The World Christianity Conference 2025 will take place from March 10 to 14 at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey, the United States.
With the theme of "migration, diaspora, transnationalism in World Christianity," the conference, also called the Sixth International Interdisciplinary Conference, is co-sponsored and co-organized by the World Christianity and History of Religions Program and the Overseas Ministries Study Center of Princeton Theological Seminary.
The conference "seeks to interrogate the intersectionality of migration, diaspora
and transnationalism within the interdisciplinary field of World Christianity," which "still lacks adequate theoretical and empirical insights," the host introduces.
The shift of Christianity's center from the global North to the global South has reshaped religious landscapes, driven by migration and transnational networks. Diaspora Christian communities have become integral to Western civic life, challenging traditional narratives that place the global North at the center of Christian discourse. Globalization, urbanization, and crises like climate change and political instability have further altered migration patterns, leading to religious pluralism and intercultural interactions. While these changes foster new connections, they also contribute to conflicts, xenophobia, and religious nationalism, highlighting the complexities of faith in an interconnected yet divided world.
In the session of "Sino-Christian Studies," Zhemeng Xu, Steven Hu, Eastern Law, and Gerhard Stuebben will present papers titled "Prayers Across Borders: The Migration of Christian Devotion and the Role of Chinese Women Converts in Early Modern China," "Returning to the Reformation: Crisis, Recovery of History, and Chinese Christians in Space-Time," "Migration & Sanctification across Chinese Theologies," and "The Cool Breeze Visits Mo Yan: A Translation and Analysis of the Jesus Story in Sutra on Hearing the Messiah from Seventh Century China."
Naomi Thurston, assistant professor of the Divinity School of Chung Chi College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and director of the China Christianity Studies Group (CCSG), will present the paper titled "Theological Reception History: The Case of Moltmann Studies in China" in the session of "East Asian Christianity in Global Contexts."
Dr. Kathryn Gin Lum, professor in the Religious Studies Department, in collaboration with the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford University, Dr. Abel Ugba, associate professor and director of Taught Postgraduate Studies in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, and Dr. Deanna Womack, associate professor of History of Religions and Interfaith Studies at Emory University's Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, will give keynote speeches.
