Alison Fitchett Climenhaga

This profile was current as of 2019, when she was part of the on-campus Kellogg community.

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Theology Department at the University of Notre Dame. I received my M.T.S. in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2011, and my B.A. from Messiah College with an interdisciplinary Humanities major and minors in Religion and Peace and Conflict Studies.

I study World Christianity, with a focus on the history of Christianity in Africa. My current research explores the relationship of religious practice with conflict and peacebuilding in Uganda and Rwanda.

Based on ethnographic and archival research, my dissertation project compares two different Catholic charismatic movements (movements that emphasize the experience of the Holy Spirit) in Uganda, with particular attention to their faith healing and deliverance practices and the controversies surrounding them. I explore how conflicts overhealing—and closely allied debates about liturgical practice, religious authority, use of scripture, and healthcare delivery—are linked with processes of collective religious identity formation and broader debates about the appropriate role of religion in society.