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Projects

The CTCW is involved in various projects, including PhD-projects. Finished projects include a link to publications related to the project. 

Book projects

  • Context and Catholicity in the Science and Religion Debate (completed)

    This monograph is the result of a close and creative collaboration between the two authors, with Benno van den Toren as project leader and Klaas Bom as co-leader and principle investigator. Benno wrote chapter 1 and the first part of chapter 2 and made a robust contribution to the section ‘Christianity in Africa’ in chapter 3. Klaas wrote the second part of chapter 2 and chapters 3, 4, 5 and 7. Chapter 6 involved the most intensive co-writing, with a first layer by Benno, further elaboration by Klaas, and a final arrangement by Benno. As a result of this collaboration an attentive reader will be aware of some differences in the style and vocabulary in the chapters. However, we accept joint responsibility of the project as a whole and of the outcomes and conclusions. We decided to integrate substantial number of original interventions made by the participants in the footnotes. In these texts, which are transcriptions made by local students, we deliberately maintained the strong local flavour. 

  • Critical Readings in the History of Christian Mission (1-4 vol.) (completed)

    Led by Dorottya Nagy and Martha Frederiks, professor of the Study of World Christianity at Utrecht University. “This selection of texts introduces students and researchers to the multi- and interdisciplinary field of mission history. It apprises them with current discussions, insights and theories. The four parts of this book acquaint the readers with methodological considerations and recurring themes in the academic study of the history of mission. Part one revolves around methods, part two documents approaches, while parts three and four consist of thematic clusters, such as mission and language, medical mission, mission and education, women and mission, mission and politics, and mission and art. The text-selection represents a wide variety of disciplines, authors and backgrounds. The texts were chosen because they address the complexities involved in studying the history of Christian mission. Critical Readings in the History of Christian Mission is suitable for course-work and other educational purposes.” 

  • World Christianity: Methodological Considerations (completed and open access)

    Led by Dorottya Nagy and Martha Frederiks, professor of the Study of World Christianity at Utrecht University. “World Christianity: Methodological Considerations addresses this lacuna and explores the methodological ramifications of the World Christianity turn. In twelve chapters scholars from various academic backgrounds (anthropology, religious studies, history, missiology, intercultural studies, theology, and patristics) as well as of multiple cultural and national belongings investigate methodological issues (e.g. methods, use of sources, choosing a unit of analysis, terminology, conceptual categories,) relevant to World Christianity debates. In a closing chapter the editors Frederiks and Nagy converge the findings and sketch the outlines of what they coin as a ‘World Christianity approach’, a multidisciplinary and multiple perspective approach to study Christianity/ies’ plurality and diversity in past and present.” 

  • Conversion as a lived experience: Narratives and experiences of converts as a source for missiological reflection (2018-)

    Led by Doorttya Nagy and Gé Speelman, assistant professor in Religious Studies at the PThU. Conversion and Transformation are at the heart of the proclamation of the Good News. What happens within individuals and between people when they convert to Christianity? Recent scholarship has used theories and methods from psychological and sociological sciences to shed light on the possible trajectories of religious conversion. The proposed book aims to bring together conceptual and empirical chapters that explore the psychological and social pathways to interreligious conversion to Christianity. With ‘interreligious conversion’ we mean an individual or collective transformation that results in a change of allegiance from a non-Christian or non-religious orientation to a Christian orientation.

  • T&T Clark Handbook on Intercultural Theology and Mission Studies, (2018-

    Led by Dorottya Nagy and John Flett, professor of missiology and intercultural theology at Pilgrim Theological College, Melbourne, Australia. This book project invites international experts, representing different generations and methodologies, to provide a full and fresh oversight on intercultural theology/missiology within their field of expertise. The aim is to develop the reference work scholars in the field turn to first, and one which will contribute to improving the quality of theological research, education and formation worldwide.


