In-person November Annual Meeting 2025 Program Book

In 1879, Mary Baker Eddy established the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as Christian Science, to promote her teaching that mankind is spiritual and consequently that sin, sickness, and death are unreal. As a result of years of doctrinal and legal battles against mainstream ministers and institutional medicine, a narrative that Christian Science served as an outsider group to American religion dominates the historiography of this Boston-based new religious movement. While acknowledging this narrative of difference, found in the works of Stephen Gottschalk and R. Laurence Moore, this paper decenters the institutional Church of Christ, Scientist to reevaluate how this new religious movement built upon widely accepted trends in practical religion and religious healing. Examining Eddy’s incoming correspondence and publications on Christian Science reveals how mainstream Protestants ultimately sympathized with Eddy’s healing mission and how they navigated Eddy’s more radical metaphysics to find commonalities with this new movement.

Socialization of children in new and minority religions has often been discussed in the context of criticism, often by former members, of religious childrearing practices. This paper discusses the seldom-heard perspectives of second-generation adult children who have elected to remain in their parents’ faith. Two quantitative studies of the Jehovah’s Witness communities, in Japan (JWJ-QS) and Rwanda (JW-RWA), collected data from first- and second-generation Witnesses, providing their perspective of learning, adopting, and remaining in the Witness faith. Additional variables investigated the centrality of religious identity, changes in social relationships, intrinsic-extrinsic religious orientation, and resilience and support in congregation life. The JWJ-QS and JW-RWA studies fill a gap in the literature by contributing insights into the process of religious socialization of children within the Jehovah’s Witness community. The data offer potential for further analysis of factors leading to affiliation, retention, and reaffiliation of second-generation Witnesses.

David Koresh’s visits to Israel were crucial in shaping his theological development, self-conception, and apocalyptic prophecy. With each journey, both Koresh’s sense of purpose and the trust his followers placed in him intensified. His increasingly cohesive apocalyptic vision intertwined spiritual salvation with a radical political agenda. 
Despite the significance of these events, the specifics of what transpired during each visit remain inadequately understood. My research addresses this by both synthesizing the dispersed primary evidence and incorporating previously unutilized sources, including Hebrew-language publications and interviews with individuals who met Koresh during his visits.
In this paper, I will present my preliminary findings to construct a coherent picture of how Koresh’s pilgrimages not only solidified his self-conception as the Messiah but also delineated a striking political dimension in his vision – one that cast the modern State of Israel and the United States as pivotal players in an unfolding cosmic drama.
 

A modest body of research exists on affiliation with and disaffiliation from the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, no systematic study has yet been done on those who have departed and then reaffiliated with the Witness community. This paper argues that the religious stages of affiliation and disaffiliation cannot be understood in isolation from the larger context of individuals’ spiritual journey. Similarly, the insights of those who have initially identified as Witnesses, interrupted their association, and then chosen to renew their identity as Jehovah’s Witnesses have much offer in understanding specific attractions to the Witness religion, individual and group identity, the social network of Witness congregations, and the effects of separation and return to the faith.

This paper offers a unique rereading of Eve from Genesis in light of Orthodox theology as a form of resistance to the sexism and misogyny in the contemporary Church. It departs from the dominant “Eve-new Eve” interpretation, in which Eve is the quintessential woman who brought sin through disobedience and the Theotokos is “new Eve” who brought the savior through obedience. This paper introduces an alternative interpretation, which it calls “shared theosis.” It argues that Eve, the Theotokos, and Mary Magdalene all seek communion with God at different points along a theotic journey of free will, discernment, and synergy. "Shared theosis" replaces the leitmotif of obedience from "Eve-new Eve" with theosis and characterizes the Eve-Theotokos relationship as continuity rather than contrast. It more fully reflects Orthodox eucharistic cosmology that sees the “world as a church" where the human person acts as a priest, bringing all creation into union with God. 

