African Traditions in the Study of Religion, Diaspora and Gendered Societies

Mostly African historians and scholars of religion look at religion and society and religion in society; and at diaspora, youth, and gender dynamics. Among their topics are religious pluralism and secularization in the Nigerian religious sphere; the concept of expiatory sacrifices in the early church and in African indigenous religious traditions; women's leadership roles in Aladura churches in Nigeria and the US; the place of second generation youth in West Indian Pentecostalism in the diaspora in New York City and London; rethinking women, nature, and ritual purity in Yoruba religious traditions; and the northern Nigerian Muslim woman between economic crisis and religious puritanism. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Dr Afe Adogame teaches Religious Studies and World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He is the General Secretary of the African Association for the Study of Religion (AASR). He is the author of Celestial Church of Christ: The Politics of Cultural Identity in a West African Prophetic-Charismatic Movement (1999); and co-edited European Traditions in the Study of Religion in Africa (2004); Religion in the Context of African Migration (2005); Unpacking the New: Critical Perspectives on Cultural Syncretization in Africa and Beyond (2008) and Christianity in Africa and the African Diaspora: The Appropriation of a Scattered Heritage (2008). Dr. Ezra Chitando teaches History and Phenomenology of Religion at the University of Zimbabwe. He also serves as a Consultant on HIV and AIDS for the World Council of Churches (WCC). He is the author of Singing Culture: A Study of Gospel Music in Zimbabwe (2002); Living with Hope: African Churches and HIV/AIDS. Vol. 1 (2007); Acting in Hope: African Churches and HIV/AIDS, Vol. 2 (2007) and Troubled but not Destroyed: African Theology and HIV (2009). Dr. Bolaji Bateye teaches Religious Studies and Gender Studies at Obafemi Awolowo University and she is a Resource Person at the OAU Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies. Dr Bateye was a Leventis Scholar at the Centre for African Studies, SOAS, London in 2006. A budding scholar, widely published in books and journals including: 'Forging Identities: Women as Participants and Leaders in the Church among the Yoruba", in Studies in World Christianity (2007); 'Paradigmatic Shift: Reconstruction of Female Leadership Roles in New Generation Churches in South-western Nigeria' in Afe Adogame, et al. (eds.), Christianity in Africa and the African Diaspora: The Appropriation of a Shattered Heritage (2008).