Robert C. Leslie

Robert C. Leslie Professor, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley Students and faculty, clergy and lay people, American and international scholars, will remember him as a leader in the field of psychology of religion. Dr. Leslie passed away June 14, 2006, at age 88. As professor of pastoral psychology and counseling at the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley 1954-1982, Leslie helped shape the field of pastoral care in the second half of the 20th Century. Born in Concord, MA, Leslie received his A.B. degree from DePauw University in 1939. He completed a bachelor of sacred theology degree in 1942 from Boston University School of Theology and a Ph.D. in psychology of religion in 1948 from Boston University, where he then joined the faculty. He was ordained in the Methodist Church and pursued an academic career training future ministers and counselors. In 1954, Robert Leslie accepted the position to be the first full-time professor of pastoral psychology and counseling at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. Leslie brought to the Berkeley seminary two years experience as a local pastor; three and a half years as an army chaplain, including 29 months in the South Pacific; and six years as a psychiatric hospital chaplain. As a professor, Dr. Leslie emphasized the practical skills needed by pastors and counselors when working with people in crisis. He pioneered videotaping role-play simulations to train seminary students in pastoral care skills. Leslie's interests bridged the fields of psychology and religion. His Sharing Groups in the Church: An Invitation to Involvement (1970) remains a core text on the psychological value of small groups in the parish. Other books by Leslie draw from the work of Viktor Frankl, a Viennese psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor, with whom Leslie studied in Vienna, Austria, 1960-1961. Jesus as Counselor (1982), first published as Jesus and Logotherapy (1965); and Man's Search for a Meaningful Faith (1967) extend Frankl's psychological theory to Christian practice. Man's Search for a Meaningful Faith has been published in Spanish, Korean and Japanese. As director of the Pastoral Counseling Center at Pacific School of Religion, Leslie supervised doctoral students in marriage and family counseling. His publications include Professional Growth for Clergymen: Through Supervised Training in Marriage Counseling and Family Problems (edited by Robert C. Leslie and Emily Hartshorne Mudd, 1970) and Person to Person: A Pastoral Counseling Manual (translated into Chinese and co-authored by Susan Wu, 1981). Leslie co-authored Sustaining Intimacy with Margaret G. Alter (1978) and The Surprising Gospel: Intriguing Psychological Insights from the New Testament with Wilhelm H. Wuellner (1984). An emerging focus on cross-cultural understanding led Leslie to research at theological seminaries in Taiwan, India, and Singapore. He has lectured in Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, England, Austria, and Germany. Leslie held the James and Clarice Foster Professor of Pastoral Psychology and Counseling Chair at the Pacific School of Religion and served as interim Academic Dean. He was a key professor in the area of Psychology and Religion in the Graduate Theological Union, a consortium of 9 seminaries of different faiths in Berkeley. In addition to publishing nine books, Leslie wrote hundreds of articles for professional journals. He was awarded the distinctions of Fellow and Diplomate of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy, Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and Diplomate of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. He served on the Commission of Religion and Health of the National Council of Churches and as Curator of the Viktor Frankl Library and Memorabilia at the Graduate Theological Union. Leslie was an active clergy member of the California-Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church. At the Annual Conference Session in Sacramento, June 14, Bishop Beverly Shamana honored Leslie with words of appreciation. He published United Methodist study books, including Health, Healing, and Holiness (1971) and Ages and Stages: Close Connections (1981). Leslie served on the Board of the Fred Finch Youth Center, a residential treatment center in Oakland. Robert Leslie is survived by his wife of 65 years, Paula; by two children: William Allen Leslie of Berkeley and Heather Leslie Hammer of Livermore; by two grandchildren: Joseph Robert Hammer and Leslie Mary Hammer; and by his brother, James Stewart Leslie of Delaware, Ohio. A Memorial Service will be held Sat, June 24, 2PM, at the First United Methodist Church, 625 Randolph St., Napa, CA. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent for student scholarships to the Pacific School of Religion, 1789 Scenic Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709, in memory of Robert Leslie.