Books on modern French Catholic theology
Material Eucharist
The Bible and Farm Animal Welfare
Books on theology and food
Articles
Chapters
Reference
Reviews
Academic presentations
Online and media
David is Senior Lecturer in Theology and Ethics in the University of Edinburgh. He has published widely on the Eucharist, modern French Catholic theology, and theology and food. His major book Material Eucharist (Oxford University Press 2016) draws on a rich variety of biblical, patristic, medieval and modern texts and traditions, bringing together theology and liturgy and showing their mutual dependence. Also incorporating findings from history, philosophy, anthropology, archaeology and cultural studies, the book has implications for how the Eucharist is understood across a range of academic disciplines, and offers suggestions for how it may be celebrated in churches today. David is currently working on Scripture in the Eucharist, which complements this study by showing how the Eucharist is the privileged setting in which scripture is read and demonstrating that the Eucharist is itself the active exegesis of scripture.
In his research on modern French Catholic theology, David has examined how a constellation of mostly Jesuit figures boldly reinterpreted scripture, patristics and later medieval theology for the collective and individual Christian life, including faith, politics, the understanding of science and non-Christian religions. This work includes Henri de Lubac and the Shaping of Modern Theology (Ignatius 2020) and Henri de Lubac: A Guide for the Perplexed (T&T Clark 2008). David has also published Teilhard de Chardin: Theology, Humanity and Cosmos (Peeters 2005) and articles on Maurice Blondel and Yves de Montcheuil, and is a member of the Association Internationale Cardinal Henri de Lubac.
His principal research on theology and food is (with Rachel Muers) Theology on the Menu: Asceticism, Meat and Christian Diet (Routledge 2010). This was the first systematic and historical assessment of Christian attitudes to food and its contribution to Christian identity. Topics covered include feasting and fasting, food regulations and resistance to regulation, and how food has shaped inter-religious encounters. Since then David has published many articles and chapters on aspects of this field and has contributed to print, broadcast and online media. He has served as deputy chair of Defra's Animal Welfare Committee and has advised the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission, and has recently published The Bible and Farm Animal Welfare (Cascade 2024).
David is Deputy Editor of Ecclesiology, Associate Editor of Brill Research Perspectives in Theology, a Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, as well as a past Secretary and Treasurer of the Society for the Study of Theology.
In 2015, David led a project 'Church Network Responses to Poverty' also funded by the AHRC. This aimed to catalyze theological reflection and conversation on urban poverty in Britain today across disciplinary and stakeholder boundaries. The final report is here.
David has worked in university quality assurance and enhancement and is currently an assessor for the Office for Students.
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