Jan G. Platvoet
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Jan G. Platvoet
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Mail address: Gildenring 52, 3981 JG Bunnik, The Netherlands
Phone: +31 30 656 2680
E-mail: jgplatvoet@hetnet.nl
Nationality: Dutch
Date of birth: 25 June 1935
Place of birth: Oldenzaal, The Netherlands
Academic studies
= 1954-1961: RC Philosophy & Theology at the Major Seminary of the Societas Missionum ad Afros (Society of African Missions) at Hulsberg, The Netherlands
= 1966-1969: Missiology, Social Anthropology, Anthropology of Religions in the RC University at Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Academic degrees
= 21 March 1969: Drs (doctorandus) Theology, cum laude, Nijmegen University (Rooms-Katholieke Universiteit te Nijmegen), Nijmegen, The Netherlands
= 11 March 1982: Ph.D., Utrecht University (Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht), Utrecht, The Netherlands
Academic positions
= 1.09.1969-1.04.1991: Lecturer at the KTU (Katholieke Theologische Universiteit at Utrecht) in Science of Religions (godsdienstwetenschap), more in particular in the academic study of the preliterate religions of Africa and the comparative study of religions; seconded to the Dept. of Science of Religions of the Faculty of Theology of Utrecht University
= 1.04.1991-1.07.2000: Senior Lecturer in the Comparative Study of Religions and the Methodology of the Study of Religions in the Faculty of Theology of Leiden University
= 1.07.2000 - now: retired
= 1.09.2001-1.09.2003: freelance teaching of an introduction to Science of Religions and to the General History of Religions at the Stichting NOHG (Nederlandse Opleiding Hindoe Geestelijken) at The Hague
= Hendrik Kraemer Insituut, PKN-Utrecht, college Inheemse Godsdiensten van Afrika, 29.11.2004, 9.03.2005
= Member of the QANU (Quality Assessment Netherlands Universities) Committee Theology and Religious Studies, 1.10.2004 – 28.02.2006
Visiting Lecturerships
= 1980, January-June, Dept. for the Study of Religions, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
= 1985-1989, annually for 6 weeks, Dept. of Religious Studies, Classics & Philosophy, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
= 1995, 14 August to 30 September, Dept. of Religious Studies, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
= 1999, 8-12 March, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Posts in learned societies and editorial boards
= 1986-1991, Secretary of the Nederlands Genootschap voor Godsdienstwetenschap (NGG, Dutch Association for the Study of Religions)
= 1995 - 2000: Vice-President of the African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR)
= 1995 - now: Member of the board of editors of the AASR Series ‘The Religions of Africa’
= 1999 - now: member of the International Editorial Advisory Board of Journal for the Study of Religion (Cape Town; Association for the Study of Religion in Southern Africa)
= 2000 - 2007: Editor of the bi-annual AASR Bulletin
= 2004: Member and Convenor of the AASR Nominations Committee 2005-2010 (with Dr. Oyeronke Olademo [Ilorin University] and Prof. Ulrich Berner [Bayreuth University])
= 2005 – 2010: AASR WebMaster
= Member of the IAHR Nominations Committee 2010-2015 (with Prof. Giulia Gasparro [Messina University] and Prof. Armin Geertz [Aarhus University]);
Organisation of conferences
= 13-18 September 1992, (with Dr. J.L. Cox) The Study of Religions in Africa, First IAHR Regional Conference in Africa, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
= 13-14 January 1994, Pluralism and Identity: Studies in Ritual Behaviour, International Conference, University of Leiden
= 28-29 mei 1997, (with dr. G.A. Wiegers) International Conference on Modern Society & the Science of Religions, at Leiden
= 27-30 July 1999, (with Dr. Mary Getui), The Study of Religions in East Africa in the Age of Globalisation, First AASR (and IAHR Special) Conference in Africa; Kenyatta University/Amani Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
Research interests
African indigenous religions, in particular those of Akan societies of Ghana and of San societies in Botswana and Namibia; Anthropology of religions; the methodology of the comparative study of religions; ritual studies; the comparative study of spirit possession; the history of the academic study of religions, especially in The Netherlands
List of Publications
= 1971 Review of G. Widengren, Religionsphänomenologie (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1969), in Tijdschrift voor Theologie 11, 1 (1971): 79.
= 1973 ‘Verschuivingen in een West-Afrikaanse godsdienst; Hekserijbekentenissen en de opkomst van de “beul”-goden in de godsdienst van de Ashanti’, in Bijdragen, Tijdschrift voor Filosofie en Theologie 34, 1 (1973): 15-39.
= 1975 ‘Empirie en theologie: Water en vuur ?’, in Areopagus, blad van de Theologische Faculteit RUU 8, 1/2 (april 1985) 16-21.
= 1976 ‘“Een beetje verheffen”: Een reaktie op Prof. Jonkers gedachten over Zuid Afrika', in Areopagus 9, 5 (okt. 1976), p. 14-17’, in Areopagus 9, 6 (december 1976): 52-54.
= 1979 ‘The Akan Believer and his Religions’, in P.H. Vrijhof & J. Waardenburg (eds.), Official and Popular Religion: Analysis of a Theme for Religious Studies. The Hague/Paris/New York: Mouton, 1979: 544-606.
= 1982a, Comparing Religions: A Limitative Approach; An Analysis of Akan, Para-Creole and IFO-Sananda Rites and Prayers. The Hague/Paris/New York: Mouton, 1982, 350 pp. (= Religion and Reason, 24; Ph.D. thesis, Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht).
= 1982b, ‘Commemoration by Communication: Akan Funerary Terracottas’, in Visible Religion, Annual for Religious Iconography 1 (1982): 113-134 (= Commemorative Figures; Papers presented to Dr. Th.P. van Baaren on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, May 13, 1982).
= 1983a (editor), Analysis and Interpretation of Rites; Essays to D.J. Hoens. The Hague: Boekencentrum. (= Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 37, 3 [1983]: 177-277).
= 1983b, ‘The Study of Rites in the Netherlands’, in Platvoet 1983a: 177-188.
= 1983c ‘Verbal Communication in an Akan Possession and Maintenance Rite’, in Platvoet 1983a: 202-215.
= 1984a, review of C. Okali, Cocoa and Kinship in Ghana: The Matrilineal Akan of Ghana (London, etc.: Kegan Paul International, 1983), in Antropologische Verkenningen 3, 1 (1984): 225-228.
= 1984b, ‘In the koelte van de “ontvangstboom”: De politieke functie van een akan godsdienstig symbool’, in H. van Reisen (red.), Van gerechtigheid tot liturgie. Hilversum: Gooi & Sticht, 1984: 61-91.
= 1985a, ‘Drie stromingen in de godsdienstwetenschap: Een korte geschiedenis van dit vak’, in D.J. Hoens, J.H. Kamstra, D.C. Mulder et al., Inleiding tot de studie van godsdiensten. Kampen: Kok, 1985: 45-60.
= 1985b, ‘Op bezoek bij de god Tano’, in D.J. Hoens, J.H. Kamstra, D.C. Mulder et alii, Inleiding tot de studie van godsdiensten. Kampen: Kok, 1985: 140-158.
= 1985c, ‘Cool Shade, Peace and Power: The Gyedua (“Tree of Reception”) as an Ideological Instrument of Identity Management among the Akan peoples of Southern Ghana’, in Journal of Religion in Africa 15, 3 (1985): 174-200.
= 1985d, review of D. Westerlund, African Religion in African Scholarship; A Preliminary Study of the Religious and Political Background (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1985), in Journal of Religion in Africa 15, 3 (1985): 244-248.
= 1985e, review of J.P.M. van den Breemer, Onze aarde houdt niet van rijst: Een cultureel-antropologische studie van innovatie in de landbouw bij de Aouan van Ivoorkust (Leiden: the Author, 1985, 800 pp.; Ph.D. thesis, University of Leiden), in Antropologische Verkenningen 5, 3 (1985): 51-56.
= 1989a, ‘De eigenheid van godsdiensten van volken zonder schrift’, in T. Chowdhury, W. Claessens & W. Logister (red.), Het kosmisch patroon: Het vele en het ene in de godsdiensten. Tilburg: Tilburg University Press, 1989: 21-48.
= 1989b, (met G. ter Haar:) ‘Bezetenheid en Christendom’, in Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 43, 3 (1989): 177-191.
= 1989c, ‘The Institutional Environment of the Study of Religions in Africa South of the Sahara’, in M. Pye (ed.), Marburg Revisited: Institutions and Strategies in the Study of Religions. Marburg: diagonal-Verlag, 1989: 107-126.
= 1990a, review of H. Zinser (Hg.), Religionswissenschaft; Eine Einführung (Berlin: Reimer Verlag, 1988), in Tijdschrift voor Theologie 44, 4 (1990): 334-335.
= 1990b, ‘The Definers Defined: Traditions in the Definition of Religion’, in Method & Theory in the Study of Religion 2, 2 (1990): 180-212.
= 1991a, ‘“Renewal” by Retrospection: The Asante Anokye Traditions’, in A. Geertz & J. Sinding Jensen (eds.), Religion, Tradition, and Renewal. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 1991: 149-176.
= 1991b, ‘Een weg door de doolhof: Van Neanderthaler tot New Age’, in TE-EF: Blad van de Theologische Faculteit te Leiden 20, 2 (1991): 5-15.
= 1991c, review of J. van Baal, Mysterie als openbaring (Utrecht: ISOR, 1990), in Antropologische Verkenningen 10, 3 (najaar 1991): 92-94.
= 1991d, 'Wat ik hier kom doen', in Te-ef: Blad van de Theologische Faculteit te Leiden 21, 2 (november 1991): 22-23.
= 1992a, ‘African Traditional Religions in the Religious History of Humankind’, in G. ter Haar, A. Moyo & S.J. Nondo (eds.), African Traditional Religions in Religious Education: A Resourcebook with special reference to Zimbabwe. Utrecht: Theologische Faculteit RU-Utrecht, 1992: 11-28.
= 1992b, review of A. Sooklal, Children of Immortality: The Ramakrishna Movement with Special Emphasis on the South African Context (Red Hill, SA: The Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, 1990), in Numen, International Review for the History of Religions 39, 2 (1992): 275-277.
= 1992c, ‘Kuenens plechtanker: Een onderzoek van zijn Hibbert-lezingen’, in Té-èf: blad van de Faculteit der Godgeleerdheid van de Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden 21, 3 (1992): 43-57.
= 1993a, review of E.T. Lawson & R.N. McCauley, Rethinking Religion: Connecting Cognition & Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge Un.Pr., 1990), in Numen 40, 2 (1993): 189-191.
= 1993b, ‘De wraak van de “primitieven”: Godsdienstgeschiedenis van Neanderthaler tot New Age’, in Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 47, 3 (1993): 227-243.
= 1993c, ‘Programmatic Statements from Africa, 1982-1992; A Review Article’, in Numen 40, 3 (1993): 322-342.
= 1993d, review of R. Gray, Black Christians and White Missionaries (New Haven, etc.: Yale University Press, 1990), in Numen 40, 3 (1993): 350-352.
= 1993e, review of M.C. Jedrej & Rosalind Shaw (eds.), Dreaming, Religion and Society in Africa (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1992; Supplements to the Journal of Religion in Africa, 7), in Numen 40, 3 (1993): 349-350.
= 1993f, ‘African Traditional Religions in the Religious History of Humankind’, in Journal for the Study of Religion 6, 2 (September 1993): 29-48.
= 1993g, ‘Eliade at UNISA: A Critical Review of Shirley Thorpe's African Traditional Religions and Primal Religions Worldwide', in Journal for the Study of Religion 6, 2 (September 1993): 103-112.
= 1994a, ‘Het religionisme beleden en bestreden: Recente ontwikkelingen in de Angelsaksische godsdienstwetenschap’, in Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 48, 1 (January 1994): 22-38.
= 1994b, ‘Defining the Definers: Non-verifiability/Non-falsifiability as a Definiens in an Operational Definition of Religion’, in U. Bianchi (ed.), The Notion of ‘Religion’ in Comparative Research; Selected Proceedings of the XVI IAHR Congress. Roma: “L’Erma” di Bretschneider, 1994: 701-711.
= 1995a, ‘God als vijand: De genezingsdansen van de !Kung’, in Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 49, 2 (1995): 89-107.
= 1995b, ‘Ritual in Plural and Pluralist societies: Instruments for Analysis’, in Platvoet & van der Toorn 1995f: 25-51.
= 1995c, ‘Ritual as Confrontation: The Ayodhya Conflict’, in Platvoet & van der Toorn 1995f: 187-226.
= 1995d, (with K. van der Toorn) ‘Introduction: Ritual Responses to Plurality and Pluralism’, Platvoet & van der Toorn 1995f: 3-21.
= 1995e, (with K. van der Toorn), ‘Pluralism and Identity: An Epilogue’, in Platvoet & van der Toorn 1995f: 349-360.
= 1995f, (editor, with K. van der Toorn), Pluralism and Identity: Studies in Ritual Behaviour. Leiden: Brill, 1995 (= Studies in the History of Religions, vol. 67).
= 1996a, ‘Religions in Contest: The Ayodhya Rituals of Confrontation’, in I. Dolezalova, B. Horyna & D. Papousek (eds.), Religions in Contact: Selected Proceedings of Special IAHR Conference held at Brno, 23-26 August 1994. Brno: Masaryk University Press, 1996: 127-144.
= 1996b, review of P. Boyer (ed.), Cognitive Aspects of Religious Symbolism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), in Numen 43, 1 (1996): 104-106.
= 1996c, review of S.B. Twiss & W.H. Conser Jr. (eds.), Experience of the Sacred: Readings in the Phenomenology of Peligion (Hannover [N.H.], etc.: Brown University Press, etc., 1992), in Numen 43, 1 (1996): 106-108.
= 1996d, ‘The Religions of Africa in their Historical Order’, in Platvoet, Cox & Olupona 1996: 46-102 .
= 1996e, ‘From Object to Subject: A History of the Study of the Religions of Africa’, in Platvoet, Cox & Olupona 1996: 105-138.
= 1996f, (with J.K. Olupona) ‘Perspectives on the Study of Religions in Sub-Saharan Africa’, in Platvoet, Cox, & Olupona 1996: 7-36.
= 1996g, (editor with J.L. Cox, & J.K. Olupona), The Study of Religions in Africa: Past, Present, Prospects. Cambridge: Roots & Branches, 1996, 393 pp.
