Therese Marie Ignacio Bjørnaas

Position:

Associate Professor in "Religion, World Views and Ethics in Early Childhood Education"

(Bachelors and Masters Level)

Steering Committee, Women’s Religious Studies Group at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley and the Gender Women’s Studies Group at UC-Berkeley

Associate Editor (Systematic Theology and Philosophy), Berkeley Journal of Religion and Theology

Medlem av etisk råd, Norges Idrettsforbund

Education:

Dr. of Philosophy, Ph.D, Systematic Theology and Philosophy, GTU/UC, Berkeley, California 2018.

Certificate in Islamic Studies, Center for Islamic Studies, GTU, Berkeley, California, 2015.

Master of Arts, Practical Theology, Barry University, Miami, Florida, 2012.

Bachelor, Religionsvitenskap, NTNU, Trondheim, Norge, 2010.

Universitets og Høgskole pedagogikk, DMMH, 2021. 

Idrettsutdanning:

Mental Trening II, NTNU/ Olympiatoppen, 2020.

Mental Trening I, NTNU/ Olympiatoppen, 2019.

Trener I, Norges idrettsforbund/ Norges Bokseforbund, 2019.

Trener II, Norges Idrettsforbund/ Norges Bokseforbund, 2019-2020.

Earlier and Current Research Includes:

Theological anthropology, theological pedagogy, Disability theology/studies, Aristotelian-Thomistic studies, Catholic gender and sexuality studies, LGBT studies, post-colonial studies, national identity in the Philippines and Norway, Islamic studies, islamophobia and racism, mixed-race studies, feminist theology, third-world feminism, liberation theology, Multiculturalism and religious pluralism in Early Childhood Education.

Publications & Conference Articles:

"Rasisme i Norske barnehager" (antologi kommer) 

"Racism and the pedagogy of discomfort" presenting at NCRE-conference, Karlstad University, 17-19. june 2024

"Racism in Norwegian kindergartens", presented at RCEN-conference, London june 15-17. 2023. 

"Ethical dilemmas in Norwegian kindergartens, Religious needs versus religious values." Presented at the European Association for research on learning and instruction, SIG19, September 13-15. Dortmund University, Germany. 

"Islamophobia in Norwegian kindergartens." Presented at the International Islamophobia Studies Inaugural conference, Istanbul, Turkey, July 14-16, 2022. 

"Etikk og religion i barnehagen fra et profesjonsetisk og religiøst perspektiv" i (red.) Monica Bjerklund og Nassira Vik, Familiemangfold og profesjonsutøvelse i barnehagen. Universitetsforlaget, 2022. 

"Kjønnslikestilling i norsk innvandringspolitikk: å frigjøre muslimske kvinner fra kvinnefiendtlig islam" i Tidsskrift for Islamforskning, Vol 15 no. 1 (2021): 54-74.  

"Imago Dei og kroppsliggjort væren: en funksjonshemmingsteologi i lys av Thomas Aquinas" i Rebecca Solevåg og Inger Marie Lid (red.), Religiøst Medborgerskap. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 2020. 

"Homofobe Muslimer? Homoseksualitet: et Vestlig Begrep," Religion og Livssyn: Tidsskrift for Religionslærerforeningen i Norge 30, no. 2 (2018): 16-27.

"Christian Muslim Dialogue: Karl Rahner and Ismail Al-Faruqi on Universal Salvation," Studies in Interreligious Dialogue 27, no. 1 (2017): 45-62.

“God and the Human Encounter in the Theologies of Paul Tillich and Karl Rahner,” Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa 40, no. 1 (2016): 69-83.

Book review of Baby you are my religion by Marie Cartier, Berkeley Journal of Religion and Theology, Vol. 2, Issue 2, (2016): 144-147.   

"Disability and the imago Trinitatis," Nytt Norsk Kirkeblad 5, no.1 (2016): 35-45.

“Saving Muslim Women: A Feminist-Postcolonial Critique of Veiling Legislation in Norway,” Islamophobia Studies Journal 3, no. 1 (2015): 78-89.

Book Review of Nomad by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Berkeley Journal of Religion and Theology 1, no. 1 (2015): 100-102.

“White feminism and Islamophobia in Norwegian Politics” presented at the Racism Studies Conference at Uppsala University, 11-13 October 2017, Uppsala Sweden.

“Catholic Anthropology and Cognitive Disability: Rational Capacities as the Definition of what it means to be Human in the image of God” presented at the 1^st International Conference on Disability, Art, and Education, 28-29 September 2017, Helsinki, Finland.

"Postcolonial identity in  the Filipino Beauty Pageants" presented at the American Academy of Religion Conference, 17-19 March 2017, Los Angeles, CA.

“Imago Dei and Disability: A Theological Approach,” presented at the 32^nd annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, 27-30 April 2016, Honolulu, Hawaii.

“Bakla Case ako eh: on being gay and Catholic in the Philippines,” presented at the American Academy of Religion, Western Region, 3 April 2016, Phoenix, Arizona.

“Muslim-Christian Dialogue and Theological Anthropology,” presented at the 6^th annual Asian Conference On Ethics, Religion, and Philosophy, 2 April 2016, Kobe, Japan.

“Saving Muslim Women: A Feminist-Postcolonial Critique of Veiling Legislation in Norway,” presented at the conference of L’islamophobie : (néo)racisme et systèmes d’oppression, 4 October 2015, Montreal, Canada.

“Homosexuality in the Catholic Church: The Concept of Human Flourishing,” presented at the Conference of the American Academy of Religion Conference, Western Region, 22 March 2015, Santa Clara, California.

Invited talks and Newspaper articles: 

"etikk-etaten, NRK radio, 10. August 2022. 

"etikk-etaten, NRK-radio, 27. April 2022.

"etikk-etaten, NRK-radio, 3. February 2022. 

"Etikk-etaten", NRK-radio, 5. November, 2021.

"Hva er sjel?" NRK-radio, 1. November, 2021. 

"Tro håp og Lillesæter", NRK-radio, 26. February 2021. 

"Å finne gudsvelsignelse til prøverørsbefruktning" Vårt Land, 6 february 2021. 

"Koloni eller fri? Om koloniseringsfølger i vår tid" guest speaker at Den Norske Kirke, 4. february 2021, Trondheim, Norway. 

"Når to streker betyr alt: Jeg prøver å få barn og skammer meg", NRK, 20 december 2020.

"Kvinner i den katolske kirken"  NRK-radio, 11. August 2021. 

"Menneskeverd i ulike trossamfunn", Litteraturhuset, 18. November 2020, Trondheim, Norway. 

“Christians, Muslims & Islamophobia,” guest speaker at Ecumenical Dialogue Evening, 7 April 2016, Trondheim, Norway.

“Homosexuality in the Catholic Church after Pope Francis,” guest speaker at the Ministry of Gay and Lesbian Catholics, 4 November 2015, Long Beach, California.