Origins: Where the Idea Came From
The Cross-Training Programme
Elżbieta Łazarewicz-Wyrzykowska, founder and principal investigator of the Theological Measures project, began developing the concept during the Psychology Cross-Training Programme for Theologians at the University of Birmingham, funded by the John Templeton Foundation.
This interdisciplinary initiative brought together early-career theologians, leading psychologists and practical theology experts. The goal was to equip the fellows with insights and methods from psychology to inform their theological work.
As part of the fellowship, each participant was awarded a grant to develop an individual research project. Łazarewicz-Wyrzykowska’s project focused on the collaborative development of a measure of God’s Where-Being and the exploration of its correlations with contemplative prayer, under the mentorship of Dr. Kathryn Johnson, a psychologist of religion and expert guide in the programme.
It was in this context that Łazarewicz-Wyrzykowska began to explore how the tools of psychological research—particularly structured, quantitative surveys—might be used not simply in theology, but shaped by theology.
“I began to imagine what a questionnaire would look like if it didn’t just include theological content,” Łazarewicz-Wyrzykowska explains, “but actually emerged from theological reflection—and stayed responsive to the life, language, and practices of Christian communities.”
Tension That Refined
At the same time, Łazarewicz-Wyrzykowska found herself wrestling with the very real tensions between theological and psychological paradigms.
Psychology offered structure, clarity, and analytical tools—but often assumed frameworks that sat uneasily with the theological questions she was engaging and the complexity of interview data she worked with. Theology, meanwhile, brought depth, purpose, and accountability to tradition—but could be difficult to operationalise in ways that allowed for pattern recognition, comparison, or the discovery of correlations.
Inspired by Dr. Barry Johnson’s model of Polarity Thinking, she began to approach this tension not as a problem to be solved, but as a space for creativity.
Through many conversations that followed, the tension itself refined her thinking, pushing her toward a different kind of solution: not a compromise, but a new category. This was the beginning of what she would later call Theological Measures.
A Collaborative Journey
This concept was shaped by Łazarewicz-Wyrzykowska’s collaboration with Dr. Kathryn Johnson, as well as by rich conversations with fellow participants in the programme and its leadership—especially Dr. Carissa Sharp, Dr. Amy Daughton, Dr. Shoko Watanabe—and other mentors.
“Their questions, challenges, and insights helped me clarify the purpose and potential of the approach,” she recalls. “I felt encouraged not to dilute the theological vision for the sake of empirical acceptance, nor to compromise methodological rigour for the sake of theological commitment—but to keep pressing toward a form of research that could honour both.”
From Insight to Ongoing Work
The first outcome of this work is the in-progress Theological Measure of God’s Where-Being, which continues to be refined through interdisciplinary collaboration. But the idea has already grown into something larger: a way of thinking about research that is theologically intentional, methodologically rigorous, and community-responsive.
Theological Measures now form the heart of an ongoing research programme—one that invites others to join the conversation and help shape the future of practical theology.
Meet the founder and principal investigator behind Theological Measures.
