Understanding Religious Conversion: The Case of St. Augustine

Understanding Religious Conversion begins with emphasis on the value of respecting religious/theological interpretations of conversion while coordinating social scientific studies of how personal, social, and cultural issues are relevant to the human transformational process. It encourages us to bring together the perspectives of psychology, sociology, anthropology, and religious studies into critical and mutually-informing conversation for establishing a richer and more accurate perception of the complex phenomenon of religious conversion. The case of St. Augustine's conversion experience superbly illustrates the complicated and multidimensional process of religious change. By critically extending the contributions of the literature within Lewis Rambo's interdisciplinary framework, Dong Young Kim presents a more integrated picture of how personal, social, cultural, and religious/theological components interact with one another in the process of Augustine's conversion. In doing so, he has struggled with how to relocate more effectively and practically the conversion narrative of Augustine within the context of pastoral care and ministry (and the field of the academy)--in order to facilitate a better understanding of the conversion stories of the church members as well as to enhance the experiences of religious conversion within the Christian community.

Dong Young Kim is Professor of the Institute of Ministry and Theological Studies of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea and a member of the faculty at Hanshin University School of Theology. As a former army chaplain, he is an ordained pastor in PCROK who completed his DTheol at Boston University School of Theology.