John Swinton (theologian)
Scottish theologian
John Swinton, (born 1957) is a Scottish theologian, academic, and Presbyterian minister. He is the Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the School of Divinity, History, and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen. John is founder of the university's Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability.
Biography
John is an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland and Master of Christ’s College, the university's theological college. Swinton is a major figure in the development of disability theology. In 2016 he was awarded the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing for his book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God. In this book, he coins the word cortextualism to describe a modern belief that the cerebral cortex in the brain is the seat of personhood, with the result that people with dementia, intellectual disabilities, or other difficulties with higher-order thinking are viewed as lesser humans.
John is Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral care. He also serves as an honorary professor of nursing in the Centre for Advanced Studies in Nursing at Aberdeen University. In 2004 he founded the university's Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16730327. VIAF identifies the subject as 28854633. The Library of Congress control number is n98105577. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1957, 2016 and 2004.
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