CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Religions, Eco-theology, and African societies

Workshop convenors: Dr. Kevin Muriithi Ndereba (St. Paul’s University) and Prof. Kyama Mugambi (Yale Divinity School) hosted at St. Paul’s University, Limuru, Kenya

Workshop dates: Oct 17^th to 18^th, 2024

Deadline for submitting expressions of interest: Aug 30th, 2024

See below for further details on the aims of the workshop and associated logistics.

Kenya recently experienced a worrying state of drought where almost 95 percent of water pans dried up in 2022.[1] On the other extreme, May to June 2024 saw massive floods affecting various regions of Kenya, with flash floods, bursting dams, and water spillages affecting property, lives, and livelihoods. While some have expressed skepticism concerning climate change discourse as propaganda or irrelevant, these two extremes showed us how drastic and long-term adverse changes to our climate affect the everyday lives of Kenyans. 

The recent floods of 2024 affected East African countries like Tanzania and Uganda. Illegal mining projects in Namibia, expansion of oil and gas industries in Nigeria and South Africa, massive air pollution in other African countries that contribute to 300,000 deaths every year, oil spills in the Niger Delta and biodiversity loss in Madagascar and the Indian Ocean further exacerbate the ecological crisis and landscape of the continent.[2] Oba provides a historical analysis to argue that “imperial science” was an intrusion of developmental and economic practices in Africa that has contributed to various environmental crises.[3] Current international debates continue to explore the responsibilities of the global North on the ecological crises facing the global South and policy change initiatives grounded on United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 13 on climate action as well as the African Union “for a climate-resilient and prosperous Africa”.[4]

Much of the responses to climate change have come from the social scientific disciplines. This workshop prompts a theological perspective that engages the climate change discussion. Because of the diversity that is the African continent, we envision theological reflection as an engagement with inter-religious traditions, Sacred Scriptures, and African cultural and worldview perspectives, to engage issues of public and societal concern such as climate change. Because of the underlying moral and ethical concerns surrounding the ecological crises, we foresee participants proposing abstracts from various perspectives including biblical, theological, and religious studies but in conversation with, among others, philosophical, economic, legal, geographical, and social scientific issues that would help us to both analyze and also to propose various actions or responses in terms of community engagement, education awareness, policy advocacy and change and multi-sectoral collaboration.

The workshop is the 2nd annual workshop which is a partnership with the Yale Macmillan Centre’s Project on Religious and Society in Africa (PRSA) and the Department of Practical Theology, St. Paul’s University, (the host university). The 2024 theme for The School of Theology at St. Paul’s University is “Preserving Mother Earth as God’s Commission.” The PRSA at Yale Macmillan Center hosted a program on Ethiopian church forests and the interplay of religion and ecology at the Henry R. Luce Hall at Yale. The 1st annual workshop engaged Politics and Religion in the African Public Square and is being finalized as a Special Issue in the African Theological Journal of Church and Society. We envision a similar trajectory for the papers that will be presented during this workshop. The workshop will take the following formats:

• Keynote presentations from scientists and theologians
• Paper presentations from scholars and academics
• Mentoring sessions for early career scholars
• Undergraduate student sessions and presentations
• Artist presentations on climate change issues
• Practitioner panels

Submissions

Please submit a 300-word abstract of an academic paper, artistic expression of interest, student panel discussion, or practitioner presentation in your area of interest to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and copy This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. The abstract submissions should clearly state the problem under consideration, propose a clear line of argument, engage relevant theory or concepts in the discipline under consideration, clearly indicate the potential significance and impact of the research. Use the title “ecologies workshop” in your email.

The submissions should also indicate your name, institutional affiliation, email address, title and abstract, keywords, as well as a 150-word biography.

The deadline for submission is 12 am midnight (EAT) 31st Aug 2024 We will communicate to the successful abstract submissions by 15th Sep 2024. Full papers or presentation slides/outlines due 7th Oct 2024.

References 

[1] Humanitarian Action. “Kenya Drought Response Plan 2023.” 4 September 2023, accessed from https://humanitarianaction.info/plan/1137/article/kenya-drought-response-plan-2023

[2] Lei Nguyen. “5 Biggest Environmental Issues In Africa In 2024.” Earth.org. Accessed on 3rd May 2024 from https://earth.org/environmental-issues-in-africa/

[3] Gufu Oba. African environmental crisis: A history of science for development. Taylor & Francis, 2020.

[4] Ezra Chitando, Ernst Conradie and Susan Kilonzo. African perspectives on religion and climate change. Taylor & Francis, 2022.