17 November 2024, 16:00 - 17 November 2024, 17:30

Speaker: Prof Frieder Ludwig, VID Specialised University

Frieder Ludwig, Dr. phil., Dr. theol., is Professor of Global Studies and Religion at VID Specialised University since 2019. His research relates to the intersection of history and theology, with a focus on the intercultural history of Christianity. He taught in Germany, Nigeria, the USA and Norway. In summer 2023, he was Scandinavian guest professor at the University of Kiel in Germany. His more recent publications include Reformation in the Context of World Christianity (co-editor; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2019) and The First World War as a Turning Point (Berlin: LIT, 2020).

Title: "The World Council of Churches Assembly in New Delhi 1961 and Processes of De-Westernisation:  Approaches, Negotiations and Transloyalties in the German Democratic Republic, India and Nigeria"

The 1961 Assembly in New Delhi was significant in the process of “de-Westernisation” of the World Council of Churches (WCC). This lecture highlights first the endeavour of the secretariat for ecclesial affairs in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to emphasize the “joint struggle” of the “progressive forces” in the WCC. This perspective is also reflected in some of the more recent academic literature - albeit with a reversed assessment. However, the power shift away from “the West” was characterized by different trajectories. The contribution therefore argues, second, that the interests of the “progressive forces” were diverse and the alliances fragile. While African, Asian and Latin American representatives sometimes shared the suspicion and criticism of “the West” by Eastern representatives, they were also involved in their own negotiation processes and dynamics. As will be highlighted by some case studies, processes of de-Westernisation of the WCC were embedded in a complex setting of loyalties, transloyalties and negotiation processes.

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