The work of Orthodox theologian Elisabeth Behr-Sigel was key to the Eastern theological tradition beginning to take seriously the question of the ordination of women. This paper explores her legacy in this area, particularly concerning her call in The Ministry of Women in the Church (St Vladimir’s Seminary, 1991: 174) for deeper theological reflection on the priesthood. By exploring recent discussions of women’s ordination, such as those offered by contributors to the volume Women and Ordination in the Orthodox Church (Gabrielle Thomas and Elena Narinskaya, editors; Cascade Books, 2020), this paper uses Behr-Sigel’s observations to consider how developments in the area of the ordination of women to the diaconate are linked to the presbyteral ordination of women. For Behr-Sigel the women’s diaconate is not an alternative to the ordination of women to the priesthood but both should be part of broader theological deliberations on the practices of the Orthodox Church.

The trend of neo-traditionalism among converts to Eastern Orthodox Churches in the United States is a well-researched phenomenon that can be observed in idiosyncratic expressions of Orthodoxy unique to a North American context. In this paper, I will highlight pedagogical methods used in Orthodox catechesis which may contribute to these behaviors and ideologies. I will characterize these methods–which rely upon power imbalance, identity fragmentation, social isolation, and cultural hegemony–as pedagogically “violent” using Galtung’s theory of violence as consisting of direct, structural, and cultural dimensions. My analysis of the psychological impact of violent pedagogy draws primarily from Victor Turner’s theory of liminality in conversion, aided by the pedagogical insights of Paulo Freire and bell hooks. I will conclude by suggesting principles of non-violent pedagogy for Orthodox catechesis which may serve to create distance between Orthodox tradition and American neo-traditionalism, and to meet the pastoral needs of individuals drawn to neo-traditionalist ideology.

This paper tracks the construction of hegemonic masculinity across temporal disruptions through a phenomenon that I call ‘twins not-twins.’ First, I examine the religiously-racially premodern hegemonic masculinity of monks taught by Maximus the Confessor. Fourteen centuries later in the 2014 Christopher Nolan film _Interstellar_, I analyze the modern hegemonic masculinity of the film’s lead character Matthew McConaughey and himself (trapped in a black hole). Temporally, Maximus’s monks are multiple striving to be one; McConaughey’s character, Cooper, is singular split into two. Each are twins not-twins. I argue that the hegemonic masculinity produced through the monks’ divine pursuit and Cooper’s space pursuit are context-specific hegemonic masculinities that provincialize the idea of a stable touchstone by which other masculinities are theorized. Further, I examine the cross-temporal confluences of these premodern and modern hegemonic masculinities to situate dynamics in both sets of twins not-twins that are occluded by the tendency toward periodization.

This paper argues the trend of delegitimizing religion has a long history in Nigeria. What is different now is that Pentecostalism is, by its nature, a religion of dominionism that hardly brooks criticism. But rapidly expanding uses of Pentecostalism for “content-making" prey on religious resources. By subjecting the things of God to profane acts, they also transform social relationships to the faith. After analyzing a few instances of the ingenuity of Pentecostal critics who remediate their church-performances, I take an in-depth look at what this radicalism portends for the faith. For a society where both the edification and entertainment cultures have always been entangled, what does it mean when religion finds itself on the internet as a source of moral instruction and a disenchanting amusement?

Employing Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic power and Achille Mbembe’s necropolitics, this paper examines how the constitutionalization of Zambia’s postcolonial covenatal nationalism functions as a nationalized religious ideology of exclusion, symbolic violence and death. This nationalistic  theology, with its deeply entrenched moralistic stance, targets other religions, women, and sexual minorities, using the ideology of a Christian nation as an ideological state apparatus to regulate national morality, suppress dissenting voices, and covertly police alternative religious practices. Thus, Zambian Pentecostalism plays a significant role in undermining democratic values, decolonial emancipation, peaceful coexistence, and human flourishing in the postcolonial world.

