Journal of Pastoral Theology

the journal of pastoral theology was established in 1990 by the society for pastoral theology to: •further the understanding of pastoral theology as a theological discipline and to clarify the nature of the discipline; •maintain a view of pastoral theology as a constructive theology that emerges from the exercise of caring relationships, with attention both to present lived experience and to knowledge derived from the past; •provide an intentional forum for the voices of diverse persons, women and men, of many cultural and ethnic backgrounds; •foster multi-cultural understandings of issues in the discipline; •promote and encourage multi-discipline and multi-cultural research in the field of pastoral theology; •provide resources for those who teach and those who study, through recording current research and assessing the relevant literature; •provide for the construction of sound theological principles for guidance and critique of practices of pastoral and spiritual care; and •work crea