Haunted Conversions: Conquest, Doubled Identity, and Unseen Resources in Theologies of Conversion

Theologies of conversion are haunted. Christian conversion exists in a complex temporality, haunted by echoes of the past and specters of the future. Hauntings are recognized by their ghosts. This paper will identify three kinds of ghosts that evidence how conversion is haunted. Engaging with Elaine Enns and Ched Myers’ Healing Haunted Histories as well as Homi K. Bhabha’s “Our Neighbours, Ourselves” essay, this paper will examine the ghosts of conquest, ghosts of doubled identity, and ghosts born out of conversion. Identifying these ghosts and reckoning with their ambivalent hauntings enables conversion to regain a sense of complexity, which will open up possibilities for how it can become a more useful resource in theological inquiry as we find our way to “futures for which we hope.”