PhD projects

PhD students from the PThU and other universities are welcome to join the community of CTCW researchers. The CTCW welcomes research fellows and postdocs. For making arrangements, please contact ctcw@pthu.nl. The CTCW is currently involved in the following PhD projects:

  • The Sacrifice of Christ in African Theology: A Contribution to the Atonement Debate

    The subject of my dissertation is the notion of sacrifice in African theology. In particular, I’m interested in how African approaches challenge Northern essentialising and universalising tendencies and suggest fresh ways of appropriating the notion of sacrifice today. For an example of my work, see my recent article: Samuel K. Bussey. “Stories of Sacrifice from Below: From Girard to Ekem, Kalengyo and Oduyoye.” Stellenbosch Theological Journal 6, no. 4 (2020): 183-212.

  • The Role of Multilingualism in Theology

    My research explores how multilingualism shapes the experience and expression of faith. It examines how using a language other than one’s first language in religious practices influences beliefs and how linguistic ideologies and attitudes impact lived theologies. In particular, I focus on the role of English as a second language in religious contexts. The research is conducted within transnational charismatic church communities in the Netherlands.

  • Money and Theology in African Pentecostalism

    An Intercultural theological approach to the theology of money among Pentecostals in Ghana. Direct engagements with various Pentecostals groups in Ghana using system dynamics group model building. To ascertain contextual theology of Money among Pentecostals in Ghana and its contribution to a global theological discourse on money.

  • The Turn to Christian Theology of Religions: A Mizo Pneumatic Experience

    The “pneumatological renaissance,” or “the turn to pneumatology,” has brought a sea-change to theological discourses in the past few decades. The Mizo people have a long history of revival movements (beginning in 1906), which occurred within the context of their primal religion and have played a decisive role in shaping their spiritual experience of the Holy Spirit. It is within this broader context that my research seeks to contribute, exploring what the Mizo pneumatic experience of the Holy Spirit, in view of their primal religious context, can offer to the ongoing discourse.

  • Doing Theology from the Body: A Theological Approach to the Embodied Experience in Guatemala Pentecostalism (working title).

    This research seeks to explore the role of the body in Guatemalan Pentecostalism's understanding of the relationship between God and the world in Guatemalan Pentecostalism and how this understanding contributes to academic Pentecostal theology. The aim is to contribute to the development of Pentecostal theology from a Latin American perspective, which understands the body as a theological place and, consequently, a starting point for theology.

  • The Dutch Reformed Church and Slavery: Agency, Faith, and Heritage

    Donate's research is part of a larger NWO-sponsored project entitled ‘Church and Slavery: History, Theology, and Heritage’. It aims to identify and uncover the silenced voices of the enslaved and expose their agency vis-à-vis the church in the Dutch Caribbean.

  • Towards an African Ecotheology

    The focal point of her research pertains to African eco-theology. Her study delves into how primal eco-religious understandings and conceptions in Northern Ghana can potentially enhance the theological concept of Christian stewardship in the Western world. This latter concept has faced recent criticisms due to its anthropocentric view of the cosmos.

  • The Person of the Spirit as an Integration Agent in Community Formation.

    This research pays attention to the testimonies of Pentecostal Hispanic-Latino migrant communities and the role of the Holy Spirit in their integration into the new cultural setting. It contributes to the larger academic discourse on spirituality and community integration. 

  • Historical Development of Jonathan Edwards’ Attentions to Affection for his theology in the Context of English Enlightenment and New England Awakening

    In this project, I investigate the theological concept of affections in the works of Jonathan Edwards, mainly focusing on his engagement with Enlightenment philosophy and the context of the Great Awakening. The research is structured to explore Edwards' theological background, his interaction with Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and Isaac Newton, and his theological system centred on the Triune God. The main objective is to understand how Edwards developed his idea of affections and how this concept can be used to evaluate modern spiritual phenomena in the church.

  • Witnessing Wounds: Toward a Trauma-Sensitive Theology

    In my PhD research, I develop a trauma-sensitive theology in contexts after sexualised abuse. Within theology, trauma, and especially the trauma of sexualised abuse, has not always been acknowledged. This has led to stigmatisation and victim-blaming of survivors. In my research, I am exploring the experiences of women who have experienced sexualised abuse. How do they connect their experiences of trauma to their bodies and to God? I conclude that an embodied approach to theology is indispensable and that wounds must be witnessed to in order to heal.