Women in World Christianity: Building and Sustaining a Global Movement
01 March 2023, 16:00 - 01 March 2023, 17:30 Divinity Faculty, Room 4
Seminar online and in person
Dr Gina Zurlo
Abstract:
This seminar will discuss findings from Dr. Zurlo’s recent findings from her Women in World Christianity Project, which was the first demographic assessment of Christianity down to the denominational level in every country of the world. World Christianity is a women’s movement because it was built and is sustained by women, and the majority of its members, participants, and affiliates are women. It is anticipated women will continue this work, likely longer than men, since women’s religious commitment appears to remain high. Christianity is also continuing its global southward shift, with 77% of all Christians likely to live in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania by the year 2050. This combination means that women in the global South will take on increasingly visible leadership roles in the church, despite the barriers they face, grounded by their faith and in service to their present communities and the next generations.
Bio:
Gina A. Zurlo holds a Ph.D. in History and Hermeneutics from Boston University School of Theology (2017). She is the Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (South Hamilton, MA) and Visiting Research Fellow at Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs. She is the co-author of the World Christian Encyclopedia, 3rd edition (Edinburgh University Press, 2019) and co-editor of the World Christian Database (Brill). She has recently authored three books: Global Christianity: A Guide to the World’s Largest Religion from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (Zondervan, 2022); Women in World Christianity: Building and Sustaining a Global Movement (Wiley-Blackwell, 2023); and From Nairobi to the World: David B. Barrett and the Re-Imagining of World Christianity (Brill, 2023). She was named one of the BBC’s 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2019 for her work in quantifying religion worldwide.
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