Dr. Alastair Lockhart

Biography

Alastair Lockhart is a Fellow at Churchill College and a Senior Postgraduate Tutor and Director of Studies for Theology, Religion, and Philosophy at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge. His research specializes in 20th-century religious history, particularly focusing on psychology of religion, apocalypticism, and millenarianism. Lockhart has a diverse academic background, holding a BA (Honors) in Theology and Religious Studies and a PhD on the intersection of religion, psychology, and metaphysics during interwar Britain, both from the University of Cambridge. He has published extensively on subjects related to everyday metaphysics and religious innovation, with a notable monograph titled 'Personal Religion and Spiritual Healing' published by State University of New York Press in 2019. His current research explores secular theological responses to nuclear weapons, especially regarding atomic bombs post-1945, and engages critically in cognitive science of religion. Lockhart is also a Fellow and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King's College London. He supervises undergraduate dissertations related to his areas of interest, which include interactions of psychological theories and religion during the Victorian and early 20th-century periods.

Research Interests