[Faces of Domuni] Magali Bonhomme

17 september 2026

[EPISODE 15] – Magali BONHOMME

A Passion for Exegesis, Between the Bible and Psychoanalysis

A psychologist and clinical psychology doctorate holder, Magali Bonhomme lives in Antibes, France. After completing several courses of study in psychology and a university diploma in theological studies, she chose to pursue a Master’s degree in Biblical Studies with Domuni, in partnership with the Catholic University of Louvain.

An Academic Journey Built Over the Years

A psychologist and doctor of clinical psychology, Magali Bonhomme had already completed a long academic journey when she decided to return to her studies in biblical exegesis. She holds a five-year higher-education degree in psychology with a practical orientation, followed by a research degree in psychology and, finally, a doctorate in clinical psychology. She also taught and worked in the university sector before turning towards theological studies.

This new direction arose in particular from her interest in psychoanalysis and in the possible connections between psychoanalytic interpretation and biblical interpretation.

She then undertook a university diploma at the Catholic University of Lyon. By the end of this course of study, a desire had gradually become clearer: to devote herself fully to biblical exegesis.

This is precisely what she sought at Domuni. Following her previous studies and in view of her earlier university education, she was able to enter directly into the Master’s programme.

Choosing Domuni to Study Exegesis

The choice of Domuni was first and foremost motivated by a very specific academic objective. Magali wanted to deepen her knowledge of biblical exegesis without necessarily pursuing a more general programme in theology or philosophy.

At Domuni, she found the opportunity to work specifically on biblical texts within the framework of a demanding university-level programme.

“I liked the variety of specific areas of study concerning the Bible; I was able to explore very closely the books of the Old Testament and the Gospels, both alike.”

Another aspect seemed particularly important to her: the Master’s programme is co-organised with the Catholic University of Louvain. The courses therefore bring together professors from different academic backgrounds.

For Magali, this plurality is one of the major strengths of the programme: diversity in the subjects studied, but also diversity among the professors and in their approaches.

Studying Theology: Much More Than Acquiring Knowledge

For Magali, the Domuni experience cannot be reduced to the acquisition of theological knowledge. Of course, the academic dimension played an important role: he appreciates study, theoretical reflection, and the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the subjects that interest him.

But, in retrospect, he identifies a deeper contribution of his education: the possibility of relating the knowledge acquired to his own history and personal experience of faith.

“An interesting contribution that I probably had not seen as clearly before, but which now seems fundamental to me, was to relate it to my life, to my life experience, and to bring it into my experience with God.”

It is this connection between theology and existence that constitutes, for him, one of the most significant aspects of his journey.

Studying theology enabled him to encounter or rediscover the Catholic Christian faith from different perspectives, but also to experience what he describes as a genuine encounter, or a “re-encounter”, with God.

University education thus becomes a space in which intellect and spirituality are not opposed to one another. Study nourishes reflection, while reflection makes it possible to return to personal experience.

A Programme Compatible with Professional and Family Life

When Magali began her studies, she was already a psychologist and the mother of three children, who were still minors at the time. Her professional and family life made it difficult to organise university studies according to a traditional timetable.

Distance learning therefore became the natural choice.

Living in the south of France, she would have had to make numerous journeys to attend an on-campus programme. Choosing a 100% online format, by contrast, allowed her to preserve the balance between her personal life, family life, and professional activity.

She also mentions the environmental dimension of this choice, as travelling represented a cost that she did not wish to impose on the environment.

But beyond the possibility of studying remotely, it was above all the freedom of organisation that suited her.

One of the characteristics of Domuni that particularly impressed Magali was the possibility of freely managing her own pace of work. Courses are available from the beginning of the academic year, and each student can organise their programme according to their own way of working.

Magali therefore chose to devote several weeks, or even several months, to a single discipline before moving on to another. For example, she could devote several months to learning Greek and then concentrate on the Book of Job or the Gospel according to Mark.

Other students may, on the contrary, prefer to progress simultaneously in several subjects.

This freedom of organisation seems to her to be a genuine opportunity for people returning to study while already having professional and family responsibilities.

The relationship with the teaching staff also contributes to this flexibility. Magali emphasises the ease of communication with professors, as well as the clarity of the assignments required for each course. Assessments are generally returned quickly, and professors remain accessible to answer questions.

A Master’s Degree as a “Journey”

For Magali, her experience cannot be summed up as a simple succession of courses and academic assignments.

She uses one word to characterise her journey: journeying.

“I am obviously not the same person after completing this Master’s degree with Domuni as I was before.”

Because of her professional and family circumstances, she took longer than the two years theoretically planned to complete her Master’s degree. This additional time ultimately enabled her to experience the programme as a gradual journey, characterised by discoveries, new understandings, and an interest that evolved throughout the courses.

