African Theological Advance
The focus of African Theological Advance is to encourage African scholars to explore a fresh understanding of how Christianity engages contemporary African realities in four topical areas. African Christian scholars and church leaders, in conversation with Templeton officers, have identified four topical areas of high interest and relevance:
- African Values & African Spirituality
Interest in African values percolates across the African church academy. - The Interaction of Faith & Science: Particularly in Health & Healing
At the intersection of science and faith, some of the most urgent questions that African Christians ask are about health and healing. Contemporary African Christians hear what appear to be competing claims from traditional healers, Christian faith healers, and medical professionals. - Religious Innovation & Competition
Christianity in Africa is amazingly innovative, diverse and competitive. Christian theologians often view religious innovation and competition with dismay because of the potential for heresy, fragmentation and strife. Even so, diversity and competition are often vehicles, if not drivers, of creative change. - Forgiveness, Peacemaking, & Reconciliation
As a major site for civil violence in recent decades, Africa has much at stake and much to offer for those who want to learn more about the barriers and pathways to forgiveness, peacemaking, and reconciliation. Across the continent, Christian people and agencies are often leading in post-trauma counseling, community-based reconciliation initiatives, and peace education.
Why is This Important?
As of 2018, Africa had the largest Christian population of any continent and is expected to experience explosive growth in Christianity over the next forty years. Despite this, Africa often remains under-resourced and under-represented in the conversation of World Christianity.
Project Process
With the generous support of Templeton Religion Trust, the Nagel Institute has awarded sixteen grants for research and curriculum development projects across eight African countries. The initiative, entitled African Theological Advance, aims to support African Christian scholars, in theology and other disciplines, to engage in fresh research, thinking, and teaching about Christianity’s engagement with contemporary African society.
Simply said, we’re investing $2.2 million for 16 grants and 8 projects for 3 years to support African Christian scholars.
Project Goals
After a six-member selection committee met in Accra, Ghana in November 2017, sixteen proposals were selected from over 100 submissions. Each of these sixteen proposals will produce multiple publications, host conferences and workshops, and develop new theological curriculum through the following African nations:
- Botswana
- CÔTE D’IVOIRE
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- Kenya
- Nigeria
- South Africa
- Uganda
- Zimbabwe
More About African Theological Advance
Below are the titles of the selected proposals.
BOTSWANA
University of Botswana: leader, Lovemore Togarasei
“The impact of religious beliefs on health seeking and health provision behaviours: lessons for theological education review at the University of Botswana.”
CÔTE D’IVOIRE
FATEAC (Faculty of Theology, Christian Alliance Church), Cote d Ivoire: leader, Issiaka Coulibaly
“Ethnicite, Christianisme et réconciliation etude du concept politique.”
ETHIOPIA
Capuchin Franciscan Research and Retreat Centre (CFRRC): leader, Daniel Assefa Kassaye
“Living Ethiopic oral poetry: from creation to performance and sacred dance.”
Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST): leader, Seblewengel Daniel Woldegiorgis
“The relationship between religious support and emotional well-being among Ethiopian evangelical Christians.”
GHANA
Trinity Theological Seminary: leader, J Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu
“Being African in a contemporary world: exploring spirituality and psychological values in Ghana.”
University of Ghana: leader, Rose Mary Amenga-Etego
“Literature, music, and prayer repertoires as sources of African values, spirituality, and Christian theology.”
KENYA
Daystar University: leader, Bernard Boyo
“To empower African Christians embracing different concepts of healing through development of a framework for mainstreaming faith, traditional and medical healing concepts in the existing theological curriculum in Africa.”
Hekima University College: leader, Elias Omondi Opongo
“Social conflict, social capital, and religio-cultural reconciliation practices in East Africa.”
Maseno University: leader, Susan Mbula Kilonzo
“The place of the Catholic Church in ethnic conflict resolution through the Amani Mashinani (Peace at Grassroots) model in Kenya’s Rift Valley.”
NIGERIA
Nasarawa State University: leader, Matthew Michael
“Triangulated health & integrative wellness: the mapping of wellness and its cultural psychology in modern Africa.”
SOUTH AFRICA
Baptist Theological College of Southern Africa: leader, Marilyn Naidoo
“An empirical study on integrated ministerial education in African theological institutions.”
University of Pretoria: leader, Stephan de Beer
“Urban Africa 2050: imagining theological education/ formation for flourishing African cities.”
University of Stellenbosch: leader, Nadine Bowers Du Toit
“Inequality, forgiveness, and political agency: lived theologies among young adults in post-apartheid South African churches.”
University of Western Cape: leader, Ignatius Swart
“Xenophobia and the re-imagination of evangelization amongst migrant dominated churches in South Africa.”
UGANDA
Kyambogo University: leader, Robert Wabyanga Kuloba
“Analyzing the health and healing practices of African Pentecostals in Africa and the Diaspora.”
ZIMBABWE
University of Zimbabwe: leader, Nisbert Taringa
“An exploration of Christian perceptions on forgiveness as panacea for the gukurahundi atrocities of the Early 1980s in Zimbabwe.”
