
Rebecca Copeland
Assistant Professor of Theology
Dr. Copeland works in theology, ethics, and the intersection of religion and ecology, focusing primarily on Christian traditions. Her research and teaching interests revolve around the ways that classical Christian doctrines can be reconstructed in response to what we learn about the world through environmental studies, as well as how such doctrines can influence environmental activism. In other words, she seeks to read theology ecologically, and read the environment theologically. Her first book, Created Being: Expanding Creedal Christology (Baylor University Press), resists the anthropocentric assumptions embedded in ecumenical claims that Christ was consubstantial with both human beings and the Father in order to develop a more robust concept of Christ’s person and work. She is a provisional deacon in the United Methodist Church, and a member of the Global Methodist Ecological Ethics Initiative.
Selected Publications
Books
Created Being: Expanding Creedal Christology, Baylor University Press, August 2020.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
“Bats, Viruses, and Human Beings: A Chiropteraphilic Theodicy,” Scottish Journal of Theology, forthcoming.
“Ecomimetic Interpretation: Ascertainment, Identification, and Dialogue in Matthew 6:25-34,” Biblical Interpretation, forthcoming.
“Wells, Springs, and Commodification: Water Rights and Hagar’s Tribulations,” Biblical Theology Bulletin, 50:4 (2020) 161-173.
“‘Their leaves shall be for healing:’ Ecological Trauma and Recovery in Ezekiel 47:1–12,” Biblical Theology Bulletin, 49:4 (2019) 214-222.
- Faculty Types
- Faculty and Methodist Faculty