World Christianity: Legacy and the State of the Field Yale-Edinburgh Conference on World Christianity and the History of Mission Hybrid hubs in Yale, Edinburgh, Nairobi, Singapore, and São Paulo 28th–30th June 2022 ‧ #YaleEdin2022
The 2022 conference reflected on the thirty-year legacy of the Yale-Edinburgh Group, established by Andrew Walls and Lamin Sanneh in 1992. In light of the feasibility of international travel, the conference was held across five hybrid hubs, in Yale, Edinburgh, Nairobi, São Paulo, and Singapore.
You can watch recordings of the morning panels at the Edinburgh Hub, which was held at New College, Edinburgh.
Professor Emma Wild-Wood (Centre Co-Director) and Professor Jeremy Carette (Head of School) welcoming delegates to Yale-Edinburgh 2026.
With the theme “Popular, Folk, Grassroots and Pop Culture in World Christianity and the History of Mission,” the 2026 Yale-Edinburgh Conference promised an intellectually stimulating encounter. Held at New College, University of Edinburgh, from 10th to 12th June 2026, it more than met that expectation. Not many conferences witness the eruption of rhythmic sounds and harmonious melodies, with bodies gently gyrating to depict the performative aspects of religious practices, all of which align with the quest to advance academic inquiry. This distinctive feature of the 2026 Y-E Conference pointed to the richness of the field of World Christianity and the need to delve deeper into how religion is evoked, religious soundscapes, and the theatre of Christian ritual. The conference began with a gracious welcome from Professor Jeremy Carette, Head of the School of Divinity, followed by a preview by Professor Emma Wild-Wood, CSWC co-director. The eighty-five participants were then ushered into three days of thought-provoking scholarly exchanges, consisting of forty-eight in-person presentations and two hybrid panels, each comprising three presentations, held in Hong Kong and Nairobi.
Presentations addressed a wide range of themes, including World Christianity and Music; Popular Culture and Christianity in the Digital Age; Mediating Christianity in Popular Culture; Christian Popular Culture, Social Justice and Liberation. Papers were grouped into panels to foster conversations across geographic specialisations, enriching presenters’ insights through regional, thematic, and disciplinary perspectives. Notwithstanding the emergent hybridity, traditional themes in world Christianity, such as the translation principle, resonated across many papers while also introducing novelty to these enduring motifs.
