By Stephen Di Trolio
Stephen is a PhD student in the Department of History and Ecumenics at Princeton Theological Seminary, specializing in “Religion in the Americas.” Stephen was born in Costa Rica and grew up in Argentina, where he returned to live after university in the United States. He is researching Latin American political history, religious-social movements, and nationalism in Argentina. Stephen is the Managing Editor for The Occasional.
One of the aspects we want to incorporate into our portfolio of publishing is to highlight “Noteworthy” news around the world related to World Christianity, Mission, and Conferences of interest. In The Occasional, we seek to promote global conversations in these matter and in this week’s edition, we highlight three note-worthy conferences that we hope our audience can participate in, attend, or submit articles to these events. Please note their upcoming submission dates.
World Christianity Conference – March 10-14, 2025 – Princeton, NJ
In its sixth edition of this conference the World Christianity Conference wants to think collaboratively across the thematic focus of “Migration, Diaspora, Transnationalism in World Christianity.” Here is information from the call for papers:
Discourse surrounding the topics of migration, diaspora, and transnationalism continues to spark a wide range of interdisciplinary interests, both in the academy and at large. However, despite the interdisciplinary nature of World Christianity, the field still lacks adequate theoretical and empirical insights concerning such discourse, specifically in the intersectionality of migration, diaspora, and transnationalism pertaining to the global spread of Christianity. With Christianity’s center of gravity having shifted from the global North to the global South, the emergence and proliferation of global South Christianities in the last few decades, particularly in Europe and the North American diaspora, have occasioned the remapping of old Christian landscapes.
Thus, new forms of religious transnationalism have emerged between Christian communities in the global North and global South, carrying significant religious, cultural, economic, political, and social import worldwide. Likewise, the nature of a globalizing world marked by the rise of global capitalism and its need for large urban conglomerates, industrialization, and technological revolution have drastically changed the speed of communication and interconnectivity. These, along with climate change, political and economic crises, ethnic and religious conflicts, and the proliferation of armed conflicts, have created new migration and diaspora patterns both regionally and globally.
The 6th World Christianity Conference seeks to interrogate the intersectionality of migration, diaspora and transnationalism within the interdisciplinary field of World Christianity. Relevant topics may include but are not limited to: South-South and South-North transnational networks; immigrant and diaspora churches; identity and belonging; power and politics; race, ethnicity, and xenophobia; borderland religion; contested spaces and religious conflict; religious nationalism; immigrant and diasporic theologies; reverse migration/diaspora; language and translation; religion and urbanism, and many more issues.
Submission Date: September 30, 2024
American Society of Missiology – June 20-22, 2025 – St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
The American Society of Missiology has a storied relationship with the OMSC and is a critical conversation node for all things missiology-related. Next year’s conference theme is “Unity and Mission in the Age of World Christianity.” Read below from the call for papers:
Since the world mission movement birthed modern ecumenism more than a century ago, a commitment to Christian unity has accompanied numerous efforts in mission. Obedient to Jesus’ desire that his followers “all be one… that the world may believe” (John 17:21), twentieth century Christians left a legacy of ecumenical achievements, just as the demographic center of the faith was shifting to the global south. Now, with the church fully inhabiting the era of world Christianity, the context for pursuing unity for the sake of mission is markedly different. Independency, sectarianism, and suspicion of the historic ecumenical movement challenge older ecumenical structures and new grassroots unity movements alike, while the vastly expanded scope of global ecclesial diversity enriches and complexifies the search for togetherness and common ground.
At this critical juncture, nearly two millennia after the council of Jerusalem and 1700 years after the first ecumenical council at Nicaea, how might churches and Christians in mission better advance cooperation, partnership, interconfessional friendship, mutual learning, stronger spiritual bonds, closer relations between churches and parachurch structures, and other forms of togetherness in response to Jesus’ prayer? Further, how might this be done with genuine freedom and respect for all, celebrating unity in diversity, and without overlooking hard differences or historic injustices? In fulfillment of Jesus’ new commandment (John 13:34-35), how might the Holy Spirit be calling the church today to more visible bonds of love between different Christian groups and traditions as they embark upon the many paths of mission?
The 2025 Annual Meeting of the ASM will take up this challenging theme and explore the intricate connections between the missio Dei, global Christian identities, and the many efforts “to pursue the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
Submission Date: November 1, 2024
Yale-Edinburgh Group on World Christianity and the History of Mission – May 28-30, 2025 – São Paulo, Brazil
Yale-Edinburgh has historically led dialogue around World Christianity and mission. Instead of meeting in Scotland or the United States, this conference will take place in São Paulo, Brazil. The theme for this conference will be, Christianity, Democracy, and Nationalism and Here is material from the Call for papers:
Christian communities worldwide have navigated a complex and often troubled relationship with nationalism and democratization. They occupy diverse positions along religious, political, and ideological lines: at times fostering patriotism, while other times succumbing to nationalist pride; occasionally championing equality, yet also upholding social hierarchies as divinely ordained. These dynamics between religious communities, state authority, and national identity have significantly influenced modern historical experiences and continue to shape today’s political and religious landscapes.
In the Global South, leaders educated in Christian institutions often resisted colonial powers, paving the way for independence movements. For instance, 19th-century Latin American clergy promoted “creole patriotism” against Iberian colonizers, while later African and East Asian leaders from Protestant missionary schools challenged Western dominance. However, nationalist sentiments sometimes targeted religious minorities; 19th-century British Catholics were seen as disloyal due to their allegiance to Rome, and Christian conversions in post-1949 China and postcolonial India faced scrutiny.
Modern Christian thinkers often envisioned a universal fellowship transcending ethnic and territorial boundaries, challenging nationalist pride. Recent scholarship has explored the rise of populist regimes alongside charismatic Christianity, particularly their impact on democratization processes, leading to civil society polarization and threats to democratic systems in the U.S., Brazil, Colombia, the Philippines, and Zimbabwe. Conversely, diverse Christian groups have mobilized for the rights of social and religious minorities, utilizing theological arguments against political authoritarianism.
For our 2025 conference, we invite papers examining the interplay between democracy, nationalism, Christian communities, and faith globally, particularly through historical case studies, ethnographies, theological inquiries, and comparative analyses.
Submission Date: December 15, 2024