The Master’s degree therefore did not simply represent the acquisition of a new qualification. Above all, it responded to a personal project: to open up new avenues of reflection on her professional practice, her areas of interest, and her relationship with biblical texts.

Bringing Exegesis and Psychoanalysis Together

From the outset, Magali had a distinctive project: to understand how biblical interpretation can shed light on psychoanalytic interpretation, and vice versa.

This desire to bring into dialogue two fields that occupy an important place in her journey finds its fullest expression in her Master’s dissertation. She chose to work on the story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis, bringing together two approaches: an exegetical reading and a psychoanalytic reading.

Her subject thus enabled her to draw on her training as a psychologist while applying the academic methods acquired during her Master’s degree. In this regard, she emphasises the importance of being able to propose her own research topic. She did not have to adapt her project to research already being conducted by a research supervisor; she was able to work on a question that was genuinely important to her.

She also mentions the quality of the support she received throughout this research, particularly from her dissertation supervisor, whom she describes as particularly kind and attentive.

God’s Gaze upon Cain and Abel

It was through her reading and academic work that Magali discovered the line of inquiry that would structure her dissertation. She became interested in the way in which God’s relationship to Cain and Abel’s offerings is generally translated in the fourth chapter of Genesis. The Hebrew verb used in the text can, in particular, be understood through the idea of looking or gaze. This dimension particularly attracted her attention.

She therefore decided to place this question of the gaze at the centre of her study: what does it mean that God’s gaze is directed towards one and not the other? This question takes on particular resonance when related to her field of specialisation. In psychoanalysis, the gaze indeed occupies an important place in reflection on the construction of the subject.

From there, Magali also became interested in the words addressed by God to Cain, whereas no comparable words are addressed to Abel in this passage. Her work is thus built around a comparison between gaze and speech, and around the way in which each person is looked upon or addressed in the biblical narrative.

A study that perfectly illustrates the encounter between the two worlds that had motivated her academic journey: exegesis and psychoanalysis.

Reading the Bible Differently

At the end of this programme, Magali does not know precisely whether it was her dissertation or the Master’s programme as a whole that transformed her view of the Bible. But one conviction has become deeply rooted in her: a biblical text is never definitively exhausted by a single reading. She rediscovered the possibility of reading the same passage on several levels and, over time, finding new meanings within it.

“When we read a biblical passage, we can ultimately read it infinitely, because we always find a new meaning in it that we had not seen in the previous reading.”

This multiplicity of readings also creates a space for dialogue. Two people can read the same verses and discover different resonances within them.

For Magali, exegesis thus also becomes a way of entering into anthropological reflection: by reading the texts, their different interpretations, and the human experiences they portray, a better understanding of the human being also begins to emerge.

Her journey with Domuni also enabled her to move beyond a compartmentalised view of knowledge. She particularly mentions her interest in the work of researchers who are able both to produce high-level academic research and to make their subjects accessible to a broader audience.

This connection between research and transmission particularly marked her. She was therefore able to present her own Master’s research to fellow psychologists and psychoanalysts, opening a door for them to the biblical texts through her approach.

Exegesis therefore no longer appears to her as a discipline reserved for an academic or theological circle. It can enter into dialogue with other disciplines and reach people who do not necessarily consider themselves specialists in the Bible.

Studying as an Adult: Freedom, but Also Commitment

Based on her experience, Magali also has a particularly positive view of the possibility of returning to study as an adult.

For her, one of the great advantages of Domuni lies in its ability to adapt studies to the reality of each person’s life.

It is not necessary to follow the traditional university rhythm, from September to June, with identical deadlines for everyone. Each person can organise their work according to their constraints and their way of learning.

This freedom nevertheless requires autonomy and discipline.

Above all, it enables people who work, who have a family, or who live far from university centres to continue learning and to build a genuine course of study.

Magali Bonhomme’s journey illustrates another way of approaching university studies.

At the origin of her undertaking, there was not necessarily a search for a new professional qualification. Above all, there was intellectual curiosity, an interest in biblical texts, and a desire to bring into dialogue two fields that had profoundly shaped her journey: psychology and exegesis.

Over the years, this curiosity was transformed into a genuine journey.

Studying biblical texts through the tools of exegesis enabled her to look at them differently. Bringing them into dialogue with psychoanalysis opened up new avenues of reflection. And the possibility of studying at her own pace allowed her to integrate this research into a life already rich in responsibilities.

Her testimony thus reminds us that returning to study can respond to a deeply personal aspiration: to understand more, to question what we thought we knew, and to allow a new discipline to transform the way we look at the world and at ourselves.