About Mary Nyangweso

Dr. Mary Nyangweso is the J. Woolard and Helen Peel distinguished professor in Religious Studies at East Carolina University (Greenville, North Carolina). She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in the Sociology of Religion (PhD) at Drew University. She also received her bachelor’s in education at Kenyatta University, Nairobi Kenya; her Master’s in Philosophy (Religion) at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya; and her Master’s in Theology at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Nyangweso’s specialty is African religions, Religion, gender and sexuality, Religion and Healthcare. She also teaches Islam, Indigenous religions, and religious methodology. Her focus is the intersection of socio-cultural determinants of gender-based violence, health, and other issues of concern from African, Christian, and Islamic perspectives. She is also a pan-Africanist with concerns about improving perceptions of Africa and promoting African knowledge, values, and cultural heritage.

Dr. Nyangweso has published extensively on matters related to gender-based violence. She is the author of Female Genital Cutting: Mutilation or Cultural Right? (Praeger, 2014) and Female Circumcision: the Interplay between Religion, Gender, and Culture in Kenya (Orbis, 2007) and co-editor of Religion in Gender Based Violence, Immigration and Human Rights and editor of World Religions in a Global Society: A Reader (2021). Her forthcoming book is titled “African Journeys: Implications for Africa and the African Diaspora Journeys.” In addition, she has authored several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on religion and gender in Africa including “Disability in Africa: A Cultural/Religious Perspective,” “Battling a ‘War within a War’: Challenges of Being Female in Africa,” among others

Dr. Nyangweso is also a Pan-Africanist and a human rights activist with a passion for advocating for civil and gender social justice. She has received several honors including a Fulbright Award.