Professor John Swinton, is Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies.
He has his BD, PhD (Aberdeen), RMN (Registered Mental Nurse), RNMD (Registered Nurse for People with Intellectual Disabilities).
The foundation for much of Dr Swinton’s research and teaching has emerged from his background in nursing, ministry and healthcare chaplaincy. He worked as a nurse for sixteen years initially within the field of mental health and latterly within the area of intellectual disabilities. He also worked for a number of years as a hospital chaplain, latterly as a community mental health chaplain working alongside of people with severe mental illness as they made the transition from hospital into community. It was while working in these fields that he began to gain a passion for developing modes of care that are genuinely person centred and which take seriously the significance of theology, spirituality and religion within the processes of healing and community building.
He is an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland with a strong commitment to supporting the work of the church.
John is a member of Aberdeen Presbytery and currently Master of Christ’s College, which is responsible for the welfare and education of candidates for the ministry of the Church of Scotland. He has a particular interest in multidisciplinary education and research. At present he teaches cross-college courses in the schools of nursing and medicine at the University of Aberdeen. For a number of years he has taught an interdisciplinary course on spirituality and health that involves nursing students, medical students and students from the Arts and Theology. John is the Director of Aberdeen University’s Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability.
He is the author of various books and papers including: