Relational Spirituality

​Relational Spirituality: A Psychological-Theological Paradigm for Transformation.
Todd W. Hall & M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall.
IVP Academic. 2021.
​ISBN: 9780830851188.
 
Relational Spirituality is a psychological-theological model of Christian formation that argues people grow spiritually most deeply in the context of secure relationships, not just through private individual effort. The book combines theology, psychology, attachment theory, and interpersonal neuroscience to explain transformation in community. It presents relational spirituality as a corrective to overly individualistic or purely information-based views of sanctification; arguing that because humans are fundamentally relational, spiritual growth is shaped by God, self, and others in connected, lived relationships. The book draws together several major themes: Trinitarian theology, the image of God, relational knowledge, attachment patterns, and interpersonal neurobiology. It also emphasizes that spiritual communities can either hinder or foster transformation depending on how they embody trust, presence, and mutual care.
 
Todd W. Hall is a professor of psychology at Biola University’s Rosemead School of Psychology, a clinical psychologist, and a researcher focused on relational approaches to spiritual development, virtue, leadership, and flourishing. He is also affiliated with Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program and has written on spiritual formation and relational spirituality.
 
M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall is a professor of psychology at Biola University’s Rosemead School of Psychology and the author of more than 150 academic publications. Her work includes psychology, religion, meaning-making, suffering, and human flourishing.