Phillips Announces New Faculty Member, Peter Capretto

Interim Dean Joe Bessler is pleased to announce that Peter Capretto is joining the Phillips Theological Seminary faculty beginning the fall of 2020 as Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care in Religion and Culture.

“We were pleased with the number of strong candidates for this faculty search,” said Bessler. “I believe Peter will strengthen the long history of academic excellence at Phillips as we continue to provide education for clergy and the church.”

Capretto received his PhD from Vanderbilt University in 2019 in Religion, Psychology, and Culture. He also brings clinical experience to his faculty position having served as a pastoral counselor at the Pastoral Counseling Centers of Tennessee.

His teaching and research areas include pastoral care, practical theology, trauma studies, chaplaincy, disability studies, empathy, and theological ethics. The title of his dissertation is, “Social Recognition and the Ethics of Empathy in Pastoral Theological Anthropology.”

Capretto’s professional memberships include the American Academy of Religion, Society for Pastoral Theology, Society for Phenomenology and the Human Sciences, and Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion.