Theology · Religious Studies · Interfaith · Ecumenism
Dr Geneva Blackmer
Geneva Blackmer is a religious scholar, theologian, and interfaith professional whose scholarship focuses on digital religion, interreligious studies, church history, ecumenism, and practical and contextual theologies. She is currently based at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Divinity.
About
Curriculum Vitae
Education
- PhD, Interdisciplinary Studies / Theology — Amridge University
- MA, Ecumenical Studies — The University of Bonn
- MA, Religious Studies — Athens State University
- BA, Religion — Athens State University
- Certificate, Library and Information Services — Spokane Falls Community College
Academic Appointments
- Doctoral Researcher, Faculty of Divinity — University of Cambridge (current)
- Visiting Scholar, Humanities Division — University of Oxford (current)
- Freelance Copy Editor, Faculty of Catholic Theology — University of Bonn (current)
- Research Assistant, Faculty of Protestant Theology — University of Bonn
- Research Assistant, Faculty of Catholic Theology — University of Bonn
- Research Assistant, Mitchell Center for African American Heritage — Delaware Historical Society
- Visiting Scholar, School of Theology — Boston University
- Visiting Scholar — Calvin Theological Seminary
- Adjunct Instructor, Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR) — Frederick Community College
Interfaith Affiliations
- United Religions Initiative (URI) (Trustee)
- North American Interfaith Network (NAIN) (Treasurer)
- The Interfaith Center at Miami University (Executive Director)
- Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington (DC)
- The Interfaith Society at Cambridge University (Vice President)
- Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada (Admin. Director)
- The Interfaith Contemplative Center for Spirituality & Healthcare
- Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council (Councilor)
- CRES (World Faiths Center for Religious Experience and Study)
- Contemplative Outreach of Kansas City
- Faith Communities Go Green
- Interfaith Cincy
- Cincy Multi-Faith Calendar
- The Parliament of the World's Religions' Climate Commitments Project
Academic Affiliations
- Cambridge Interfaith Research Forum
- European Society for Intercultural Theology & Interreligious Studies (ESITIS)
- American Theological Library Association (ATLA) — Religions in RDA Working Group
- Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)
Open to consulting, speaking, and collaborative opportunities.
Get in touchBook
Disconnected
Selected Publications
Publications
Book Chapters
- (Co-authors: Valeria Vergani & Abdul Basit Zafar) “Threads of Hope: Multi-faith Innovation.” In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Leadership and Organizational Change, edited by Satinder Dhiman. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51650-4_80-1
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
- (Co-author: Abdul Basit Zafar) “Sacred Journeys in Digital Islam: Ageing, Pilgrimage, and the Ethics of the Digital Divide.” Religions 17, no. 7 (2026): 836. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17070836
- “Meeting People Where They Are: Eugene Callender’s CRC Ministry in Harlem and the ‘Already, but Not Yet’ Kingdom of Christ.” Religions 17, no. 7 (2026). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17070789
- (Co-author: Yitnaa Athanasius Akila) “Indigenous Wisdom, Indian Eco-Feminist Theology, and the World Council of Churches — Confronting Violence Against Women and Shaping the Future of Ecumenism.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 61, no. 1 (Winter 2026). https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2026.a988779
- (Co-author: Abdul Basit Zafar) “A Comparative Theological Approach to Mitigating Cultural Racism in Religious Education: Reforming Confessional RE through Anti-racist and Decolonial Pedagogy.” Journal of Religious Education (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40839-026-00290-x
- (Co-author: Abdul Basit Zafar) “Overcoming Cultural Racism in Religious Education: Comparative Theology as a Response to Microaggressions and Colonial Structures” [published in German as “Von der Christonormativität zur Komparativen Theologie: Auf dem Weg zu einem inklusiven Modell der Religionspädagogik in Deutschland,” trans. Raphaela Djalili]. In Handbuch der Religionen, 85. Ergänzungslieferung, Gliederungs-Nr. XIV-5.1.1.10, 1st ed. (2025). Read online ↗
- “Social Justice as a Catalyst for Ecumenical Engagement: The Role of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America and Its Influence on the ‘Life and Work’ Movement.” The Ecumenical Review, edited by Stephen G. Brown (July 2025). https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12895
- (Co-author: Abdul Basit Zafar) “Digital Religion in the Public Sphere: Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and Alternative for Germany (AfD).” Religions 16, no. 5 (2025): 627. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16050627
- (Co-author: Yitnaa Athanasius Akila) “Conflicts in Northern Nigeria and the Role of (Inter-)Religious Education in Peacebuilding.” African Journal of Religious and Theological Studies 2, no. 1 (2025). https://doi.org/10.62154/ajrts.2024.02.010545
- “Digital Worship as Fostering or Inhibiting Social Inclusion and Social Cohesion.” Ecclesial Futures 5, no. 1 (June 2024). https://doi.org/10.54195/ef18529
Magazine & Journal Articles
- “Meeting People Where They Are: What Eugene Callender’s Harlem Ministry Can Teach the Church Today.” Reformed Journal (August 2026). Read online ↗
- “Ecumenism from the Margins: The AUMP Church and the Struggle Over Historical Memory.” Making History 1, no. 16 (Spring 2025). Delaware Historical Society. Print only.