Pentecostalism is an articulation of Black diaspora, because it is an enspiriting or enfleshing – a moment of reimagining and reanimating conjuncture as racialized Black bodies are undone and redone through movement – social, religious and political.  Because Pentecostalism articulates and enunciates this disfiguring configuration of racialized Black bodies, geographies, epistemologies, and ontologies – new potentialities and possibilities emerge for analysis. There is now a critical mass of Black descended scholars who have drawn upon this motion that I poetically describe, but until quite recently, have not been brought into conversation with one another. From Achille Mbembe’s necropolitics, to Ogbu Kalu’s Tembisa, to Nimi Wariboko’s charismatic city, to Robert Beckford’s outernational to Keri Day’s Azusa reimagined, Pentecostalism as Blackness narrates the possibilities of a re-ordering of the world, about the aspirations for the already, but not yet postcolony.

The increasing prominence of born-again Christian politicians in several African countries has sparked discussions about the 'Pentecostalization' of African politics and its impact on secular governance and inter-religious harmony. The case of Ethiopia offers a fresh perspective on these questions. When the Pentecostal Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assumed power in this predominantly Orthodox Christian and Muslim nation, observers were surprised by his use of religious rhetoric alongside his radical restructuring of Ethiopian politics, which ultimately led to civil war and instability. Ethiopia presents a useful case study to question overgeneralized notions of a postcolonial Pentecostal politics in the post and prompts better analysis rooted in local historiography.

The paper situates the emergence of African Pentecostal women pastors in Catholic Europe as representing a dynamic intersection of faith, gender, and migration, revealing the complexities of identity and embodiment in a multicultural context. These women navigate the spiritual landscape as 'souls in search of bodies,' embodying migrant corporeality that challenges traditional religious structures. Their experiences reflect not only personal spiritual journeys but also broader socio-economic realities, illustrating how faith practices adapt to new environments (Meyer, 2010; Van Klinken, 2015). Through an interdisciplinary approach, combining sociology, theology, and migration studies, we explore how these pastors negotiate their roles within both Pentecostal communities and the broader Catholic milieu, fostering a unique theological perspective that honors their African heritage while engaging with European cultural norms (Butticci, 2016; Burgess, 2018). 

One of the most often mentioned groups throughout the fifty-one treatises of the Brethren of Purity is the Sabeans (or Mandaean) of Ḥarrān. They are mentioned about a dozen times throughout the treatises and the Brethren dedicate an entire section of their fifty-first treatise on magic to them. The Brethren of Purity (Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’) were a ninth-tenth century Shīʾite philosophical movement from Baṣra, Iraq. Little is known about the actual group or its members, and their only remains are fifty-one treatises with two summaries. However, their works played an influential role in various intellectual trajectories throughout Islamic and Jewish philosophical history. This paper argues that the Brethren’s philosophical and religious conception of the Intellect stands in between that of the Sabian-Mandaean, Hermeticism, Neoplatonism, and Shīʾite Islamic thought. 

The temptation to see Damascius’ Ineffable as anticipating skeptical modernity is nearly irresistible. First, he insists that in everything that we say about the “first principle” reflects our own cognitive limitations rather than anything objective. Second, he draws attention to the aporiae of negative theology, “overturning… all discourse.” Third, he radically modifies the schema of procession, in ways that some see as annihilating the Neoplatonic hierarchy. Others have rightly pushed back, insisting that Damascius is no skeptic, modern or postmodern, and that his modifications emerge from problems immanent to his predecessors. But if Damascius is not Kant (much less Derrida), why? This paper suggests that Damascius allows us to see, perhaps more clearly than anyone else, what separates the metaphysics of Neoplatonism (and the Hellenistic world) from that of modernity —precisely by pushing this boundary to its limit. This boundary is the question of philosophy’s presupposed starting point.

This paper examines the distinction between vision and union in later Neoplatonism, particularly in the works of Iamblichus, Hermias, and Proclus. While the vision of the divine is traditionally considered the highest religious experience, later Neoplatonists argued that it remains an intellective act and, as such, is insufficient for true union with the divine. Instead, they proposed that genuine union transcends intellect and is realized through theurgy—a ritual practice that activates a distinct "part" of the soul, the “One of the soul.” By analysing the metaphysical and epistemological framework of later Neoplatonism, this paper challenges the assumption that divine vision represents the ultimate stage of religious ascent. In doing so, it sheds new light on the role of theurgy as a transformative process that not only surpasses intellectual contemplation but also reconfigures the relationship between human and divine activity.

