Rev. Dr. Justice Anquandah Arthur

About Me:

First, as a church pastor and an academic, I see the two professions as separate but complementary divine calls to serve humanity. This view makes me take a rather multidisciplinary approach to research and teaching. While I am foremost, a theologian and a scholar of religion, I am comfortable collaborating with scholars from literary studies, anthropology, sociology, political science, legal studies, psychology, and business studies. I believe interdisciplinarity is the present and the future of the academy.

Second, being conscious of the current trends in teaching in higher education, I take a holistic approach to teaching and learning, where intended learning outcomes, teaching and assessment are aligned. This approach means my students are always a central part in formulating their own learning outcomes, which helps to stimulate critical thinking and independence.

Qualifications:

PhD, University of Bayreuth, Bavaria, Germany

Professional Memberships and Activities:

Society for the Study of Theology (SST)
Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS)
American Academy of Religion (AAR)
Deutsche Gesellschaft f眉r Missionswissenschaft (German Society for Mission Studies)
Society for the Scientific Study of Religions (SSSR)
Canadian School of Peacebuilding Network (CSOPN)
Commission on Legal Pluralism (CLP)

Expertise:

African Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity
Public Theology
Mission Christianity in Ghana
African Traditional Religions
Research Methodology
Curriculum Development

Research Interests:

Media and Material Culture of African Pentecostal-Charismatism
Use of the Bible in African Christianities
The Encounters of Other Religious Traditions with Pentecostal-Charismatics
Culture and Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity
Religion and Development
African Pentecostal Hermeneutics

Field Research Experiences:听2010 (Three Northern Regions, Ghana), 2013-2016 (Greater Accra, Ghana), 2015 (Frankfurt, Germany), 2016 (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), 2017 & 2018 (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2019 (Hannover, Germany).

Selected Conferences

Nov. 2020听听听听听听 Surprising Bedfellows: Religious Education and Plurality in Ghanaian Schools. A Paper Presentation at the African Religions Group, American Academy of Religion Virtual Conference.

Sep. 2019听听听听听听听 鈥淓xploring Religion in the Public Spheres: Religious Education in Public Schools in Ghana.鈥� 33^rd Biannual Conference of the German Association for the Study of Religion (DVRW). Panel Session: The Concept of Religion and its Consequences for the Study of Religion in and from Africa. Leibniz Universit盲t Hannover, Hannover, Germany.

Nov. 2018听听听听听听听 鈥淩eligion or Mere Noise? The Contestations over Sacred Sound and Urban Space in Accra, Ghana.鈥� Annual Meetings of the American Academy of Religion – African Religions Group in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Nov. 2017听听听听听听鈥淚s Ghana governed by the law of the jungle? Religious liberties, religious diversity and the state. 鈥� African Studies Association 60th Annual Meeting in the 鈥�Belief in colonial Ghana: Changes and continuity鈥� Panel, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Sep. 2016听听听听听听听鈥淭he Gospel(s) of Prosperity and its Concept of Development.鈥� International Conference on Religious Engineering: Alternative Practices in the Context of Global Development at the University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.

May 2016听听听听听听 鈥淒rum Wars: The Clash of Religious Groups in a Cosmopolitan City.鈥� International Conference on Religion, Peace and Conflict in Africa sponsored by Volkswagen Stiftung at the Addis Abeba University, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

Aug. 2015听听听听听听鈥淟oyalty and Disloyalty鈥�: Building a church through membership drive.鈥� XXI World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) 鈥� Members only: Creating commitment in the context of religiously diverse societies in Africa Panel at the University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany. .

Dec. 2014听听听听听听鈥溾€楩rom Egypt to Ahenfie鈥�: Sacralisation of space in a Ghanaian Charismatic church.鈥� International Conference on Religion and Space: Perspectives from African Experiences at the University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.

Nov. 2014听听听听听听鈥�’Bodily Language and Metaphors in Pentecostalism鈥�: A study of Charismatic Preaching in Ghana.鈥� American Academy of Religion (AAR) Annual Meetings 鈥� Body and Religion Group and Religion, Affect, and Emotion Group in San Diego, California, USA. .

Nov. 2014听听听听听听鈥淭he Politics of Silence: Conflict Over the Ban on Drumming and Noisemaking in Accra.鈥� One-Day Workshop, Department of Extra-European Christianity (Faculty of Theology), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Jun. 2014听听听听听听鈥淭he impact of the 鈥楨conomic Gospel鈥�: The case of Mensa Otabil鈥檚 International Central Gospel Church.鈥� Conference of the African Studies Association in Germany (VAD) – Future Africa Congress – in the Gospel of Prosperity and Social Change in Africa Panel at the University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany. .

Jan. 2014听听听听听听听鈥淢etaphors of the body鈥�: Building a community through preaching.鈥� Society for the Study of Theology Postgraduate Conference – Bodies: Bridges and Boundaries Panel at the University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

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Selected Publications:

Monograph

Arthur, J. A. (2018). The Politics of Religious Sound: Conflict and the Negotiation of Religious Diversity in Ghana. Berlin: LIT Verlag. See

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Edited Volume

Debele, S. B., & Arthur, J. A. (2016).听Religion and Space: Perspectives from African Experiences(Vol. Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers 15). Bayreuth: Institute of African Studies, University of Bayreuth. Retrieve from .

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

Arthur, J.A. (2020). 鈥淭he Gospel of Prosperity and its Concept of Development: A Ghanaian Pentecostal-Charismatic Experience.鈥� Religion 51 (1): 90-104. Retrieve from
Arthur, J.A. (2018). 鈥淏odies as bridges: Metaphors and Charismatic Preaching in Ghana.鈥� Ghana Journal of Religion and Theology, 7(2), 31-47. Retrieve from .
Arthur, J. A. (2017). The Drum Wars: The Clash of Religious Groups in a 听听听Cosmopolitan City.听Journal for the Study of the Religions of Africa and its Diaspora, 3(1), 21-35. Retrieve from听.
Arthur, J.A. (2017). 鈥淧rosperity Theology(ies): The Case of Mensa Otabil and the ICGC鈥�. In听Interkulturelle Theologie43 (4), 401-419. Retrieve from .

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Book Chapters

Arthur, J.A. 鈥淓xploring Issues of Wealth and Poverty in the Gospels: A Ghanaian Pentecostal/Charismatic Reading of Luke 16,鈥� in Wonsuk Ma, Opoku Onyinah, and Rebekah Bled, eds.,听Good News to the Poor: Spirit-Empowered Responses to Poverty(Tulsa, OK: ORU Press, forthcoming 2021).
Arthur, J.A. 鈥淰isions of Church Life in the Post COVID-19 Era: Analysis and Proposal,鈥� in Opoku Onyinah & Alfred Koduah, eds., Christian Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (forthcoming 2021).
Arthur, J. A. (2016). 鈥淔rom 鈥楨gypt鈥� to 鈥楢henfie鈥�: The Sacralisation of Space in a Ghanaian Charismatic Church. In S. B. Debele, & J. A. Arthur,听Religion and Space: Perspectives from African Experiences(Vol. Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers 15, pp. 117-130). Bayreuth: Institute of African Studies, University of Bayreuth. Retrieve from听.
Debele, S. B., & Arthur, J. A. (2016). Introduction. In S. B. Debele, & J. A. Arthur,听Religion and Space: Perspectives from African Experiences(Vol. Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers 15, pp. 1-4). Bayreuth: Institute of African Studies, University of Bayreuth. Retrieve from听.