Joel Hollier – författare

Social work is constantly epistemically evolving and embracing diverse bodies of knowledge to inform its ontology and practice frameworks.

Over the years, the impact of feminist, post-colonial, and queer theory, for example, has broadened the social work lens and invited a welcome departure from dominant Westernised, patriarchal, and positivist paradigms. However, the separation of the spiritual realm from casework, clinical, community, and group work traditions of social work remained steadfast. The last decade or so has seen forages into the issues of social work and spirituality. This examination into spirituality and social work has shown that for many service users, spiritual practices (be they religious or non-religious) are important in their lives and their way out of difficulties. Concurrently, relationships between socio-political movements and global religions have grown increasingly complex. To create a truly holistic approach to the needs of service users it is important that social work policy and practice give voice to these complexities and understand the place of spirituality within service delivery. This book critically reflects upon and discusses the intersecting role of spirituality in the lives of people who access social work services.

By gathering contributions from people with lived experience, practitioners, and academics, this book will explore a comprehensive range of issues, opening the area of spirituality to current critical, socio-political, and cultural thought. It will be of interest to all social work scholars, students, and practitioners.

Social work is constantly epistemically evolving and embracing diverse bodies of knowledge to inform its ontology and practice frameworks.

Over the years, the impact of feminist, post-colonial, and queer theory, for example, has broadened the social work lens and invited a welcome departure from dominant Westernised, patriarchal, and positivist paradigms. However, the separation of the spiritual realm from casework, clinical, community, and group work traditions of social work remained steadfast. The last decade or so has seen forages into the issues of social work and spirituality. This examination into spirituality and social work has shown that for many service users, spiritual practices (be they religious or non-religious) are important in their lives and their way out of difficulties. Concurrently, relationships between socio-political movements and global religions have grown increasingly complex. To create a truly holistic approach to the needs of service users it is important that social work policy and practice give voice to these complexities and understand the place of spirituality within service delivery. This book critically reflects upon and discusses the intersecting role of spirituality in the lives of people who access social work services.

By gathering contributions from people with lived experience, practitioners, and academics, this book will explore a comprehensive range of issues, opening the area of spirituality to current critical, socio-political, and cultural thought. It will be of interest to all social work scholars, students, and practitioners.

In a polarised milieu that too often posits “queer” and “Christian” as competing realms, this book explores the complexities of identity development, religious traumatisation, and the task of creating safe faith spaces in which LGBTQA+ people can find healing, particularly in the Evangelical context.  First, Joel Hollier examines the historical path of Evangelicalism, providing context for the current terrain of the “culture war” we find ourselves in. He then parses out experiences of gender/sexuality and religious/spiritual identity development, grounding them in an evolving theoretical base. Finally, Hollier offers a rounded critique of Evangelical church structures and mechanisms of trauma that hinder the healing process, along with potential sources of healing. Central to this work are the voices of LGBTQA+ people whose stories weave together a deeper understanding of the harms the Church has perpetrated, and the path forward.