= 1997a, ‘Recent Studies on Religions in Africa’ in Numen 44, 1 (1997): 100-103 (reviews of J.K. Olupona & S. Nyang (eds.), Religious Plurality in Africa: Essays in Honour of John S. Mbiti. Berlin, etc.: Mouton de Gruyter, 1993; H.B. Hansen & M. Twaddle (eds.), Religion and Politics in East Africa: The Period since Independence. London, etc: Currey, etc., 1995; D.M. Anderson & D.H. Johnson (eds.), Revealing Prophets; Prophecy in East African History. London, etc.: Currey, etc., 1995).
= 1997b, review of Jan van Baal, Boodschap uit de stilte/Mysterie als openbaring (Baarn: Ten Have, 19963), en van A.F. Droogers (red.), Boodschap uit het Mysterie: Reacties op de visie van Jan van Baal (Baarn: Ten Have, 1996), in Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 51, 4 (october 1997) 318.
= 1998a, review of J.S. Krüger, Along Edges: Religion in South Africa: Bushman, Christian, Buddhist (Pretoria: University of South Africa, 1995), in Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 51, 1 (Januari 1998): 50-51; also in The African Association for the Study of Religions [Newsletter] no. 9 (June 1998): 16-18.
= 1998b, ‘Van vóór tot voorbij de enige maatstaf: Over de canonieke fase in de algemene godsdienstgeschiedenis’, in K.D. Jenner & G.A. Wiegers (red.), Heilig boek en religieus gezag: Ontstaan en functioneren van canonieke tradities. Kampen: Kok, 1998: 93-125.
= 1998c, ‘Close Harmonies: Science of Religion in Dutch Duplex Ordo Theology, 1860-1960’, in Numen 44, 2 (1998): 115-162.
= 1998d, ‘From Consonance to Autonomy: Science of Religion in the Netherlands, 1948-1996’, in Method & Theory in the Study of Religions 10, 4 (1998): 334-351.
= 1998e, ‘The Tree That Saw It All’; review of G. ter Haar, Halfway to Paradise: African Christians in Europe (Cardiff: Cardiff Academic Press, 1998), in The African Association for the Study of Religions [Newsletter], no. 10 (November 1998): 21-25.
= 1998f, ‘Seeds of Destruction: European Christianity Abroad in the Late 20th Century’, in Africana Marburgensia 31 (1998) 1/2: 3-19 (actually published in late 1999).
= 1999a, ‘At War with God: Ju/’hoan Curing Dances’, in Journal of Religion in Africa 29, 1 (1999): 2-61.
= 1999b ‘To Define or Not to Define: The Problem of the Definition of Religion’, in Platvoet & Molendijk 1999d: 245-265.
= 1999c, ‘Contexts, Concepts & Contests; Towards a Pragmatics of Defining Religion’, in Platvoet & Molendijk 1999d: 463-515.
= 1999d, (editor with A.L. Molendijk), The Pragmatics of Defining Religion: Contexts, Concepts & Contests. Leiden: Brill, 1999.
= 1999e, review of Gerrie ter Haar (ed.), Strangers and Sojourners: Religious Communities in the Diaspora (Leuven: Peeters, 1998), in Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 53, 4 (1999): 303.
= 1999f, ‘The Rule and its Exceptions: Spirit Possession in Two African Societies’, in Journal for the Study of Religion 12, 1&2 (1999): 5-51 (actually published in 2001).
= 2000a, ‘Rattray’s Request: Spirit Possession among the Bono of West Africa’, in Graham Harvey (ed.), Indigenous Religions: A Companion. London: Cassell, 2000, pp. 80-96.
= 2000b, review of Gerrie ter Haar 1998, Halfway to Paradise: African Christians in Europe (Cardiff: Cardiff Academic Press), in Numen 47, 1 (2000): 113-115.
= 2000c, review of Jacques Waardenburg (ed.), Classical Approaches to the Study of Religions: Aims, Methods, and Theories of Research; Introduction and Anthology; with a new Preface (= Religion and Reason, 3; New York: De Gruyter, 1999), in Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 54, 1 (2000): 65-66.
= 2000d, ‘Ogottegottegot’, in Prana 116 (december 1999/januari 2000): 57-60.
= 2000e, ‘Chasing Off God: Spirit Possession in a Sharing Society’, in Karen Ralls-MacLeod & Graham Harvey (eds.), Indigenous Religious Musics. Aldershot, etc.: Ashgate, 2000: 122-135.
= 2000f, review of Thomas A. Idinopulos & Brian C. Wilson (eds.), What is Religion: Origins, Definitions, & Explanations. Leiden: Brill, 1998, in Religion 30, 1: 97-99.
= 2001a, (with Henk van Rinsum) ‘Is Africa Incurably Religious?: p’Bitek versus Mbiti’, in SAGA-Bulletin no. 2 (October 2001): 1-2.
= 2001c, ‘300 Years Ghana-Holland’ (conference report), in AASR-Newsletter 15/16 (May/November 2001): 35-38.
= 2001d, ‘The Religions of Africa at Bayreuth University', in AASR-Newsletter 15/16 (May/November 2001): 17-19.
= 2002a, ‘Pillars, Pluralism & Secularisation: A Social History of Dutch Sciences of Religions’, in G.A. Wiegers (ed.) in association with J.G. Platvoet, Modern Societies & the Science of Religions: Studies in Honour of Lammert Leertouwer. Leiden: Brill, 2002: 82-148.
