Dr M. Steyn

Marileen Steyn is a postdoctoral researcher at the Protestant Theological University. She is part of the Soil project as a practical theologian, researching the (dis)connection between Christian congregations' liturgical expressions and their theologies of soil. This is done in collaboration with Oscar Grootveld, a PhD candidate in systematic theology. Their work focusses on mapping congregational theologies and practices of soil to contribute to the central research question of the Soil project: What are the qualities of a responsible, context-sensitive, embodied theological view on ground in the Netherlands, in light of 21st-century climate and ecological challenges? Marileen's study of congregational practices involves empirical research within congregational contexts, a field familiar to her through previous studies. 

Originally from South Africa, Marileen Steyn studied theology at the University of Pretoria, where she soon developed an interest in Practical Theology and especially empirical research in a theological context. She obtained her BTh, MDiv (Homiletics) and MTh (Liturgy) from the University of Pretoria. In 2023, she received her PhD degree at the University of Stellenbosch, under the supervision of Prof. Cas Wepener and Prof. Christo Thesnaar. Her PhD, entitled Death, Conflict and Scandal: a practical theological study of the role of rituals in congregations following the loss of the minister, concerns ritual-liturgical studies within the contexts of congregational trauma. Using portraiture as methodology, she studied the role of ritual in the experience of liminality and trauma in three Dutch Reformed congregations - each of which has lost a minister due to death, conflict or scandal. She proposes a theory of the dynamics of ritual in congregational trauma and liminality. Her study investigates the overlapping fields of trauma, liminality and ritual and shows how ritual can act by moving people with different experiences and frames of mind towards an eschatological equilibrium where life and death, and past and future are held in creative tension with each other. 

Aside from her work at the PThU, Marileen is also a research fellow at Stellenbosch University. Additionally, she is working on a project on ritual techniques in racialised memorials, museums and monuments in South Africa and the US. This is done in collaboration with Prof Kimberly Belcher from the University of Notre Dame. 

For a complete overview of her publications and academic background, please refer to her ORCID page.