Lena Maria Lorenz, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Lena's Story
Originally from Germany, Lena had the privilege of a classical education and parents who modelled compassion for those at the fringes of society. Coupled with a deep longing to help people experience healing and flourishing, she gained her first degrees (B.A.; M.Ed.) from Leipzig University and found herself in special needs education working with vulnerable, less fortunate children and youth. Lena then had the opportunity to advance her interest in the relationship between religion/spirituality and health and moved to the United Kingdom for further academic studies (M.Sc.; PhD) at Durham University. Having completed her doctorate at the intersection of medicine, psychology and theology on the topic of hope and pain, she continues to research the matter of hope and seeks to develop resources that support individuals and communities to live more hopeful (and thus healthier) lives. Her particular passions are embodied and communal expressions of faith and drawing people into practices that point to the Transcendent.
Lena's Research
Rituals of Remembrance: Narratives of Hope
​Drawing on the findings of a preceding qualitative study on hope and pain, the research conducted as part of the Lore fellowship will investigate the making of hope as it relates to health and human flourishing. Hope can be understood as the desire and capacity to imagine a future that is different from the present, and also as the dynamic force that enables people to work towards that vision. That way, hope is a gift to humanity that allows individuals and communities to cope with adversity and even flourish in the midst of hardship. Being hopeful can therefore give a sense of agency, meaningfulness and connection – in other words, health. This free gift of hope as a resource for health is (in parts) established and nourished through narrative and remembrance. Religious communities therefore play a key role in this where their rituals and stories tell of things from the past, provide a framework for meaning in the present, and give hope for the future. This project will study the rituals of selected religious communities and the hope that they communicate. The goal is to understand how different faith traditions tell stories of hope (verbally and non-verbally) and the impact of them on believers’ sense of health and wellbeing. The findings will thus not only contribute to a better holistic understanding of health generally, but also health equity by giving voice to a diverse range of people groups within DC’s population including those from under-represented communities. While this one-year study will focus on Judeo-Christian traditions, subsequent studies are envisaged that will extend to other faiths and non-religious worldviews, such as secular memorial culture.