= 2002b, ‘Scrutinising Europe’s Mental Maps of Africa, 1500-2000: A Conference Report’, in Journal of Religion in Africa 32, 1: 124-127.
= 2002c, review of Mathias Guenther, Tricksters and Trancers: Bushman Religion and Society (Bloomington, etc.: Indiana University Press, 1999), in Journal of Religion in Africa 32, 4 (2002): 502-506.
= 2002d, ‘Enslaving Definitions: A Review’, review of Henk J. van Rinsum 2001, Slaves of Definition: In Quest of the Unbeliever and Ignoramus (Maastricht: Shaker Publications), in AASR-Newsletter 17 (May 2002): 33-39.
= 2002e, ‘300 Years Ghana-Holland’, review of Ineke van Kessel (red.) 2002, Merchants, Missionaries & Migrants: 300 Years of Dutch-Ghanaian Relations (Amsterdam: KIT Publishing), in AASR-Newsletter 18 (November 2002): 51-56.
= 2003a, (with Henk J. van Rinsum), ‘Is Africa Incurably Religious?: Confessing and Contesting an Invention’, in Exchange: Journal of Missiological and Ecumenical Research 32, 2: 123-153.
= 2003b, ‘In de mist van “magie”: Over de tyrannie van een dichotomie’ (In the Mists of ‘Magic’: On the Tyranny of a Dichotomy), in NGG-Nieuwsbrief 2003, 2: 10-20.
= 2003c, ‘Ghana’s Pentecostalisation’; review of Cephas Narth Omenyo 2002, Pentecost outside Pentecostalism: A Study of the Development of Charismatic Renewal in the Mainline Churches of Ghana (Zoetermeer, The Netherlands: Uitgeverij Boekencentrum), in AASR-Newsletter 19 (May 2003): 40-45.
= 2003d, ‘Kwasi Boakye (1827-1904): From Kumase to Java’; review of Arthur Japin 2000, The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boakye [: a novel] (London: Vintage), in AASR-Newsletter 19 (May 2003): 45-52.
= 2003e, ‘Witchcraft Violence’; review of S.T. Kgatla, Gerrie ter Haar, Wouter E.A. van Beek & Jan de Wolf 2003, Crossing Witchcraft Barriers in South Africa; Exploring Witchcraft Accusations: Causes and Solutions; A Research Report (Utrecht: Faculty of Social Sciences); and of Riekje Pelgrim 2004, South Africa Police Service Attitudes towards Witchcraft and Witchcraft-related Crime in the Northern Province (Leiden: African Studies Centre), in AASR-Newsletter no. 20 (November 2003): 26-28.
= 2003f, ‘Minimal & Marginal: Christianity in The Gambia’; review of Martha T. Frederiks 2003, We Have Toiled All Night: Christianity in The Gambia, 1456-2000 (Zoetermeer: Uitgeverij Boekencentrum), in AASR-Newsletter no. 20 (November 2003): 29-35..
= 2004a, ‘Ritual as War: On the Need to De-Westernise the Concept’, in Jens Kreinath, Constance Hartung & Annette Deschner (eds.), The Dynamics of Changing Ritual. New York: Peter Lang, 2004: 243-266.
= 2004b, ‘Does God have a Body?: On the Materiality of Akan Spirituality’, in Monika Schrimpf, Katja Triplett & Christoph Kleine (eds.) 2003, Unterwegs: Neue Pfade in der Religionswissenschaft; Festschrift für Michael Pye zum 65. Geburtstag / New Paths in the Study of Religions; Festschrift in Honour of Michael Pye on his 65th Birthday. München: Biblion, 2004: 175-195.
= 2004c, ‘Beyond “Primitivism”: “Indigenous Religions”’; review of Jacob Kehinde Olupona (ed.) 2004, Beyond Primitivism: Indigenous Religious Traditions and Modernity (New York, etc.: Routledge); Graham Harvey (ed.) 2000, Indigenous Religions: A Companion (London, etc.: Cassell); Karen Ralls-MacLeod & Graham Harvey (eds.) 2000, Indigenous Religious Musics (Aldershot, etc.: Ashgate); Graham Harvey (ed.) 2002, Readings in Indigenous Religions (London, etc.: Continuum), in AASR Bulletin no 22 (May 2004): 47-52.
= 2004d, ‘Dutch Merchants, Missionaries, & Academics on African Religions, 1594-2000: Their Earliest Contributions’, in Frieder Ludwig & Afe Adogame (eds.), European Traditions in the Study of the Religions of Africa. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, (ISBN 3-447-05002-0), pp.75-96.
= 2004e, ‘Ria Kloppenborg, 8.03.1945-4.10.2003: A Personal Tribute’, in BASR Bulletin no. 103 (November 2004): 54-56.
