Research PG
- About
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- Email Address
- s.murillotorres.19@abdn.ac.uk
- School/Department
- School of Divinity, History, Philosophy & Art History
Biography
Mexican methodist, obtained his undergraduate degree in Theology (BTh) from the Mexican Methodist Theological faculty recognized by La Universidad Evangélica Nicaragüense 'Martin Luther King Jr' with Honours (2016), Certificat Complémentaire d'etudes Oecuméniques de l'Université de Genève - Ecumenical Institute of the World Council of Churches at Château de Bossey (first class 30 ECTS credits - 2016), Course Ecumenical and Interreligious Movements from a Roman Catholic Perspective from Centro Pro Unione in Rome (2017), Master in Theology (MTh) degree from Comunidad Teológica de México with Honours (2018).
Experience in local, regional and global projects within the Methodist and ecumenical movement. Coordinator for the Methodist Youth in Central America (CIEMAL - 2013 - 2018), United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva (2015), World Methodist Council theological delegate to the Pre-Synod of Bishops in Rome as part of the design and Instrumentum Laboris for the Synod with the topic; Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment (2018), part of the WMC delegation to the Global Christian Forum Gathering in Bogota (2018) and Ecumenical Roundtable for Peace in the Korean Peninsula in Atlanta (2018), currently part of the Global Christian Forum Facilitation Group work in Denmark (2019) and part of the current efforts for the possible peace process in Mexico to contribute with the national government, mainly from the ecumenical accompaniment with families and victims that have experienced enforced disappearances, towards the search of our missing beloved ones, identification of found bodies and advocating for non - repetition considering the current national forensic crises in Mexico.
Borderlands Session: Resistance and Hope within Enforced Disappearances in Mexico.
A session with Mexican families and local collectives in search of our beloved missing ones in Mexico. This develops the contextual part of this research, emphasizing the relevant role of Mexican families in the search and peacebuilding process. 'Borderlands: conversations between church and city' is associated with the Aberdeen Methodist Church.
A discussion of Bonhoeffer's involvement for justice and peace in his own time & the ways he continues to inspire prophetic action on global issues.
Qualifications
- Advance Higher Education Fellowship (AFHEA) Higher Education2023 - Higher Education Academy
Advance Higher Education Associate Fellow (2023)
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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- The Society for the Study of Theology
- Academic Affairs Officer for The Mexican Society in Aberdeen.
- Co-founder of The Dogmatics Society in Aberdeen.
- External Memberships
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President - Officer for Youth and Young Adults in the World Methodist Council (2016 - 2021).
Associate member of the joint interdisciplinary research seminar on Violence and Peace coordinated by Professor Sergio Aguayo at Colegio de México.
Founder Member of 'Fundación Manos Extendidas Angel Esteban'' Mexican charity based in Mexico City, which accompanies children with disabilities and their families, embracing and recognizing their common challenges and diverse experience of faith towards a process of belonging through intentional communities that could impact and challenge wider in the society.
Ecumenical and Religious Based Accompaniment with 'Colectivos' and Families of Enforced Disappearances in Mexico towards a national process for peace and reconciliation with fair access to justice and truth in search of our missing beloved ones, identification of found bodies and advocating for 'non - repetition' in the current national forensic crises. Searching, we find each other, until we find them all. #BuscandoNosEncontramos
Visiting Lecturer in Comunidad Teológica de México (BTh and MTh Lectures), which is the ecumenical faculty that gathers the Methodist, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist and Anglican faculties. Lecturing experience in Ecumenical and Interreligious dialogue, Monastic Theology, Wesleyan - Methodist Theology and heritage, Liturgy, Eastern Liturgy, Theology and Spirituality.
Involved in The Global Gathering of Christian Justice Leaders, a network of 50 young leaders worldwide to commit and support our impact as people of faith. This is sponsored by the Steering Committee of SOJOURNERS and the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (2020).
Currently co-developing a network of Mexican researchers in the United Kingdom and Europe called 'Red Mexicana por la Paz / Red Mex UK - EU', working on peacebuilding and violence, recognizing the need for an interdisciplinary approach and contribution for deeper impact. This network includes researchers from King's College London, Bristol University, Cambridge University, Bath University, University of Aberdeen, etc.
Gingko Fellow from September 2021. The Gingko Fellowship Programme is a series of annual retreats that bring together students from Al-Azhar University in Cairo with their peers from universities in the United Kingdom, Europe and North America. Funded and organised by Gingko, the Programme was established in 2018 to complement the Al-Azhar UK Scholarship Programme.
