The research activities of staff members, research associates, and postgraduate students in the Department are clustered together in six research frameworks, namely on "Religion, Ethics and Social Transformation", "Religion and Gender", "Religion and Development", "Ecumenical Theology and Spirituality in Africa", "Christian ecotheology" and "Biblical, theological and contextual hermeneutics / rhetorical theory".
You can find more information in the research highlights, current initiatives and reports below:
You can find more information in the research highlights, current initiatives and reports below:
The research focus areas in the Department of Religion and Theology, including research by staff, postgraduate students and research fellows have been clustered together in terms of six research frameworks. Here are significant initiatives planned for 2024 under each rubric:
Religion, Ethics and Social Transformation
A monograph entitled Reconciliation as a controversial symbol: An analysis of a theological discourse by Demaine Solomons is planned for publication in 2024. This book is derived mainly from his doctoral work and will be published through Langham Publishing.
Religion and Gender
For research plans in this field, see the reports of the Desmond Tutu Centre of Religion and Social Justice. Click Here
Religion and Development
Ignatius Swart is leading an ongoing interdisciplinary and empirically based book project to be published by UWC Press under the working title Overcoming Xenophobia and Exclusion? African Christianities in Diaspora. The project constitutes a major outcome from the project “Xenophobia and the Re- Imaginaton of Evangelization amongst Migrant Dominated Churches in South Africa”, which formed part of the African Theological Advance initiative of the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity. The project leaders are Elina Hankela (UJ), Henrietta Nyamnjoh (UCT) and Ignatius Swart (UWC).
Ignatius Swart and Johannes Eurich, Professor for Practical Theology and Director of the Institute for the Study of Christian Social Services at Heidelberg University, are currently in the final stages of co-editing a special issue on the theme “Diaconia and Christian Social Practice in a Global Perspective” in the journal Religions. Eighteen scholars across the globe are contributing to the special issue, which has been conceptualised to address eight topical foci under the broad thematic focus.
Ecumenical Theology and Spirituality in Africa
As part of the new impetus to study the Belhar Confession and its legacy, Prof Thias Kgatla, an extraordinary professor in the Department of Religion and Theology, delivered the Annual Belhar lecture at UWC in April 2022. This initiative will be taken forward through a series of seminars.
Christian Ecotheology
Work on the series of 12 edited volumes entitled “An Earthed Faith: Telling the Story amid the Anthropocene” will be continuing in 2024. The main focus in 2024 will be to complete and submit Volume 4 on ““Making room for the story to continue?”, and then on research and writing towards volume 5 entitled “The saving grace of the story” while planning towards Volume 6, “The Keepers of the Story” will commence in 2024.
Biblical Hermeneutics and Rhetoric
Following on from 2022 the plans for an exciting publication on “The Bible and Violence” is fully underway. The project will be co-edited by Chris Greenough (Edge Hill University, UK), Johnathan Jodamus (University of the Western Cape, South Africa), Mmapula Kebaneilwe (University of Botswana), and Johanna Stiebert (University of Leeds, UK). The project will yield what is essentially a large- scale (at least) two volume handbook on violence in the Bible (and associated texts), as well as violent uses of the Bible. It will have in the range of 100 contributors and is aimed at the creation of a large and comprehensive reference work on the multi-limbed topic of the Bible and violence. See more here
Working interdisciplinary, Tiana Bosman (Biblical Studies) is collaborating with UNIMA (Malawi) and VID Specialized University (Stavanger, Norway) in the Norpart project. One of the longterm outcomes of this project as to develop an online Masters forum and an online Masters course in Sustainable Community Development and Eco-Social Change. This happened in 2023 and will be streamlined further. The team is meeting at UWC in February 2024 for further planning. Two UWC students will go to Stavanger for a year (Aug 2024-2025) on the Norpart exchange. Bosman will also visit the university in Stavanger for a week of teaching. Furthermore a Master student from UWC will visit VID, Stavanger for a semester exchange programme, supported by Erasmus+ Click here for more In addition to the above Bosman will visit DIAK (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences) in Helsinki in May 2024 to teach in a BIP (Blended Intensive Programme) in Asset-Based-Community-Development. Two UWC students from the Department of Religion and Theology have been invited to go with her. The programme is funded by Erasmus+. Link here
Religion, Ethics and Social Transformation
A monograph entitled Reconciliation as a controversial symbol: An analysis of a theological discourse by Demaine Solomons is planned for publication in 2024. This book is derived mainly from his doctoral work and will be published through Langham Publishing.
