battersea, from which he usually walks to work.
He has first degrees in Biochemistry and in Philosophy & Theology (the latter from Heythrop). The interaction between science and religion is an abiding interest, which he now lectures on and is currently writing about. He also holds a Heythrop MTh in Pastoral Theology, a Cambridge MPhil in Philosophy of Religion and an Oxford DPhil in Philosophical Theology.
His theological areas of research include creation and the structure of theological discourse (the subject of his doctorate), Edward Schillebeeckx, aspect theory, nature and grace, science and religion, and the interaction between atheism and theism. He is a member of two of Heythrop's research centres - the Centre for Philosophy of Religion and the RLI (Religious Life Institute).
He enjoys getting out of the city, taking photographs that don’t have any people in them and songwriting. He is also a singer-songwriter and is currently working on his second album, which will be called ‘Dark Light’.
Current teaching
Martin joined the Theology Department in 2006 and is involved in the teaching of the following courses:
Undergraduate:
The Human Person in the Christian Tradition (1) (TH101)
The Human Person in the Christian Tradition (2) (TH301)
Belief and Unbelief (ST311)
He is Convenor of the BA in Theology
Postgraduate:
Central Themes in Christian Theology (CTH401)
Salvation, Grace and Human Life (CTH402)
He is Convenor of the MA in Christian Theology
Recently, Martin has undertaken theological consultancy work for CAFOD, the Conference of Religious and the Bishops Conference of England and Wales. He is also very much involved in liveSimply and is currently Chair of the liveSimply Coordinating Group. He makes regular visits to Secondary Schools and Sixth Forms to talk about theology and philosophy of religion.
Publications
His publications to date are:
‘Sustaining Presence: Religious Life in the Midst of Creation’, article in the published version of the 2010 RLI Colloquium (Columba Press, forthcoming)
‘The Place of Praxis in the Theology of Edward Schillebeeckx’, in Keeping Faith in Practice: Aspects of Catholic Pastoral Theology, edited by James Sweeney, Gemma Simmonds and David Lonsdale (London: SCM Press, 2010), pp. 131-42
‘The Pros and Cons of “Intelligent Design”’, Forum Philosophicum, 13 (2008), 175-91
‘The Place of Humanity in Creation’, in Faiths in Creation: The Institute Series, 8 (London: Heythrop Institute for Religion, Ethics and Public Life, 2008), pp. 25-35
‘Animating the Young: An Introduction to a Holistic Paradigm of Youth Ministry’, Journal of Youth and Theology, 6.1 (April 2007), 116-18
‘Hear My Story: Understanding the Cries of Troubled Youth by Dean Borgman’, Journal of Youth and Theology, 5.1 (April 2006), 96-98
‘Wendy Wright, Heart Speaks to Heart’, The Way, 43.3 (2004), 139-41
‘What does the Assumption mean for the Church today?’, Priests and People, 2 (1988), 256-60
He has also presented the following conference papers:
‘Sustainable Presence: Religious Life in the Context of Creation’, RLI Colloquium (organised by Religious Life Institute, Heythrop College), 2010.
‘Critical Creation-faith for Critical Times’, European Society for Catholic Theology International Conference, Limerick: ‘Eager Longing of Creation: Interdisciplinary Theological Perspectives on Ecology and Economy’, 2009.
‘The Place of Praxis in Schillebeeckx’s Theology’, Heythrop College Department of Pastoral and Social Studies and ARCS Project (Action Research: Church and Society) Conference, London, 2007.
‘“Intelligent Design”: A Theory of Creation?’, Heythrop Philosophy of Religion Circle Annual Conference, 2007.
‘Schillebeeckx’s humanum’, Heythrop Philosophy of Religion Circle Annual Conference, 2003.
‘“To Choir the Proper Praise”: Praying for the Inevitable’, Heythrop Philosophy of Religion Circle Annual Conference, 2001.
‘Heidegger’s Grand Dasein’, Heythrop Philosophy of Religion Circle Annual Conference, 2000.