African--or Public--Theology? A Conversation with Scholar Paul Gifford

Near and Far

CWCIT director Bill Cavanaugh speaks with Paul Gifford, emeritus professor of the study of religions at the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London, about contemporary Catholicism on the African continent. Among the topics they cover are the Catholic Church in Africa's huge involvement with development, its relative lack of interest in ecumenism, and its vulnerability in the face of the recent “Pentecostal” explosion. Paul Gifford is CWCIT's fall 2021 visiting research fellow. He has been living on the African continent for several decades and is the author of numerous books, including "Christianity, Modernity, and Development in Africa" (Hurst, 2015) and "Ghana's New Christianity: Pentecostalism in a Globalizing African Economy" (Hurst, 2003).