Elizabeth Anne Templeton (8 June 1945 – 11 April 2015) was a Scottish freelance theologian and educationalist.

Early life and education

Templeton was born 8 June 1945 in

Drumoyne Drumoyne ( gd, Druim Uaine) is now a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde and is part of the former Burgh of Govan. It is the birthplace of Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United football ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. Her father was a clerk, who became a teacher and was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

and mother a primary school

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

in Govan. She first studied philosophy and English literature at Glasgow University before moving to Edinburgh to study theology at New College. The latter studies had a significant impact on her thinking and she was a

logical positivist Logical positivism, later called logical empiricism, and both of which together are also known as neopositivism, is a movement in Western philosophy whose central thesis was the verification principle (also known as the verifiability criterion o ...

and radical theologian.

Career and legacy

Templeton was committed to providing education, not for theologians, but for ordinary everyday people and after 10 year of teaching theology at New College in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, opened a centre where people could talk about everyday problems in relation to theology. She supported the idea that education was a relational process between teacher and student and it was essential to recognise a diversity of values, ideas and cultural backgrounds. She argued that the purpose of religious education was to enable dialogue between communities. Acknowledging the plurality of faiths enabled learners to be sensitive and empathise with a faith community. In September 2016, one of the lecture halls in New College was renamed in her honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Templeton, Elizabeth 1945 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Scottish educators 20th-century Scottish women educators Women theologians Academics from Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity Academics of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish theologians 21st-century Scottish theologians