9th GloPent Conference: Pentecostalism and Its Encounters with Other Religions

Conference Theme

Pentecostalism has been described as a religion made to travel. Faster than any other Christian movement it has spread around the world with a particularly strong impulse on missions. As Pentecostals have reached out to people of other religions, the integration of various cultural elements in Pentecostal cosmology has created new contextual forms of Christianity, but also conflict and tension. The subsequent growth of Pentecostal and Charismatic movements into a highly visible and at times dominant expression of Christianity has intensified these encounters in everyday life and in institutional and theological contexts.

The conference will explore these various spaces of negotiation and confrontation in the encounter between Pentecostal movements and other religious traditions, especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Offering four keynotes from the vantage points of sociology, the study of religion, and theology, we invite scholars to contribute additional papers from different disciplinary perspectives and regions – enabling a broad and thorough discussion of our conference theme.

Keynotes

Prof Chad Bauman, Pentecostals and Interreligious Conflict in India: Proselytization, Marginalization, and Anti-Christian Violence

Chad Bauman is Professor of Religion at Butler University, USA. He specializes in religion in society in India and has particularly focused his research on religious identity, Hindu-Christian relations and anti-Christian violence. In his latest book (2015) he explores reasons why, in comparison to other Christian communities, Indian Pentecostals are disproportionately targeted by violent attacks from radical Hindu nationalists and brings new perspectives to this sensitive subject matter.

Prof Kirsteen Kim, The Korean Holy Spirit Movement and Shamanism

Kirsteen Kim is Professor of Theology and World Christianity at Leeds Trinity University, UK. She has written widely on theology and mission and World Christianity, and has a special interest in pneumatology. Her many years of experience and research on Christianity in South Korea – and its relation to the Korean society, Buddhism and Shamanism – have made her an expert in the area.

Prof Martin Lindhardt, The Pentecostal Engagement with African Traditional Religion: Struggle and Convergence

Martin Lindhardt is Associate Professor of Cultural Sociology at the University of Southern Denmark. His research and writing have focused on Pentecostalism in Chile and Tanzania from various perspectives, addressing matters such as Pentecostal life worlds, gender issues, youth culture, conversion, economic issues, and witchcraft. His work on witchcraft especially highlights how different interpretations of shared beliefs in occult forces lead to power struggles and social positioning.

Dr Asonzeh Ukah, God’s Country or the Devil’s Battleground? Pentecostal Perspectives on Islam and Muslims in Nigeria

Asonzeh Ukah is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Religious Studies at University of Cape Town and is also associated with the University of Bayreuth, Germany. His main research interests are African Pentecostalism, transnational religion, religion and media, and religion and popular culture. Asonzeh Ukah has done extensive research on Pentecostalism in Nigeria, including its relations with Islam.

Programme

Download full programme and abstracts booklet

Friday, 10 June

11.30–12.30 Registration

12.30–12.45 Conference Welcome

12.45–14.00 Plenary Session 1

Chad Bauman: Pentecostals and Interreligious Conflict in India: Proselytization, Marginalization, and Anti-Christian Violence.

Response: Michael Bergunder, University of Heidelberg

14.00–14.30 Coffee/tea

14.30–17.00 Parallel Session1

Pentecostalism and Islam – Group 1 

Switching faiths:  Religious conversion to Islam and Catholic Pentecostalism among Filipino migrants in Southeast Asia – Teresita Cruz-del Rosario
Friend or foe? Pentecostalism and Islam in Northern Cameroon – Tomas Sundnes Drønen
Island encounters: Pentecostal Christianity, migration and Islam in contemporary Zanzibar – Hans Olsson
Prayer, resistance and martyrdom: The Pentecostals in the Islamic Republic of Iran and their practices – Marcin Rzepka

Pentecostalism and African Religions – Group 1

Pentecostal and Vodun encounters in rural areas of South Benin – Carla Bertin
Concepts of well-being in Ghanaian Pentecostalism and traditional Akan culture  – Jemima Clarke
Epistemological Crises in Ghanaian Pentecostal Moral Thought – Lord Elorm-Donkor
Claiming our heritage and dispensing our strength: Pentecostal-Charismatic encounter with African Traditional Religions – Michael Perry N.O. Tettey
Being more Christian than others: Pentecostalism meets Orthodox Christianity in Ethiopia and its diaspora – Pino Schirripa and Osvaldo Costantini

Pentecostal Theology & Ethics

Healing and forgiveness: Women in Pentecostal churches in Alajuela, Costa Rica – Nora Kurzewitz
The glory is here! : A critical appraisal of slogans used by Kenyan female Pentecostal-Charismatic Church leaders for self-legitimation – Loreen Maseno
Christian leadership, citizenship, and religious tolerance in Neo-Pentecostal Guatemala – Tobias Reu
Embodied gospel: Encountering Pentecostalism at the altar – Wolfgang Vondey
Afro-Pentecostalism and human rights in Sub-Saharan Africa: A philosophical inquiry – Dieudonne Zognong

