Although I retired from teaching in 2023 following a Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) Heart Attack, I remain active in academia in various ways.
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My academic specialism is Buddhism. My PhD used Pure Land Buddhism as a case study to challenge postcolonial “essence and manifestation” models of religious classification. As part of this research, I conducted long-term fieldwork at a temple in Tokyo. After returning from Japan, I trained as a secondary school Religious Education (RE) teacher. Over the following six years, I worked in teacher education, training secondary RE teachers and running a Religious Education Resources Centre. My ongoing interests include theoretical questions concerning the relationships between religious education, religions, worldviews, non-religion, and society.
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I have two decades of experience as an A-level Principal Examiner (Asian Religions and Religion in Contemporary Society) for one of the UK’s public examination boards. This role involved writing syllabuses, setting examination papers, leading marking teams, and delivering continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers. From 2004 to 2012, I served as Secretary of the Shap Working Party on Religions in Education, a professional group founded in 1969 by Ninian Smart and others to promote the study of religions in general within education, rather than focusing solely on the religion of the British establishment. I have represented TRS-UK, the body representing all the body representing all UK university departments of Theology and Religious Studies, on the Religious Education Council of England and Wales.
In my previous post at the University of Wales, Lampeter, I served as Associate Director of the Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre, which houses the well-known archive of more than 6,000 accounts of religious and spiritual experiences submitted by members of the public.
In 2010-11, I spent a year as a key worker, supporting people seeking recovery in a residential drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation centre near Aberystwyth.
In my post at the University of Chester, as well as lecturing and programme-leading in Religious Studies, I was Principal Investigator of the Higher Power Project, a large qualitative exploration of spirituality within the Twelve Step programme. I also researched and wrote about the diversity of Buddhist approaches to addiction recovery.
In 2024, I joined the Board of Directors of the inspirational recovery organsiation Fallen Angels Dance Theatre.
As a recovery activist, with colleagues, I continue to advocate for greater awareness of the presence and needs of students in staff in recovery from addictions in our universities. I also campaign for the wider Visible Recovery Movement and challenge forms of addiction related stigma that prevent help-seeking.
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Since retiring, I have enjoyed discovering my own voice as a writer. Although I write primarily for myself, some of my poetry has been published by Northern Gravy, Performing Recovery, and Modron. I sometimes read my work at Open Mic events, mostly in North Wales. I also publish essays on my blog. where I reflect on my experience of mental health challenges, addiction recovery, and the intersecting realms of creativity, politics and spirituality. For me, creative non-fiction is a form of self-exploration. Through writing, I discover what I think and feel. I am currently working on a larger and more demanding writing project.
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Alongside my writing, I volunteer with the National Coastwatch Institution. I am a qualified Watchkeeper and a member of the crew at NCI Llandudno on Llandudno's Penmorfa/West Shore, where the Afon Conwy meets the Irish Sea. I am also a volunteer 'dogsbody' for the Search and Rescue Dog Association, Wales. This involves hiding out somewhere in Eryri (usually somewhere beautiful) and waiting to be "rescued" by a trainee SAR dog and handler. These roles are deeply rewarding, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such life-affirming work.