Religion and Gender
For research plans in this field, see the reports of the Desmond Tutu Centre of Religion and Social Justice. Click Here
Religion and Development
Ignatius Swart is leading an ongoing interdisciplinary and empirically based book project to be published by UWC Press under the working title Overcoming Xenophobia and Exclusion? African Christianities in Diaspora. The project constitutes a major outcome from the project “Xenophobia and the Re- Imaginaton of Evangelization amongst Migrant Dominated Churches in South Africa”, which formed part of the African Theological Advance initiative of the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity. The project leaders are Elina Hankela (UJ), Henrietta Nyamnjoh (UCT) and Ignatius Swart (UWC).
Ignatius Swart and Johannes Eurich, Professor for Practical Theology and Director of the Institute for the Study of Christian Social Services at Heidelberg University, are currently in the final stages of co-editing a special issue on the theme “Diaconia and Christian Social Practice in a Global Perspective” in the journal Religions. Eighteen scholars across the globe are contributing to the special issue, which has been conceptualised to address eight topical foci under the broad thematic focus.
Ecumenical Theology and Spirituality in Africa
As part of the new impetus to study the Belhar Confession and its legacy, Prof Thias Kgatla, an extraordinary professor in the Department of Religion and Theology, delivered the Annual Belhar lecture at UWC in April 2022. This initiative will be taken forward through a series of seminars.
Christian Ecotheology
Work on the series of 12 edited volumes entitled “An Earthed Faith: Telling the Story amid the Anthropocene” will be continuing in 2024. The main focus in 2024 will be to complete and submit Volume 4 on ““Making room for the story to continue?”, and then on research and writing towards volume 5 entitled “The saving grace of the story” while planning towards Volume 6, “The Keepers of the Story” will commence in 2024.
Biblical Hermeneutics and Rhetoric
Following on from 2022 the plans for an exciting publication on “The Bible and Violence” is fully underway. The project will be co-edited by Chris Greenough (Edge Hill University, UK), Johnathan Jodamus (University of the Western Cape, South Africa), Mmapula Kebaneilwe (University of Botswana), and Johanna Stiebert (University of Leeds, UK). The project will yield what is essentially a large- scale (at least) two volume handbook on violence in the Bible (and associated texts), as well as violent uses of the Bible. It will have in the range of 100 contributors and is aimed at the creation of a large and comprehensive reference work on the multi-limbed topic of the Bible and violence. See more here
Working interdisciplinary, Tiana Bosman (Biblical Studies) is collaborating with UNIMA (Malawi) and VID Specialized University (Stavanger, Norway) in the Norpart project. One of the longterm outcomes of this project as to develop an online Masters forum and an online Masters course in Sustainable Community Development and Eco-Social Change. This happened in 2023 and will be streamlined further. The team is meeting at UWC in February 2024 for further planning. Two UWC students will go to Stavanger for a year (Aug 2024-2025) on the Norpart exchange. Bosman will also visit the university in Stavanger for a week of teaching. Furthermore a Master student from UWC will visit VID, Stavanger for a semester exchange programme, supported by Erasmus+ Click here for more In addition to the above Bosman will visit DIAK (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences) in Helsinki in May 2024 to teach in a BIP (Blended Intensive Programme) in Asset-Based-Community-Development. Two UWC students from the Department of Religion and Theology have been invited to go with her. The programme is funded by Erasmus+. Link here
For more details on research activities in 2023 in terms of the six research frameworks, see the report here
For more details on research activities in 2022 in terms of the six research frameworks, see the report here
For more details on research activities in 2021 in terms of the six research frameworks, see the report here
For more details on research activities in 2020 in terms of the six research frameworks, see the report here
For more details on research activities in 2018 in terms of the six research frameworks, see the report here
