Beginning with a joint presentation from Dr Jörg Haustein (Cambridge) and Dr Afework Beyene (EGST), this roundtable event will enable discussion about the role of religion in inter-communal conflict, as driver and conduit of tensions as well as a possible aid in conflict resolution.

About the discussants

Dr Afework Hailu Beyene is Lecturer in Church History at EGST and a Global South Visiting Scholar at the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge. He completed his PhD at SOAS, University of London, a study of The Shaping of Judaic Identity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥədo Church. A historian, he has also attained MA in Cultural Studies from Addis Ababa University, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, MA in Religion and Theology from the Free University Amsterdam, and MTh from the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST). Dr habil. Jörg Haustein joined the University of Cambridge in 2019 and is Associate Professor in World Christianities in the Faculty of Divinity. He previously taught Religions in Africa at at the School of Oriental and African Studies (2013–2019), and Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology at the University of Heidelberg (2003–2013). Haustein earned his PhD at Heidelberg with a study of Ethiopian Pentecostalism (2009), and completed his habilitation there with a study of German colonialism and Islam in East Africa (2020).

Research in Ethiopia

During 2022–2023, Haustein led a team of researchers conducting fieldwork for the Rift Valley Institute, part of a larger research facility on conflict in Ethiopia.  Dr Afework was among those working in the field as part of this research project, titled “Religious polarisation in Ethiopia”. The work was funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) with the aim of helping foreign diplomats and policymakers understand the current conflict landscape in Ethiopia.

Practicalities

This event is organised by the Cambridge Interfaith Research Forum as part of World Interfaith Harmony Week (1–7 February 2024). All are welcome to attend and this event will be available to audit via a Zoom livestream for those unable to join other participants on site in Cambridge. (Zoom registration information will be added soon.) There will be an opportunity to join Dr Afework, Dr Haustein and others from the Research Forum for lunch at Selwyn College (servery, pay-at-till) after this event.

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Global South Visiting Fellowship scheme

Those interested in the Faculty of Divinity’s Visiting Fellowship scheme for scholars from the Global South are encouraged to note that the Faculty is now receiving applications for those who wish to visit during 2025. The application deadline is midday (UTC) on 26 February 2024. View more information about the Global South scheme.