2020
Elias Bongmba, is the 2020 Ray L. Hart Service Award Winner
Source: AAR Website
The American Academy of Religion (AAR) has announced Elias Kifon Bongmba (AASR former President) as the recipient of the 2020 Ray L. Hart Service Award.
“Elias Bongmba is Harry and Hazel Chavanne Professor of Christian Theology and Chair of the Department of Religion at Rice University. A scholar of comparative philosophy, African religions, and Christian theology, he has published influential books and articles on African witchcraft, the African Church’s response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, comparative hermeneutics, and African theology, ethics, and literature. In 2007 he was awarded the Frantz Fanon Prize for Outstanding Work in Caribbean Thought.
Professor Bongmba has served on a variety of AAR steering committees, committees of the board, and juries. His record of service extends far beyond the walls of the academy. He has advised governmental, educational, and church bodies both in his native Cameroon and throughout Africa. Bongmba has also lectured throughout Africa on social justice issues, including poverty, gender, disability, and homosexuality. He has been editor-in-chief of the Journal of Religions in Africa, and has served for the past ten years [2010-2020] as president of the African Association for the Study of Religion.
Congratulations to Elias Bongmba on receiving this important award!”
2020
Nigerian Pentecostalism and Development Spirit, Power, and Transformation – New Book by AASR Member Richard Burgess
New Book, Nigerian Pentecostalism and Development Spirit, Power, and Transformation (Series: Routledge Research in Religion and Development) by Richard Burgess (Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities, University of Roehampton). April 2020: 234×156: 272pp, 15 illustrations, Hb: 978-1-138-05330-4 | £120.00. eBook: 978-1-315-16729-9
“The Nigerian Pentecostal landscape is one of the most vibrant in Africa, with churches increasingly assuming
more prominent roles as they seek to address the social and moral ills of contemporary society. This book examines the contributions of Nigerian Pentecostal churches to development, studying their practices broadly in relation to the intersecting spheres of politics, economics, health, education, human rights, and peacebuilding. The book will be of considerable interest to scholars and students with an interest in the intersection between religion and development, and to practitioners and policy makers working in the region.”
Nigerian Pentecostalism and Development: Spirit, Power and Transformation (Book Flyer)
2020
Nagel Institute announces new African Theology project – Request for Proposals
“The Nagel Institute, with generous support from the Templeton Religion Trust, invites project proposals for “Engaging African Realities: Integrating Social Science within African Theology.” Its aim is to support African theologians to engage in fresh social scientific integrated approaches with the goal of producing creative and original projects in grounded theology…”
Please follow the PDF documents below for further details or visit the website Nagel Institute.
Request for Proposal Brochure | Request for Proposals (English)
2020
AASR Statement on the Death of Mr. George P. Floyd
The members of the African Association for the Study of Religions around the world received
the news of the death of Mr. George P. Floyd with sadness and watched in horror the video of a
police officer kneeling with both legs and his hands in his pocket as the already handcuffed Mr.
Floyd laid on the ground and complained that he could not breathe. The 8 minutes and 46
seconds captured on the video show to many viewers killing in slow, painful motion in a process
that despised and took away the humanity of Mr. Floyd, but ultimately his life.
The killing of Mr. Floyed reminds the world of the killing of Emmett Till, 1955
The brutal beatings of Mr. Rodney King and the acquittal of the officers involved in 1992 and
the riots that was sparked by that injustice,
The murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper Texas in 1998,
The killing of Eric Garner in 2014,
The Killing of Michael Brown also in 2014, and the rise of the Black Life Matter Movement
The killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia
The killing of Breonna Taylor in how own house in Louisville
And the Shooting of Tony McDade in Tallahassee.
Add to the above the many other brutal killings of black men and women that were not captured
on camera or publicized. These killings and the national and international response to them
underscore the importance and significance of the Black Lives Matter movement. It has called
attention to the brutalities meted on Blacks nowadays which demonstrate the obscenity of life
along the color line. They underscore the urgency of addressing the brutalities Blacks have
experienced since they were forcefully brought to the United States from 1619. Today, the world
stands with Blacks in the United States and call on Congress to pass and enforce legislation that
will ensure that Blacks receive equal treatment before the law as guaranteed by the Constitution
of the United States of America.
The African Association for the Study of Religions will continue to carry research and analysis
that exposes all forms of discrimination and injustice around the world and call on all other
institutions to study and fight discrimination to ensure that all people live their lives with dignity
and freedom. We call on the leaders of the United States of America to open a national dialogue
on race that would create the conditions for national reconciliation.
Elias Kifon Bongmba
President
2020
AAR Annual Meeting Travel Grants
Open for Applications
Annual Meeting Travel Grants This year, the AAR will award 25 travel grants ($500 + complimentary registration) to members who demonstrate financial need and a desire to participate in the 2020 AAR Annual Meeting in Boston.
Deadline to apply: April 15 at 5:00PM EDT
Learn more about the Annual Meeting Travel Grants Program, or submit an application.
Annual Meeting Religion and the Arts Travel Grant Through the generosity of Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, the AAR will award a travel grant (up to $1,500) to a graduate student studying Religion and the Arts who is without institutional support to attend the 2020 AAR Annual Meeting in Boston.
Deadline to apply: April 15 at 5:00PM EDT
Learn more about the Annual Meeting Religion and the Arts Travel Grant Program, or submit an application.
