Biography:
I have been Director of Research at Regent’s Park College since 2025 and before that a Research Fellow from 2020. My academic career has included work in the sociology of religion, nonprofit studies and now practical theology. I was the first Director of the Oxford Centre for Ecclesiology and Practical Theology at Ripon College Cuddesdon and have served as Director of Doctoral Programmes for Wesley House, Cambridge.
My practitioner career has spanned the civil service and the non-profit sector including being Head of Public Affairs for The Salvation Army for eight years. As a young civil servant I was seconded to the Careers Service in Oxford and set up its first internship programme.
Research Interests:
I am a practical theologian with particular interests in congregational studies and participatory approaches to research in theology and religion.
I am one of the co-originators of Theological Action Research, a methodology which is now used internationally. In 2025 I completed as PI a three-year participatory study on women’s experience of ministry.
I am a past chair of the subject association for practical theology and currently co-lead its Bible and Practical Theology Special Interest Group. I co-lead the Theology and Action Research Network.
Research Projects:
I coordinate a cluster of colleagues at Regent’s Park College who use qualitative methods in theology and religion.
Current Projects:
I am the Didsbury Lecturer in 2027 and currently undertaking research to inform those lectures which will then be published.
Editorships:
I am on the Editorial Board for Practical Theology.
Courses Taught:
I teach on the MTh in Applied Theology.
Educational Background:
My undergraduate degree was Theology at Keble in Oxford. As a mature student I did an MA in Social Policy before doing my doctorate in the Social Policy Department of the London School of Economics looking at the Social Action of the Local Church.
Links:
rpc.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-helen-cameron/
helencameron.academia.edu/
theologyandactionresearch.net/
