Dr Sara Mannen

Biography

Before moving my family from the Pacific Northwest to Scotland in 2020 to pursue my PhD, I completed my MA in Theological Studies (2015–18) and BS in Biblical and Theological Studies (1999–2003) from Multnomah University, where I graduated summa cum laude.

I received my PhD from the University of Aberdeen (2019–2023) after completing my dissertation on the concept of divine personhood in the theology of Karl Barth.

I joined the faculty of the University of Aberdeen in January 2024 as the McDonald-Agape Research Fellow in Systematic Theology working with Professor Tom Greggs on the ‘Ecclesiology After Christendom’ project. I was recently appointed Lecturer in Systematic Theology. The McDonald-Agape Foundation has generously funded this lectureship.

During my undergraduate studies, an encounter with Barth's doctrine of election sparked my interest and passion for theology after struggling with the concept of unconditional election. I am particularly interested in the implications of theology for the life of the church and world.

While in the United States, I was actively involved in ministry in a variety of denominational and non-denominational churches, regularly participated in interfaith dialogue, and prison ministry. Currently, I am a member of Ellon parish and serve on the Theological Forum of the Church of Scotland.

If I am not researching, I can usually be found baking–anything from sourdough to French Pâtisserie. 

External Memberships

-Book Review Editor for the Journal of Reformed Theology (2023–present). 

-Steering Committee Member for the Reformed Theology and History Unit at AAR (2025–present). 

Research Overview

My research focuses on the modern and contemporary doctrine of God. My doctoral research examined the intellectual and philosophical background of the concept of divine personhood in modern and contemporary Protestant theology. However, I am interested in other doctrinal loci, including trinitarian theology, Christology, and ecclesiology. I am keen to research and examine the continuity and discontinuity between contemporary theology and the broader church tradition alongside the implications of theology for the life of the church and the world. My research includes work on Karl Barth, nineteenth-century German idealists, Isaak Dorner, Thomas Aquinas, Friedrich Schleiermacher, and various Church Fathers.  

Current Research

My current research project explores the intersection of power and theology. The long-term goal of this project is to write a complete Systematic Theology of power that examines the concept through each doctrinal loci with the aim to provide a constructive and positive account of power. The first step is writing a monograph that serves as a prolegomenon that seeks to address the power of Systematic Theology and intends to engage and carefully consider the critiques of the power inherent to the discipline of Systematic Theology, such as critiques of the discipline’s exclusionary nature, its epistemic violence, and legacy as a product of colonial power. This project is motivated by the wider questions about power in our culture and my ecumenical work with church leaders who are overwhelmed with the constant struggle with power—its use, misuse, and abuse—both within the church and without. 

Past Research

My PhD research reframes Karl Barth's concept of divine personhood through the intellectual and philosophical background of the Pantheism Controversy and its fallout. Alongside the work of Karl Barth, I interact and analyse  the philosophy and theology of Mendelssohn, Jacobi, Fichte, Schelling, Dorner, Bavinck, and Hodge to help understand the concept divine personhood. The monograph of my dissertation will be published in October 2025 in Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht's Forschungen zur systematischen und ökumeischen Theologie series. 

Previously, my master's thesis analysed the theology of Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, and Maximus the Confessor to evaluate and critique the doctrine of Eternal Functional Subordination. 

More recently, I have researched and written on the topics of surveillance capitalism and divine omniscience, political theology in relation to Carl Schmitt’s decisionism and apocalypticism, and the intersection between divine providence the questions of nationhood and nationalism. I have several forth-coming publications related to these topics. 

Teaching Responsibilities

I regularly teach, contribute to, and/or co-ordinate the following courses:

• Topics in Systematic Theology II: Spirit, Church, and World 
• Major Themes in Christian Theology
• Theology from Jesus to John Calvin 
• Rise of Christianity 
• Utopia and Apocalypse 
• Introduction to Christian Theology