Currently Mission and Outreach Coordinator in Crown Terrace Aberdeen Methodist Church, and visiting Preacher in the Methodist Circuit as part of the Methodist Church of Scotland
- Research
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Research Overview
I have experience in government consultancy & public policy development from a religious & public theology perspective. I have taken part in ecumenical & interreligious contributions to peacebuilding in a global, regional and national level (Mexico).
Institutional experience working within Mexico:
- National Government of Mexico.
- National Search of Disappeared People
- National Consultations for the Pacification of Mexico
- National Ecumenical Accompaniment to Collectives in Search of Disappeared People.
Institutional experience working internationally:
- World Methodist Council
- World Council of Churches
- Global Christian Forum
- International Table for Peace in the Korean Peninsula
Research Areas
Divinity
Politics and International Relations
Philosophy
Spanish and Latin American Studies
Anthropology
Religious Studies
Research Specialisms
- Theology and Religious Studies
- Anthropology
- Latin American Studies
- Public Policy
- Political Sociology
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
'Aesthetic Public Theology from the Margins: Engaging Bonhoeffer’s Public Theology and Voice with Searching Efforts of Families Experiencing Enforced Disappearances in Mexico.'
Abstract:
Mexico is experiencing its highest levels of violence. Enforced disappearances have been happening for 50 years and nowadays are normalized: more than 73,000 people are missing with on average 1 person disappears every hour. The Mexican government has more than 26,000 unidentified bodies. The most violent year was 2019 with 38,000 killed. However, 2020 will surpass this number. Families and relatives have organized searches through regional collectives and “The National Brigade of Search for Missing People,” finding Jesus-el-buscador in their midst. Their motto while they search and ask, “Where are my children?” is #BuscandoNosEncontramos. This motto is a strong theological statement, calling for aesthetic belonging in dynamic communities and relationships. The motto points to a humanizing process. But this faith exists in freedom outside recognized institutional religion. Their voices provoke the public sphere, claiming truth and justice, through what this thesis will term kairological memory: eternal memory in the process of exploring possible healing and the sacredness of all life, even when a person is not found or cannot be identified. This kairological memory exists in contrast to Walter Benjamin´s concepts on history through chronological memory, an aesthetic of fear and death, focusing on the present moment. Chronological memory forgets all possible dignity, identity and sacredness of those missing, forgetting the wounds from the past and provoking daily new wounds, which are affirmed and aggravated by the government and institutional religion in the public sphere. Bonhoeffer’s Christological theology (through the form, formation and place of Christ in life and history), offers the possibility of recognizing a corrupted heritage from the past, and acknowledging the present hope, love and faith. In bringing this theology into dialogue with the context of enforced disappearances, this thesis argues there is the possibility to stop the harming, and for future healing in the current national, forensic, necropolitical crisis in Mexico. The account offered will be an Aesthetic Public Theology from the Margins based on the form ultimate reality, in the reconciler, Jesus Christ.
Research is under the supervision of Professor Tom Greggs, F.R.S.E., Marischal Chair of Divinity (1616) and Head of Divinity at Aberdeen.
Knowledge Exchange
- Consultancy delivered to the National Government of Mexico on Ecumenism and Religious Diversity towards Reconciliation and Peace.
Funding and Grants
1. The Mylne Trust [Year 1, 2, & 3 of PhD].
2. T.F. Torrance Scholarship [Year 1, 2 & 3 of PhD].
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
Teaching Assistant (Grade 5) within the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy
During the 2020 - 2021 academic year:
I. The Theology and Practice of Preaching - Level 1 and 2 (DR103A / DR203A).
II. God, Sexuality and Identity - Level 1 and 2 (DR151W / DR251W).
During the 2021 - 2022 academic year, tutoring on:
I. Utopia & Apocalypse: Dreaming the Perfect World in Science & Religion - Level 1 and 2 (DR102G / DR202G).
II. Why Believe? Thinking about God and the Good - Level 1 and 2 (DR102H / DR202H).
During the 2022 - 2023 academic year, tutoring on:
I. Exploring the Tradition of Western Ethics - Level 1 and 2 (DR1589 / DR1590, DR2589 / DR2590)
Non-course Teaching Responsibilities
Founder of Aporia Digital. Online platform engaging with seminars on theology and philosophy while translating relevant texts from english to spanish.
Coordinator of Theological conversations in Aberdeen, organised by the Methodist Church. It brings people together to discuss history, public policy, theology and faith.