The Castlevania franchise has sold more than 20 million games since 1986. It has become popular again due to Netflix’ acclaimed series. The games are full of Christian symbols and icons, some functioning as weapons. For example, in Symphony of the Night, the Bible is a sub-weapon, giving fresh meaning to the term “bible thumper.”  In the Lords of Shadow, the main weapon is a multi-tool known as “the combat cross.” Castlevania’s religious weaponry frees the world from chaos and restores order, suggesting to players that religion is a violent, organizing, and liberating force, potentially shaping their real-world view of religion. This paper brings cultivation theory into the arsenal of religious research tools to theorize how Castlevania’s weaponized religion might affect gamers’ perception of religion. Additionally, gaming transfer phenomena (GTP) and a gamer-centered qualitative analysis on Let’s Play accounts contribute to understanding the effects of weaponized religion in games.

Despite the developments in the game industry over the past decades, game studies remain in an embryonic stage in Japan, especially those focusing on religion. One exception is the recent initiative to establish a university-based research unit on game studies led by a scholar of religion who was once severely criticized as being an Aum Shinrikyo supporter in 1995. The scholar, Shinichi Nakazawa, known as a “spiritual intellectual” for his postmodern interpretation of Buddhist philosophy and practices, now advocates for game studies in the Anthropocene, enhanced by AI technologies. He envisions a future where Homo sapiens are liberated from labor and exploitation, transforming into Anima ludens. This paper critically examines their new ideology and also compares it with how Japanese young people actually engage with games, where the religious elements of such engagement are more ritualistic.

In recent years, video game players have gathered on online forums to narrate their spiritual experiences of solitude playing the popular 2009 game, Minecraft, and the 2019 cult classic, Outer Wilds. Online, players describe how the game simulates an experience of silence that can effect feelings of loneliness but can also inspire introspective reflections on one’s relationship to God and the world. This paper turns to these sites of simulated silence at the heart of consumerist culture’s distracting leisure practices to challenge a narrative of monastically-informed Christian spirituality that positions ‘silence’ as a pure mode of anti-consumerist religious practice. Against this narrative, I suggest that these paradoxically ‘noisy’ simulations of silence decenter religious silence as a privileged site of encounter with God both by disrupting an over-simplistic binary of noisy consumerism and quiet spirituality and by serving as potential icons of God’s enduring presence in the midst of consumer culture.

From Kung Fu (1972 TV series) to the blossom of various Hollywood Chinese action films, Kung Fu, the practice of Chinese martial art, has been long mythicized and Orientalized by Western visual media and market. Over the years, scholars and the Chinese audience have criticized how such construction of Chinese identity perpetuates the stereotypes against China and recreates the “Chinese other” in the Western political environment. Now, this article looks at the French action-fighting game Sifu, which is about Chinese Kung Fu and has been popularized and appreciated among Chinese players, and asks how, if at all, it challenges the traditional Hollywood set-up of Chinese traditions. By conducting a textual analysis of Sifu’s narrative in contrast to its Hollywood counterpart, I argue that Sifu builds a rhetorical space for discussion of identity representation, urging the Western visual media to acknowledge the rich and complicated history that shapes Chinese identity.

This paper examines the intersection of medieval ritualism and modern literary expression in Kon Tōkō’s novella Chigo (1936). A prominent figure in early 20th-century Japanese literature and a Tendai priest, Kon reimagines medieval ritual practices, particularly the controversial Chigo Kanjō (Consecration of Acolytes) through a modern lens. The novella explores power dynamics and desire within monastic communities by focusing on the tragic relationship between Renshū, a high priest, and Hanawaka-maru, a young acolyte. Drawing on elements from setsuwa (didactic tales), classical novels, and ritual manuals, Kon critiques institutional authority and highlights the affective and erotic dimensions of religious practices. His portrayal challenges traditional interpretations of monastic sexuality and presents it as a complex interplay of devotion and worldly desire. This paper argues that Chigo bridges medieval and modern perspectives, offering a more nuanced understanding of premodern religious practices reimagined by a writer whose sensibilities were ahead of his time.

