Fuller Seminary’s David C. Wang Receives $260,000 Grant for Research on Spirituality and Culture

Fuller Seminary in Pasadena has received a $260,000 grant from Templeton Religious Trust to fund research by David C. Wang, the Cliff and Joyce Penner Chair for the Formation of Emotionally Healthy Leaders, on spirituality and culture. The grant will fund a broad-based global and ecumenical study of spiritual formation and leadership.

According to Fuller President Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley, the grant will allow Wang to explore the impact of theological education on the human and spiritual formation of Christian leaders from a global and ecumenical perspective.

“The Templeton grant will allow Dr. Wang …  to explore these questions from a global and ecumenical perspective,” said Fuller President Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley. “We believe that a more robust understanding of character, virtue, and spiritual maturity would enrich us all.”

Wang’s research team, composed of theologians, social scientists, spiritual directors, and seminary leaders from various organizations and cultural contexts, will examine questions related to spirituality, culture, and leadership from a science-integrated and global viewpoint.

The study will seek to answer questions about the impact of religious education on Christian leaders, the role of theological education in spiritual maturity, the influence of individual and contextual factors on spiritual maturity, and the cultivation of character and spiritual dispositions across diverse populations. The grant will help Wang’s team continue their work exploring the intersection of faith, science, and human flourishing.

In a statement, Fuller Seminary said that despite the ongoing evolution of theological education, there are two unresolved questions: how can formal and informal theological education foster human and spiritual maturity in religious leaders, and how can this growth be measured? The Seminary added that, additionally, there are limitations in applying North American understandings of character, virtue, and spiritual maturity to Christian communities and cultures outside North America.