Canisius College is pleased to announce that the John Templeton Foundation has awarded a $1.8 million dollar grant to the Institute for the Global Study of Religion (IGSOR). The grant will be used to conduct the first comprehensive, comparative and empirical study of megachurches in the global south.
The study, titled Modernization, Mega Churches and the Urban Face of Christianity in the Global South, will be conducted over the next three years and focus on 17 megachurches, each with congregations of more than 15,000 in 10 different countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea. Researchers will examine why and how these churches have become so large; how they differentiate themselves organizationally, theologically and spiritually; and how these megachurches shape and are shaped by the world.
“In seeking the answers to these questions, we will pay particular attention to the larger themes of modernization, Christianization and secularization,” explains Project Director Timothy H. Wadkins, PhD.
Wadkins is a professor of religious studies and theology at Canisius, where he specializes in modern Christianity in the southern hemisphere. He is also director of the Canisius Institute for the Global Study of Religion where the project will be housed.
Click here to learn more about the grant and how it will be used.
Submitted by: College Communications