The study of ritual in the past has much to learn from the present. The relationship between these two sources of knowledge is apparent in archaeological applications to ritual. This paper introduces work on Buddhism in early medieval Japan’s hinterland, which saw an influx of monks from urban monasteries from the 11th-13th centuries. Archaeological work in the mountain villages and temples that border Kyoto has revealed the complex ways in which locals incorporated the rituals that Buddhist institutions and practitioners brought with them to the hinterland. One affordance of archaeological work is its focus on material heritage, which often involves interactions and negotiations in the present with existing communities for whom this heritage is a source of identity. As a result, research on the medieval hinterland has relied on collaborations with existing communities in these areas.  An archaeology of ritual in Japan’s past inspires collaborative archaeology in the present.

This paper investigates how Nichiren monks engage with the Internet, specifically with social media platforms, to promote knowledge related to daiaragyō 大荒行, an austere training that allows monastics to master a variety of initiated prayers (kaji kitō 加持祈祷) and exorcistic techniques. Despite being an esoteric practice shrouded in secrecy, daiaragyō has attracted a lot of attention on the Internet over the past few years: monks who have performed the training share their knowledge and experiences on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and temples’ websites. I argue that social media plays a central role in affecting and shaping contemporary Nichiren Buddhism’s identity, communities, and ritual practices. More specifically, social media platforms enhance monks’ eminence and reputation, foster the creation of larger and more diverse communities, and allow more personal and flexible ways for monastics and laypeople to engage with religion.

This paper examines the Genkō Festival at the Genkō Shrine in Fukuoka, Japan, and its annual rituals commemorating the 1281 Mongol Invasion of Japan. While these rituals honor the war dead from an “ancient” past, they are a rather modern phenomenon, emerging in the early twentieth century as part of nationalist efforts to construct historical memory. Tracing the transformation of Genkō commemoration—from a nationalist movement celebrating Japan’s victory, to a pan-Asianist project under imperial Japan, and to a contemporary diplomatic event—this paper explores how the meaning of “genkō” has shifted through ritual over time. By analyzing the 2024 rituals, which for the first time in decades included Mongolian participation, this study argues that these rituals not only reimagine the past but also serve as a platform for forging new geopolitical alliances under the rhetoric of reconciliation, peace, and the transcendence of historical enmity.

Drawing on insights from a Scandinavian study on novice clergy, this paper presents an undergraduate course in urban practical ecclesiology designed to bridge the gap between seminary and ministry. This objective is pursued through the integration of interdisciplinary academic learning with field-based experiences, fostering what we term pastoral assembling, which both complements and challenges the notion of pastoral imagination. Students engage in lectures, field visits, and hands-on ethnographic research, collaboratively interpreting diverse socio-economic urban ministry contexts. This embodied learning approach enhances students’ capacity to integrate academic insights with pastoral praxis, thereby transcending a linear theory-to-practice model. Grounded in Aristotelian distinctions between episteme (theoretical knowledge), techne (practical skill), and phronesis (practical wisdom), we analyze the pedagogical design and learning outcomes of the course. The presentation will feature interactive examples from the course alongside student video reflections, illustrating the pedagogical impact of this approach.

The Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC) at Princeton Theological Seminary launched an online certificate program in lived theology and world Christianity in the 2022-23 academic year.  This year-long academic course introduces scholars and church leaders from around the world to practical theology and qualitative research with a focus on applying these methods to their own unique contexts. This presentation will provide an evaluation and exposition of the program’s most recent innovation: the use of “learning hubs” based in specific geographic locations where select students can meet in person to discuss what they are learning and their application.  In this way, the shared uniform content that learners engage in online is grounded in a local context and community.

