Richard Burgess

I studied theology at the London School of Theology and the University of Birmingham, where I completed a doctorate on Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity in Nigeria. Between 1991 and 2007, I taught theology in Nigeria, most recently at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria (affiliated to the University of Jos). In 2007, I was appointed a research fellow in the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies, University of Birmingham. In March 2013, I became a Lecturer in Ministerial Theology at Roehampton. From 2015 to 2018, I was the programme convenor for the MA in Theology and Religious Studies. From September 2020 to December 2022, I was co-convenor of the MA in Theology and Religious Studies. I am currently the convenor of the MA in Christian Ministry. 

MA (Brunel University, Biblical Hermeneutics 1991), PhD (University of Birmingham, Theology 2004)

My research interests include Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity and its intersection with politics and development; religion and migration; Christianity in Africa and the African diaspora; and religion and conflict. I am happy to supervise PhD projects on any aspect of Pentecostal/Charismatic studies, African Christianity and practical theology, but especially in the areas of Pentecostalism in Africa and the African diaspora, religion and development, and Christian-Muslim conflict in West Africa.

• October 2017 to December 2018, co-PI on the project "Signs of Wonder: Iconography and Aesthetics of New Black Majority Churches in the London Borough of Southwark" (PI: Andrew Rogers), funded by Southlands Methodist Trust. 
• September 2016 to May 2017, principal investigator on a research project exploring the learning experiences of students on ministerial-theological programmes in the UK, funded by Southlands Methodist Trust.
• September 2012 to December 2013, commissioned scholar, John Templeton-funded Religious Freedom Project, administered by Georgetown University.
• May 2010 to August 2012, principal investigator on a John Templeton-funded research project within the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative, administered by the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California.
• June 2010 to February 2011, research fellow on the research programme "Global Prayers: Redemption and Liberation in the City" , a joint project of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), the cultural studies faculty of the European University Viadrina (Frankfurt/Oder) and metroZones - Center for Urban Affairs.
• May 2007 to May 2010, research fellow on the GloPent (European Research Network on Global Pentecostalism) research team within the NORFACE-funded research programme 'Re-emergence of religion as a social force in Europe?'

• Member of the European Research Network on Global Pentecostalism (GloPent).
• Member of the British & Irish Association for Practical Theology (BIAPT).
• Member of the European Pentecostal Theological Association.
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
• Book Review editor of the journal PentecoStudies.
• Member of the Editorial Boards of the Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association (JEPTA) and Occasional Papers in Faith and Higher Education.

From 2013 to 2016, I was a member of the Advisory Group for the AHRC-funded "Megachurches and Social Engagement in London" project, University of Birmingham

I teach on the FdA/BTh programme in Ministerial Theology, the MAs in Christian Ministry and  Theology and Religious Studies, and the Professional Doctorate in Practical Theology (DTh). I teach the following FdA/BTh modules: Study Skills; Pentecostal Theology in Context; Christian Doctrine in Ecumenical Perspective; Education, Faith and Society. My MA modules are Pentecostal Theology and Practice and Theologies of Encounter, Conflict and Reconciliation. My DTh module is: Research Design 1: Literature Review and Research Questions.