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.
Strong CGCM Presence at the American Society of Missiology and the Yale-Edinburgh Group Meetings
This year, the American Society of Missiology held its conference from June 18 to June 21. The theme was "Missio-logoi: The Many Languages of Mission," and it focused on the way that words, images, and other forms of human expression relate to Christian mission. CGCM student Laura Chevalier presented her paper, "Mission Spirituality: Trends and Developments Since 1980."
The CGCM also made a number of contributions at the Yale-Edinburgh Group's meeting from June 25 to June 27. The theme of the meeting was Religion and Religions in the History of Missions and World Christianity, and several students associated with the CGCM presented papers (Soojin Chung, "Shamanism's Impact on Korean Christianity"; Michèle Sigg, "The Contribution of Maurice Leenhardt (1878-1954), Missionary-Anthropologist, to the Founding and Growth of French Protestant Missiology"; Stephen Lloyd, "A Bridge to Heathendom? M.L. Daneel, Afrikaans Missiology, and Traditional African Religion"; and Eva Pascal, "Christian Friars and Buddhist Monks: The Making of Buddhism as a Rival 'Religion'").
The conference also included a section announcing new resources for the study of missions and world Christianity. Michèle Sigg updated listeners on the "African Dictionary of Christian Biography," Gina Zurlo announced exciting changes to the forthcoming new edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia, while Eva Pascal and Stephen Lloyd previewed the "Old and New in Shona Religion" web project.
Both the ASM and Yale-Edinburgh meetings provided time for networking among the leading scholars and institutions focused on promoting the academic study of world Christianity and missions. They were successful events that promise to yield a good deal of fruit.
Call for Papers “Religious Diversity: Conflict, Cooperation, Creolization”
The Center for Global Christianity & Mission will be co-hosting a graduate student conference at Boston University on "Religious Diversity: Conflict, Cooperation, and Creolization" to be held November 14th, 2015. Harvard University’s Diana L. Eck will give the keynote address, and there will be several panels of student papers. Please see the Religious Diversity Call for Papers with information for the call for papers. The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2015.
For further information visit: https://reldivconf2015.
Rethinking Methodism
In a recent essay, Chris Evans explored important questions scholars need to raise when they think about American Methodism, particularly after the Civil War. One way to reconsider the role of Methodism, Evans argued, would be to look at the role of Methodist young people, citing the motive magazine as a rich and untapped source. The Center for Global Christianity & Mission will have the entire run of motive available for digital research in September 2015.
Conversion, Overlapping Religiosities, Polemics, and Interaction: Early Modern Iberia and Beyond
On June 19th, Professor Rady Roldan-Figueroa will be in Madrid, Spain presenting his research on "Anticlericalismo, filosemitismo e identidad prostestate en el Carrascón." Details about the conference can be found below.
Alumnus Chris James gives media interviews on church innovations in Seattle
The Pacific-Northwest has some of the highest rates in the country of religious "nones," people who claim no particular religious affiliation. Yet cities like Seattle are also home to a number of innovative Christian churches. In two media interviews, alumnus Christopher James of Dubuque University discusses his research on new church formations in Seattle and what they may tell us about the future of religion. You can access them from KING5 News "Religious Affiliation and the Future Church," and KUOW.org "The Future Of Religion? A Researcher Looks To Seattle For Clues."
You can follow Christopher James and his research on Twitter (@chrisbjames) and www.jesusdust.com
Orthodoxy & Humanitarianism conference, live webcast
In a time of political instability, war, and growing fundamentalist sentiment and policies in many parts of the Middle East, Orthodox Christians find themselves under increasing pressure and uncertainly.
The conference Orthodox Christianity and Humanitarianism: Ideas and Actions in the Contemporary World held tomorrow May 7th through the 8th, explores theological, historical, and contemporary responses of Orthodoxy and humanitarianism. It will be held at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. CGCM Director Dr. Dana L. Robert will be a participant in this important event.
The conference will have a live watching opportunity for those interested but unable to attend.
The Making of Korean Christianity
The award winning book, The Making of Korean Christianity: Protestant Encounters with Korean Religions, 1879-1915 was recently reviewed in the Africanas Journal. The publication is doubly significant for the Center for Global Christianity & Mission, as the author of the book, Sung-Deuk Oak, graduated from the Boston University School of Theology in 2002. The review was written by Gun Cheol Kim, a current PhD candidate in Mission Studies at the School of Theology.
New Doctoral Dissertations in World Christianity and Mission
In April, two doctoral students in the School of Theology successfully defended dissertations in world Christianity and mission. Daryl Ireland wrote his dissertation on the preeminent twentieth century Asian revivalist John Sung, Christian Revitalization in China and Southeast Asia. And Travis Myers wrote his thesis on John Eliot, a pioneer missionary among the Native Americans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, "Get as Near to God as You Can”: The Congregationalist Piety and Cross-Cultural Ministry of John Eliot (1604-1690). A special congratulations to Dr. Daryl Ireland (left) and Dr. Travis Myers (right), for contributing to research in the field!
A look into the Life of Archbishop Oscar Romero
The Boston University community will hold reception in honor of Archbishop Romero's anticipated beatification on May 23, 2015. The reception will be held at School of Theology Community Center, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, May 11th, 5-630pm. with an exhibition on display May 1st-20th.
Alumnus Shawn Daggett Visits Massachusetts with Mission Students
(Above: Shawn Daggett and Students)
Dr. Shawn Daggett, professor of mission at Harding College, has been in Massachusetts on a mission trip with 26 students, looking at historical mission sites. Harding College has a robust missions program, with over 300 undergraduate minors.
Daggett earned his Bachelors and Masters at Harding before entering the Th.D. program at Boston University. His degree is in New Testament and Missions.
Shawn and his wife Donna worked as missionaries in Italy from 1986 to 1996, and he worked at a church in Natick, MA. Daggett hopes to equip students to work as missionaries in Europe and New England.
(Above: Donna and Shawn Daggett with Dana Robert)