= 2004f, ‘The Plurality of Healing; review of Olov Dahlin 2002, Zvinorwadza: Being a Patient in the Religious and Medical Plurality of the Mberenge District, Zimbabwe (Frankfurt a.M., etc: Peter Lang)’, in AASR Bulletin 22 (November 2004): 33-37.
= 2005a, 'Religion and Politics in Africa', review of Stephen Ellis & Gerrie ter Haar 2004, Worlds of Power: Religious Thought and Political Practice in Africa (London: Hurst & Comp.), in AASR Bulletin 23 (May 2005): 48-55.
= 2005b, ‘Ria Kloppenborg, 8.03.1945-4.10.2003: A Personal Tribute’, in NGG-Nieuwsbrief (December 2005), 15-19.
= 2005c, 'www.a-asr.org', in AASR Bulletin 24 (November 2005): 4-8.
= 2005d, 'The Wisdom of the Chameleon', review of Ezra Chitando 2002, Singing Culture: A Study of the Gospel Music in Zimbabwe (Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute), in AASR Bulletin 24 (November 2005): 50-53.
= 2005e, 'Apologies Again', in AASR Bulletin 24 (November 2005): 53-54.
= 2006a, 'Website Progress Report', in AASR Bulletin 25 (May 2006): 13-16.
= 2006b, 'On Boundary Hopping and “Primitivism”: Reply to Graham Harvey', in AASR Bulletin 25 (May 2006): 47-50.
= 2006c, ‘Rituals: Religious and Secular’, in Jens Kreinath, Jan Snoek & Michael Stausberg (eds.), 2006, Theorising Rituals: Issues, Topics, Approaches, Concepts. Leiden, etc.: Brill, 161-205.
= 2006d, 'www.a-asr.org' (AASR website progress report, II), in AASR Bulletin 26 (November 2006): 18-20
= 2006e, 'GBT-NS, Akwaab'oo!' in AASR Bulletin, 26 (November 2006): 39-44.
= 2006f, 'Religion's Ambiguity: Barrier or Bridge to Peace?' (review of Ter Haar & Busuttil 2005), in AASR Bulletin 26 (November 2006): 45-50.
= 2007a, ‘Ethnogenesis as an Arena: Were the Lemba Black Jews?‘, in Ghana Bulletin of Theology NS 2 (July 2007): 105-134.
= 2007b, ‘Towards Job Descriptions of the AASR Executive‘, in AASR Bulletin 27+28 (May/November 2007): 18-32
= 2007c, ‘East Africa's "Internal Terror": Witchcraft Panic & Other Religious Responses to AIDS; review of Felicitas Becker & P. Wenzel Geisller (eds.) 2007, AIDS and Religious Practice in East Africa; special issue of Journal of Religion in Africa 37, 1: 1-149‘, in AASR Bulletin 27+28 (May/November 2007): 62-67
= 2008 (with Henk J. van Rinsum), 'Is Africa Incurably Religious?, III: A Reply to a Rhetorical Response', in Exchange 37, 2: 156-173
= 2009a, ‘Theologie als dubbelspel: Over de verscheidenheid en dynamiek van theologie en godsdienstwetenschap‘, in Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 63, 3: 221-236
= 2009b, 'www.a-asr.org: Progress Report, III', in AASR Bulletin 29 & 30 (November 2008 / May 2009): 4-9
= 2009c, 'Breaking the Chains of Silence and Shame'; review of Stephanie Nolan 2007, 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa (New York: Walker & Comp.), in AASR Bulletin 29 & 30 (November 2008 / May 2009): 33-40
= 2009d, 'AASR Finances: Its Past its Future?', in AASR Bulletin 31 (December 2009): 8-15
= forthcoming/a, ‘A Battle Lost or Won?: The 1970-1975 Utrecht Ecumenical Experiment in Academic Theology’, in Cephas Omenyo (ed.) 2010?, Festschrift in Honour of Right Reverend Canon Prof. John Samuel Pobee
Lectures since 1993
= 1993, 28 June, ‘Hawk says/Osansa sè: Ade a Nyame ayè, nhina ye; An Observer’s View of the Development of the Study of Religions in Southern Africa’, paper read during the 15th Annual Congress of the Association for the Study of Religions in Southern Africa, from 28 to 30 June 1993 in the University of Swaziland, Kwaluseni Campus, Manzini, Swaziland
= 1993, 29 September-1 October, ‘Religionisme in de Anglosaxische godsdienstwetenschap’, paper read to the AIO/OIO seminar ‘Stromingen en methoden in de moderne godsdienstwetenschap’, in the Volksabdij OLVr ter Duinen at Ossendrecht, the Netherlands
= 1993, 2 November, ‘Het goud van Ghana: Asante godsdienst en cultuur’, lecture for the Studium Generale van de RU-Utrecht in the series ‘Afrika: een sprekend verleden’, at Utrecht
= 1994, 14 January, ‘Consonance and Competence: On the Competitve Use of Rituals in Plural Contexts’, paper read to international symposium on ‘Pluralism and Identity: Studies in Ritual Behaviour’, at Leiden.
