Latin America and Early Modern Christianity
The Latin American context played a central, although often neglected, role in the many Christian traditions emerging from the Early Modern era. This year, Rady Roldán-Figueroa, BuSTH professor and CGCM faculty affiliate, has explored this intersection between Latin America and European Christianity in the following works: C. Douglas Weaver and Rady Roldán-Figueroa, Exploring Christian Heritage: […]
Rev. Dr. Yap Kim Hao, First Asian Bishop of Methodist Church, Passes Away
On November 16th, Rev. Dr. Yap Kim Hao, former bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore and Malaysia, passed away at 88 years of age. In 1968, Dr. Yap was elected as the first Asian bishop of the Methodist church. He was an active member of the BuSTH global Christianity community, and a recipient of […]
17th Century African Christian Queen Njinga
European powers expanding into southwest Africa in the 17th century confronted a cunning and capable leader in Queen Njinga. Linda Heywood has been uncovering the story of this complex figure, teasing out how she ruled and what role her faith played in her kingdom. Most recently, she gave lectures on the subject in London and […]
Religion and Democratization
Over the last century, some Western scholars have argued that certain religious traditions–first Catholicism, and increasingly in the contemporary world, Islam–are inherently incompatible with democratic forms of government. In a recent essay published in The Immanent Frame, CGCM faculty associate Jeremy Menchik, remembered the work of political scientist Alfred Stepan. Stepan’s scholarship resisted moves to paint any […]
African Pentecostalism
The study of African Pentecostalism has blossomed in the last decade. In his recent essay for the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History, “Pentecostalism in Africa,” CGCM faculty associate Nimi Wariboko surveys the current state of historical scholarship on Pentecostalism in different African contexts. He highlights the priorities of such scholarship and points toward important trajectories for future work in the […]
World Methodist and Roman-Catholic Dialogue
2017 marked the 50th year anniversary of official dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church. CGCM faculty associate Karen Westerfield Tucker (at the far left in the photo) has participated in this dialogue for the World Methodist Council for many years and was present at a recent audience with Pope Francis in […]
Dance as Metaphor of Cross and Mission in Contexts of Trauma
The trauma of violence, discrimination, and war continue to mark the lives of countless Christians throughout the globe. Such trauma is particularly acute in contexts where the public life of Christians is threatened and marginalized by the increasing influence of religious radicalism in the public sphere, notably in the Indonesian context of BuSTH alumna Rev. Dr. Septemmy […]
Latino Immigrant Ethnic Identity and Religious Affiliation in the US
As the percentage of the Latino population in the United States has grown dramatically over the previous decades, this growth has coincided with a diversification of religious adherence among Latinos. This has been most visible in growing pentecostal and evangelical expressions of Christianity. CGCM faculty associate Jonathan Calvillo recently presented his research on the impact […]
Race, Religion, and Adoption in the United States
This year, Soojin Chung will be working as Visiting Scholar at the University of California-Berkeley Department of Ethnic Studies. There, she will be collaborating with UC Berkeley professor Carolyn Chen, investigating how the dynamic of race plays a role in the lives of Asian American adoptees. Specifically, she will examine the relationship between race and […]
Christian-Muslim Relations and State Formation in West Africa
Many emerging countries in postcolonial West Africa have found themselves at the center of Christian-Muslim interactions in the contemporary world. Nimi Wariboko’s new piece, “Christian-Muslim Relations and the Ethos of State Formation in West Africa” in Evelyn A. Reisacher (ed.), Dynamics of the Muslim Worlds: Regional, Theological, and Theological Perspectives (Downers Groove, IL: IVP Academic 2017), explores the […]