This creative presentation of original qualitative research conducted at a divinity school at an R1 university offers insight and engagement with best practices for trauma-informed teaching and learning, with special attention to dynamics of race and socioeconomic status. This presentation by a multicultural and multigenerational team of practical theologians, including an experienced faculty member, a postdoctoral associate, and a doctoral student will model trauma-informed teaching practices while facilitating interactive case studies that demonstrate data-informed teaching practices. We will further engage attendees by helping them envision contextualizing such practices in their setting. 

This paper introduces “Fabricandi Divina,” an innovative pedagogical method positioning the embodied practice of ceramics-making as a primary site for theological reflection and spiritual formation. Moving beyond traditional theological aesthetics (von Balthasar), hermeneutical analyses (Begbie, Morgan), and elite-oriented art theologies (Fujimura), this approach emphasizes accessible, democratic forms of creativity rooted in the theological anthropology of Dorothy Sayers and the aesthetic philosophy of Soetsu Yanagi. Structured around a ceramics-adapted lectio divina—formatio, conformatio, ornatum, contemplatio, traditio—this method uses embodied, communal creativity to overcome Cartesian subjectivity, fostering holistic spiritual integration. Especially transformative is the final act of ritualized offering, symbolically entrusting clay pieces to the kiln’s unpredictable firing process, embodying trust, surrender, and grace. Student reflections underscore profound spiritual insights, aligning human and divine creativity. Ultimately, this paper argues that embodied creativity offers practical theology classrooms a deeply formative pedagogical innovation, reconnecting mind, body, and spirit.

Neoliberalism, as a political theology and corresponding spirituality, shapes the white progressive church’s engagement with radical justice movements, often inhibiting action. Drawing on experiences from organizing progressive Christians to resist the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, this paper examines how neoliberal ideologies—rooted in myths of peace, progress, and unity—foster a preference for decorum and charity over solidarity and risk. These formations weaken church people’s capacity for conflict, endurance, and deep relationality. To disrupt neoliberalism’s hold, we propose three moves: recognizing its presence, fostering disorientation, and cultivating alternative spiritual formations. Turning to the radical Black humanism of Ella Baker, we explore how her relational, power-conscious spiritual pedagogy denaturalizes neoliberal myths. The Christian tradition of Advent, particularly John the Baptist, offers a re-formation towards resilience and anticipation of a different world. Ultimately, we advocate for practices of vulnerability and mutuality to prepare the progressive church to encounter collective liberation.

Pastoral and ministerial leaders encounter new contexts and practices regularly in their pastoral responsibilities. While classical methods of theological reflection can be helpful, the rigorous monastic practice of lectio divina offers a centuries-tested method for "reading" a context or practice appreciatively and prayerfully. Participants will be invited to "read" a context or practice and reflect on it for transformative insights using a four-mode method expanding on the traditional lectio divina moments: read, meditate, pray, and contemplate. Approaching contexts and practices in this way avoids objectifying contexts and practices, missing their unfathomable riches. It invites the "reader" to experience an integration between immersive self-implication and scholarly investigation, invoking a stance of humility before all that we don't know, yet seek.

This paper addresses a central pedagogical conundrum confronting theological educators who seek to bring theology and religious studies to bear on the seemingly insurmountable challenges of climate change linked with predatory capitalism and white supremacy. The pedagogical conundrum stems from a paradox. On-the-one-hand, humans cannot address climate injustice without seeing “what is going on,” including the magnitude of climate disaster and the power structures and attendant worldviews that maintain “the way things are.” On-the-other-hand, the more one sees, the more powerless one may feel. The pedagogical challenge is to enable seeing reality for what it is and – despite that – instilling hope and agency. This paper offers insights on participatory teaching that empowers moral agency in relation to climate injustice and fosters social equity. The authors engage audience participation and discussion of case studies that embody the hope of communities embracing their moral-spiritual agency in collaborative work for transformative change.