= 1994, 23 August, ‘Religions in Confrontation: Ayodhya (1984-1992) as an Interreligious Ritual of Contestation’, paper read to the IAHR special conference ‘Religions in Contact’, at Bro, Czech Republic
= 1994, 15 November, ‘Sjamanisme en godsdienstgeschiedenis: De !Kung genezingsdansen’, paper read before the Utrechts Godsdienstwetenschappelijk Werkgezelschap, at Utrecht.
= 1995, 12 May, `Ritueel in plurale en pluralistische samenlevingen: Stellingen tegen Durkheim’, lecture before the AIO-OIO seminar of the section Science of Religion of NOSTER, at Leiden
= 1995, 15 September, ‘From Consonance to Autonomy: Science of Religion in the Netherlands, 1948-1995’, staff seminar before the Department of Religious Studies, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
= 1995, 2 October, ‘The Revenge of the “Primitives”: History of Religions from Neanderthals to New Age’, lecture before the Department of Science of Religion, University of Durban-Westville, Durban, South Africa
= 1995, 4 October, ‘Violent Rituals and Ritual Theory’, lecture before the Faculty of Theology of the University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa
= 1995, 5 October, ‘From Consonance to Autonomy: Science of Religion in the Netherlands, 1948-1990’, lecture before the Govan Mbeki Centre and the Faculty of Theology of the University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa
= 1995, 6 October, ‘My Involvement in the Study of Religions of Africa’, impromptu lecture before the meeting of the Cluster of Faculties of Theology of the Eastern Cape (Universities of Fort Hare, East London, and Port Elisabeth, and Rhodes University at Grahamstown) in East London, South Africa
= 1995, 10 October, ‘Violent Rituals and Ritual Theory: The Ayodhya Case’, lecture before the Department of Religious Studies, University of Cape Town, at Cape Town, South Africa
1995h 16 October, ‘The Revenge of the “Primitives”: History of Religions from Neanderthals to New Age’, lecture before the Department of Religious Studies, University of South Africa, at Pretoria, South Africa
= 1995, 16 October, ‘Violent Rituals and Ritual Theory: The Ayodhya Case’, lecture before the Department of Religious Studies, University of South Africa, at Pretoria, South Africa
= 1995, 15 December, ‘Definities van godsdienst: Onmisbaar? onmogelijk? of gewoon nuttig?’, contribution to the LISOR Studiedag, at Leiden
= 1997, 28 May, ‘For This is My Religion: Science of Religion in the Netherlands, 1947-1997’, lecture at the international conference ‘Modern Society & the Science of Religion’, at Leiden, 28-29 May
= 1997, 7 October, ‘At War with God: !Kung Curing Dances’, lecture in the Senior Seminar Series of the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World and its African Christianity Project, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland.
= 1997, 10 December, ‘At War with God: !Kung Curing Dances’, public lecture, Kenyatta University, Nairobi.
= 1998, 23 May, ‘Seeds of Destruction: European Christianity Abroad in the Late 20th Century’, lecture during the IAHR conference on ‘The History of Religions in Europe: Mankind-Nature-Technology’, Hildesheim, Germany.
= 1998, 6 July, ‘How Successful is Christianity in Africa?’, lecture before the NBTS (New Brunswick Theological Seminary) International School of Theology on ‘The Gospel and Culture’, at Hyde Park, Doorn, The Netherlands.
= 1999, 2 October, ‘Waar voor uw geld: Godsdienstwetenschap in Oost-Afrika’, voordracht voor het Nederlands Genootschap voor Godsdienstwetenschap (NGG) te Utrecht.
= 2000, 5 July, ‘Does God have a Body?: On the Materiality of the Spiritual in Akan Theology’, lecture before the NBTS International School of Theology on ‘Theology and the Body’, at Hyde Park, Doorn, The Netherlands.
= 2000, 30 September, ‘Want dit is mijn godsdienst: Modernisering, pluralisering, en godsdienstwetenschap in Nederland, 1947-1997’, voordracht voor het Nederlands Genootschap voor Godsdienstwetenschap te Utrecht.
= 2001, 25 January, ‘Ritual as War: On the Need to De-Westernise the Concept’, lecture by invitation at the University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
= 2001, 3 April, (with Henk van Rinsum), ‘Okot p’Bitek versus John Samuel Mbiti on: Does it make sense to say: “Africa is incurably religious”’, lecture before the Study and Advisory Group for Africa (SAGA), IIMO, Utrecht University.
