Rate My Professor Adriaan van Klinken

Professor Adriaan van Klinken is Professor of Religion and African Studies and Deputy Head of School for Theology and Religious Studies in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science at the University of Leeds. He joined the University of Leeds in 2013, continuing its tradition of teaching and researching religions in Africa, and was promoted to full Professor in 2020. Prior to his appointment at Leeds, he served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at SOAS University of London from 2011 to 2012. Van Klinken holds a PhD in Religious Studies (cum laude) from Utrecht University (2011), an MA in Religious Studies from Utrecht University (2006), and a BA in Religion and Social Work from Ede University of Applied Sciences (2003). His academic interests lie at the intersections of Religious Studies and African Studies, with a focus on religion as it intersects with social, cultural, and political issues including gender, sexuality, ecology, and human rights. Employing a scavenger approach methodologically, he draws from disciplines across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. His research has a geographical emphasis on Zambia and Kenya, incorporating creative and arts-based methodologies and collaboration with local communities and actors as agents of social change. Key themes encompass Christianity and the politics of masculinity in Zambia, religion and the politicisation of homosexuality in Africa, Christianity and LGBT/queer activism in African contexts, and the representation of religion in contemporary African literary writing.