Description
This joint presentation examines how, why and for whom comfort is calibrated in Christian churches, attending to the bodies and spiritual experiences of people with disability. We argue that what is framed as offering comfort in church life frequently does the opposite: it produces discomfort for disabled people while assuaging the discomfort of non-disabled people confronted by disability. We contend that ableism, informed by certain theological interpretations and reinforced through inaccessible worship spaces, shapes whose comfort is treated as the default and whose voices determine what disability inclusion looks like in church communities. We will use two case studies to develop this argument. The first interrogates the persistent charity model of disability, in which disabled people are too often relegated to being recipients of the ministry and care of others. The consequence is that the prospect of disabled people teaching, preaching or leading remains largely off the radar for most church attendees. The second case study examines prevailing theologies of healing. While prayers for healing and eschatological assurances ("don’t worry, you'll be healed in heaven") appear to offer solace to disabled people and are meant well, they often arise from the discomfort of non-disabled church attendees unsure of how to respond to the experience of disabled people today. Drawing on Paul’s image of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12, we contend not for accommodation but for mutuality: a re-calibration in which the comfort of disabled and non-disabled people is shared as an outworking of Christian faith.| Period | 24 Jun 2026 |
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| Event title | (Dis)comfort in Religious and Spiritual Spaces: University of Queensland and University of Western Sydney |
| Event type | Conference |
| Degree of Recognition | International |