= 2001, 7 October, ‘Dutch Mercantile, Missionary, and Academic Perceptions of the Religions of Africa’, at Bayreuth University in the conference ‘European Traditions in the Study of the Religions of Africa’, 4-7 October 2001
= 2002, 6 April, ‘Van ritualiteit naar spiritualiteit: Opgang of uitgang?’, voordracht tijdens congres OHM (Omroep Hindoe Media) in het Museon te Den Haag
= 2003, 17 May, ‘In de mist van de “magie”: Over de tyrannie van een dichotomie’, inleiding tot de algemene discussie tot besluit van de NGG Voorjaarsconferentie over Magic and Witchcraft in het conferentie-oord Woudschoten te Zeist op 16-17 mei 2003
= 2004, 9 February, ‘Is the Historical Study of the Indigenous Religions of Africa Feasible?’, lecture before undergraduate students of the Dept. for the Study of Religions in the University of Ghana, at Legon, Ghana
= 2004, 9 February, ‘Methodological Issues in the Study of the Religions of Sub-Saharan Africa’, lecture before the Staff Seminar of the Dept. for the Study of Religions in the University of Ghana, at Legon, Ghana
= 2004, 9 February, ‘Are Western Methodologies Suitable to the Study of African Christianity’, lecture before undergraduate students of the Dept. for the Study of Religions in the University of Ghana, at Legon, Ghana
= 2004, 10 February, ‘Analytical Tools in the Study of Ritual’, lecture before the Staff Seminar of the Dept. for the Study of Religions in the University of Ghana, at Legon, Ghana
= 2005, 26 September, ‘Hail the Enemy: Towards a Critical Pragmatics in Reflexivity in the Study of the Religions of Africa’, in the panel ‘Rethinking African Religions: Reflexivity and the Critique of Religions’, during the bi-annual congress of the Deutsche Verein für Religionswissenschaft,on Religion und Kritik: Das Kritikpotential der Religionen und der Religionswissenschaft, 25-28 September 2005, at Marburg University, Marburg, Germany.
= 2007, 3 November, ‘Rock as Revelation? San Rock Paintings after J. David Lewis-Williams‘, PowerPoint presentation during the NGG Conference on Religion, Media and Tolerance at Kapellerput, Heeze, 2-3 November 2007.
= 2008, 21 April, ‘Theologie en godsdienstwetenschap: verscheidenheid en dynamiek‘, tijdens de Algemene Opleidingsdagen NOSTER, 20-21 April 2008, Kontakt der Kontinenten, Soesterberg
= 2009, 19 January 2010, 'Demography as Apocalypse?', plenary lecture during the Fourth AASR Conference in Africa on 'Religion, Environmentt and Sustainable Development in Africa', Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 17-21 January 2010
Participation in
conferences since 1993
= 1993, 19 June, 5th NGG conference on `Raad en raadgevers in verschillende religieuze tradities', at the Universiteit voor Humanistiek at Utrecht
= 1993, 18-20 September, meeting of the International Committee of the International Association for the History of Religions as NGG-delegate and in the special IAHR conference on ‘The Study of Religions in France and Francophone Africa’, in Paris
= 1993, 15 October, NGG/NASV interdisciplinary conference about ‘The Life and Work of Jan van Baal’, at Utrecht
= 1994, 9 April, conference of the Vereniging voor Culturele Antropologie en Sociologie van de Niet-westerse Samenlevingen and the Werkgroep Godsdienstsociologie of the NSV on ‘Religie als cultureel verschijnsel’, at Utrecht
= 1994, 28 May, 6th NGG conference on ‘Feest en religie’, at Tilburg
= 1995, 20 May, 7th NGG conference on ‘Godsdienst en nationalisme’, at Amsterdam
= 1997, 13-14 January 1997, International LISOR Conference on ‘Canonization and De-canonization’, at Leiden
= 1998, 15-16 May, NGG/NOSTER conference on ‘Distantie en Betrokkenheid’, te Heeze
= 1999, 14-15 May, NGG/NOSTER conference on ‘Godsdienstwetenschap en Genderstudies’, at Heeze
= 1999, 30 June, colloqium, ‘The Present and the Future of the Study of the Religions of Africa; In Honour of Adrian Hastings at his Retirement as Editor of Journal of Religion in Africa’, Leiden, Brill
= 2001, 10 mei, conference on ‘Religion, Violence and Visions for Peace’, at Institute of Social Studies, The Hague
= 2001, 25-26 mei, NGG-voorjaarsconferentie at Heeze
= 2002, 10-11 mei, NGG-voorjaarsconferntie on ‘De toekomst van de godsdienstwetenschap in Nederland: Taken en verantwoordelijkheden’, at Heeze.
= 2004, 5-8 February, Second AASR Conference in Africa on ‘The Role of Religion in the Socio-Cultural Transformation of West Africa’, at the University of Ghana, at Legon, Ghana
= 2004, 14-15 mei, NGG-voorjaarsconferentie on ‘Taboe, cognitie en ratio: Het waarom van religieus handelen in mythe en maatschappij’, in Kontakt der Kontinenten at Soesterberg
= 2005, 20-21 mei, NGG-voorjaarsconferentie on ‘De studie van rituelen’ in Woudschoten at Zeist.
= 2006, 8 april, NGG-voorjaarsbijeenkomst on 'Religie in de marge?' , at Utrecht
=2008, 24-25 october, NGG-najaarsconferentie, Kontakt der Kontinenten, te Soesterberg
=2009, 23-24 october, NGG-najaarsconferentie, Kontakt der Kontinenten, te Soesterberg