17.00–17.30 Coffee/tea

17.30–18.45 Plenary Session 2

Kirsteen Kim: The Korean Holy Spirit Movement and Shamanism

Response: Kajsa Ahlstrand, University of Uppsala

19.15 Conference Dinner

Saturday, 11 June

09.00–10.30  Parallel Session 2

Pentecostalism and Asian Religions

Pentecostalism and Sinhala Buddhist nationalism in Sri Lanka – Koji Kawashima
Hindu-Christian relations in the everyday life of North Indian Pentecostals – Julia Kuhlin
Beyond Mimicry and Replica: Continuity and Discontinuity in South Indian Pentecostal Conversion – Jonas Adelin Jørgensen

Pentecostalism and Islam – Group 2

Shape-shifting of witchcraft, Islam and Pentecostalism – Judith Bachmann
Pentecostal perspectives on ethno-religious violence in Northern Nigeria – Richard Burgess
‘Chrislam’ in Ethiopia: Pentecostal policing of religious boundaries – Jörg Haustein

Global and Transnational Perspectives – Group 1

Transnationalism measured to cut: Bespoken migrant integration strategies by African-led Pentecostal Churches in Britain – Bernard Appiah
Transformational mission among Asian and African Migrant churches in Norway – Stian Eriksen
Spiritual warfare and New Age literature – Torsten Löfstedt

Pentecostal Missions and Ecumenical Relations – Group 1

Independent Pentecostal churches and ecumenism in the Czech Republic – Tereza Halasová
Encountering Pentecostalism and the reach of mission outreach: faith, struggle and social outreach among Pentecostal Roma – Raluca Bianca Roman
The early Pentecostal movement in Denmark, 1907-1919 – Nikolaj Christensen

10.30–11.00 Coffee/Tea

11.00–12.30 Parallel Session 3

Pentecostalism and African Religions – Group 2

Pentecostalism and the pre-Christian African spirit world – Allan Andersson
Conflict and contamination:  Religions as the sexual other in the spiritual realm – Nathanael Homewood
Religious syncretism as a Hindrance to Democratic Development in Botswana and South Africa – Nicola de Jager

Global and Transnational Perspectives  - Group 2

The Hillsong Megachurch Network encountering the religious dimension of consumerism: A new Pentecostal ethos? – Miranda Klaver
Negotiating religious diversity: The interaction of Pentecostalism with non-Christian religions in global society – Michael Wilkinson
Pentecostalism, Jews and the politics of reconciliation – Joseph Williams

Pentecostal Expressions and Ecumenical Relations – Group 2

"Maybe it is the case that you cannot stand Afican expressions": An Anthropological Study of Ecumenical Relations between Mekane Yesus and the Church of Sweden – Kristina Helgesson Kjellin
Loving or loathing Pentecostalism in northern Tanzania: Surprising indigenous expressions in some Plymouth Brethren assemblies – Allan McKinnon
Praise and worship as a mode of theology in Nairobi Charismatic churches – Martina Prosén

12.30–13.30 Lunch

13.30–14.45 Plenary Session 4

Martin Lindhardt: The Pentecostal Engagement with African Traditional Religion: Struggle and Convergence.

Response: Allan Anderson, University of Birmingham

14.45–15.00 Conference Summary and Farewell

Registration, Accommodation, and Travel Information

Conference Venue

Humanistiskt Centrum
Thunbergsvägen 3 (Engelska Parken)
Uppsala
Map of Uppsala

Conference Fee

The conference fee includes refreshments and conference materials. It is payable in cash upon arrival.
Standard: 400 SEK
Subscribers to PentecoStudies: 200 SEK
(Make sure you subscribe/renew your subscription at least two weeks before the conference.)

A conference dinner will be held at Friday evening (10 June) - we welcome everybody to participate.
Cost for conference dinner: 300 SEK

Unfortunately we do not have the means to provide any travel grants. Participants are advised to seek funds from elsewhere.

Registration

For registration, please provide the following information via e-mail to julia.kuhlin@teol.uu.se latest by 15 May  2016:

• Your full name,
• Your institutional affiliation, and
  
• Whether you would like to take part in the conference dinner (300SEK) held on the Friday evening of the conference.
  

Travel Information

Arriving by air: The closest airport to Uppsala is Stockholm Arlanda Airport. From Arlanda it is possible to take a fast train to Uppsala (18 min) as well as the Airbus 801. The last option is cheaper and tickets can be bought on the bus.

Arriving by rail: Train tickets to Uppsala can be bought at www.sj.se

The conference venue is located in central Uppsala. Taxis are available outside the Central station. The venue can be reached by foot (ca 15-20 min) or public transportation (take bus 4 from Stora torget to Engelska parken)

Accommodation

Participants are requested to book their own accommodations.

Engelska parken is centrally located in Uppsala with several hotels and hostels in the vicinity. We advise conference participants to book as early as possible.

Suggestions of hotels/hostels close to the venue:

• Uppsala City Stay Hotel
• Hotel Villa Anna
• Akademihotellet
• Grand Hotell Hörnan
• Scandic Uplandia
• Hotell och Vandrarhem Centralstationen

Useful websites:
www.booking.com
www.airbnb.com