Presentations & Workshops
- (Co-presenter: Valeria Vergani) “Unsettling Interfaith Empire: Colonial Representation, Religious Pluralism, and the Study of Religion.” Digging Wells While Houses Burn: Academic Responsibility and the Study of Religion, University of Cambridge, 23–24 April 2026.
- “Belonging and Sanctuary in the Digital Mosque: Relational Space and Community for LGBTQ+ Muslims.” Queer Theologies Beyond Binaries: Reimagining Islamic Possibilities, University of Bonn, 23–24 March 2026.
- (Co-presenter: Juan Pablo Angarita Bernal) “From Access to Agency: A Capabilities Analysis of Digital Library Exhibition Practices in Bogotá, Colombia.” Digital Marginality and Plural Subjectivities, University of Edinburgh, 2–4 February 2026.
- (Co-presenters: Abdul Basit Zafar and Akinwumi Akindolie) “Beyond Idealized Compassion: Ubuntu and Transformative Interreligious Education.” Transformative Learning in Times of Crisis: Compassion as an Integrative Approach to Peace and Sustainability?!, University of Bonn, Impulse-Center, 15–17 October 2025.
- “A Biblical Analysis of Commands Concerning the Elderly (Exod 20:12; Eph 6:1–3; Lev 19:32; Prov 16:31) and the Difficulty of Aging (Eccl 12:1–7) Towards Radical Social Inclusion in Digital Ministry.” World Christianity Conference, Plenary 1 — The Future of World Christianity Scholarship, Princeton Theological Seminary, 10–14 March 2025.
- (Co-presenter: Abdul Basit Zafar) “A Comparative Theological Approach to Mitigating Cultural Racism in Religious Education: A Response to Reported Microaggressions and Colonial Legacies.” 2025 Alway/Emmanuel Symposium — Bridges and Boundaries: Religious Diversities in the 21st Century Classroom, St. Michael's College & Emmanuel College, University of Toronto, 12–14 January 2025.
- (Co-presenters: Valeria Vergani and Abdul Basit Zafar) Workshop: “Interreligious Education as Memory-Space: Activating Historical Consciousness for Integrated and Decolonial Classroom Practice.” 2025 Alway/Emmanuel Symposium — Bridges and Boundaries: Religious Diversities in the 21st Century Classroom, St. Michael's College & Emmanuel College, University of Toronto, 12–14 January 2025.
- “Digital Worship as Fostering or Inhibiting Social Inclusion and Social Cohesion.” Practices of Digital In- and Exclusion in Everyday Life, University of Groningen, Netherlands, 3–4 April 2023.
Theses & Dissertations
- “Therefore, We Do Not Lose Heart”: How a Biblical Understanding of Aging (Eccl 12:1–7; 2 Cor 4:16) and Commands Concerning the Elderly (Exod 20:12; Eph 6:1–3; Lev 19:32; Prov 16:31) Compel Radical Social Inclusion in Digital Ministry. PhD Dissertation, Amridge University, 2025. View on ProQuest ↗
- The Ecumenical and Interfaith History of Greater Kansas City. MA Thesis, Athens State University, 2019. View on ProQuest ↗
Events
Upcoming
From Access to Ownership: A Data Colonialism Analysis of Digital Library Exhibition Practices in Bogotá, Colombia (2021–2023)
Interfaith and Ecumenical Responses to Violence in Northern Nigeria: Toward Integrated Models of Prevention
Who Gets to Speak? Representation, Coloniality and Disruptive Praxis in Interfaith Engagement
More events will be announced here.
Projects
The Kansas City Interfaith History Project was founded by Geneva Blackmer, Ph.D., with the guidance of the Rev. Vern Barnet, D.Min., and the Rev. Larry Guillot, S.T.D., to document and preserve the ecumenical and interfaith history of the greater Kansas City region. Through archival research, oral history interviews, and the creation of detailed organizational profiles, the project identified the people, organizations, and events that have shaped religious cooperation across the metropolitan area.
Together, these efforts record nearly a century of activity and provide a comprehensive historical record of the region's ecumenical and interfaith landscape. The project culminated in The Ecumenical and Interfaith History of Greater Kansas City, an open-access study profiling thirty-seven organizations and initiatives that have contributed to the development of interfaith cooperation in the region, and is also available as a printed booklet.
The Greater Kansas City Ecumenical and Interfaith History archival collection will soon be housed in the Missouri Valley Special Collections at the Kansas City Public Library, where it will preserve these research materials and make them accessible to future researchers, faith communities, and the public.
To contribute to the Digital Archive, please contact us by email.