News of the extended network of faculty, alumni, students, visiting researchers, and mission partners is regularly updated, and some of the big ideas or major events in Global Christianity are covered in the CGCM News.
Dana L. Robert Awarded the William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professorship
Hearty congratulations to the Center for Global Christianity and Mission's Director, Dr. Dana L. Robert, on being awarded Boston University's William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professorship!
Newest volume of “The Future of Mission Cooperation” to be released
Mustafa Akyol’s Upcoming Lecture
Mustafa Akyol is a Turkish journalist, author, public speaker, and senior fellow at the CATO Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity in Washington, D.C. His TED talk on “Faith versus Tradition in Islam” has been watched by more than 1.2 million viewers. We are excited to host him this Tuesday, March 14, at 3.30 pm.
Spreading the Gospel: Christian Posters in Early 20th Century China
Between 1919 and 1949, posters were the most common Christian visual imagery in China. They were printed by the millions and hung in tea rooms, on city walls, and on temple gates. Posters were put up in houses and churches; they were unfolded for street evangelism. They were extremely popular because they were aesthetically pleasing, symbolically rich, yet easy to understand. Unlike theological treatises written by Chinese theologians, these images were designed by laypeople and intended for popular consumption. In this lecture, Daryl Ireland (Boston University) will showcase some of the 700 Chinese Protestant and Catholic posters he has located, and explain why they are changing the way we think about Chinese Christianity.
This event will be in-person. Light refreshments will be served following the lecture.
Livestream will be available.
Daryl Ireland is a Research Assistant Professor of Mission at Boston University, where he focuses on the history of Christianity in Asia, as well as the intersection of International Development and Faith. He is the author of John Song: Modern Chinese Christianity and the Making of a New Man (2020). His book, Visions of Salvation: Chinese Christian Posters in an Age of Revolution will be published in April.
To reserve a spot, click here.
“Women in World Christianity: Facts, Figures, Challenges, and Opportunities”
The Annual Bartlett Lecture at Yale Divinity School
A panel of three distinguished scholars—Haruka Umetsu Cho, Stephanie Wong, and Peng Yin (a CGCM faculty associate) — will present this year’s Bartlett Lecture on Monday, March 6, at Yale Divinity School.
More info here.
‘Women in World Christianity: Building and Sustaining a Global Movement’
On March 1, 2023, Wednesday, 16.00 GMT, Dr. Gina Zurlo will speak on 'Women in World Christianity: Building and Sustaining a Global Movement.'
The seminar will take place at the Faculty of Divinity, West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DP and on Zoom.
You are very welcome to join.
Abstract:
This seminar will discuss findings from Dr. Zurlo’s recent findings from her Women in World Christianity Project, which was the first demographic assessment of Christianity down to the denominational level in every country of the world. World Christianity is a women’s movement because it was built and is sustained by women, and the majority of its members, participants, and affiliates are women. It is anticipated women will continue this work, likely longer than men, since women’s religious commitment appears to remain high. Christianity is also continuing its global southward shift, with 77% of all Christians likely to live in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania by the year 2050. This combination means that women in the global South will take on increasingly visible leadership roles in the church, despite the barriers they face, grounded by their faith and in service to their present communities and the next generations.
Bio:
Gina A. Zurlo holds a Ph.D. in History and Hermeneutics from Boston University School of Theology (2017). She is the Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (South Hamilton, MA) and Visiting Research Fellow at Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs. She is the co-author of the World Christian Encyclopedia, 3rd edition (Edinburgh University Press, 2019) and co-editor of the World Christian Database (Brill). She has recently authored three books: Global Christianity: A Guide to the World’s Largest Religion from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (Zondervan, 2022); Women in World Christianity: Building and Sustaining a Global Movement (Wiley-Blackwell, 2023); and From Nairobi to the World: David B. Barrett and the Re-Imagining of World Christianity (Brill, 2023). She was named one of the BBC’s 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2019 for her work in quantifying religion worldwide.
Zoom link:
https://theofed-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/93136508607?pwd=QnRRcG55TkNndVJZbFcvUGZPMEdHdz09
Meeting ID: 931 3650 8607
Passcode: 568920
If you plan to attend, please email centre@cccw.cam.ac.uk.
EAST-WEST SCHOLARS IN DIALOGUE: Ricci Institute Research Seminar Series
The Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at Boston College presents two research seminars in February 2023, which will be delivered by the two Luce postdoctoral fellows in residence during the spring semester. Based on different historical studies, the two presentations will offer an opportunity for academic exchange among scholars today who are interested in the study of the history of Christianity in China and in the larger historical context of modern global history. The seminars are free and open to faculty and students at Boston College, and all interested scholars from other institutions.
Spring 2023 Events: Chinese Christianity
CUHK – Bringing Together China and the West – Exhibition and Symposium
Lisa Bitel to deliver the Boston University Department of Religion Annual Lecture
The Department of Religion of Boston University is delighted to welcome Professor Lisa Bitel of the University of Southern California to give our annual Religion lecture. Her talk Converting the Religious Supernatural: A Fairy Tale will take place on Monday, February 6 th , 2023, at 6pm.
Professor Lisa Bitel will address the persistence of the Otherworld in ancient literature and modern folklore as well as in graphic and digital media. In Ireland and elsewhere believers continue to encounter the aos síthe (folk of the Otherworld) and similar "small gods" and to exploit them for both tourism and religion. These small gods, by way of Wales, also became French fairies (Fée); while the faeries of post-Norman England eventually became a lucrative modern business in fantasy literature, garden decor, and other popular media. Bitel examines this co-evolution of story and Otherworld over the long haul, asking: Why do some forms of the supernatural and their veneration survive major religious shifts while others disappear?