Cross-Training in Psychology: A Theologian’s and a Philosopher’s Reflection

I (Gillian) have always found science-engaged theology to be an important topic, as the John Templeton Foundation has had a prominent presence since the beginning of my academic career, and I have consistently learned from theologians who are engaged with the sciences. Equally, from the beginning of my academic career, my research focus has been on Hong Kong. Having gone through significant demographic changes in recent years, Hong Kong Christian communities are trying to make sense of what happened. At this juncture, theologians and pastors are attempting to theorise and assist congregants in making sense of social changes and their psychological aspects. I first came across this Cross-training Psychology + Theology project on Facebook, where Cross-training mentor Dr Joanna Leidenhag, a former postdoctoral fellow of my doctoral supervisor, Dr John Perry, shared about this exciting venture. It coincided with my own research interests because I wanted to examine the experiences of older adult Christians in Hong Kong whose adult children recently migrated to Britain through the British National (Overseas) (BN[O]) visa route. Specifically, the recent BN(O) immigration trend gave Hong Kongers born before 1997 and their immediate families the chance to migrate to Britain, and because older adults are remaining in Hong Kong while their adult children migrate to Britain, I wanted to understand how faith-based organisations could support them in their loss. Most of those who choose not to migrate cite age and health issues as reasons, and this recent wave of migration tends to involve working-class individuals. The older adults who remained may feel a sense of loss due to the migration of their children. Additionally, if the older adults were the main caregivers of their grandchildren, not being able to visit them abroad (due to health and financial reasons) may contribute to losing their sense of purpose.

The parent-child relationship is the main focus of social relationships in Chinese societies. Thus, in the midst of families recently split between Hong Kong and Britain, how can we use insights from psychological science to enhance how they understand their relationships with each other and with God? How can the Church and faith-based social services help these elderly parents flourish and live the Christian idea of a good life? Existing discussions about this topic mostly centre around the migrants themselves. Churches in the UK have made significant efforts to help newcomers from Hong Kong; over 560 have signed up for an initiative called "Hong Kong Ready", proposed by the UK government and aimed at supporting these migrants as they settle into their new lives. The experiences of Hong Kong migrants are widely reported and recognised, while the stories of the parents who remain fade into the background. With psychological analysis to understand the experiences of these left-behind older adults, I hope that my project can inform policymakers and Christian non-profit organisations in Hong Kong about how to better support older adults in the midst of the loss they face in the migration of their children and grandchildren.

While this fellowship project is meant to train theologians, the research assistant for our project, Claire Hiu-ching Cheung, is a philosopher by training. Learning about psychology as a discipline has broadened Claire’s horizon as well. In this blog post, we hope to illustrate how we, as a theologian (Gillian) and a philosopher (Claire), gained different perspectives by engaging with psychological methods in our study.