Otto Maduro, Professor of World Christianity and Latin American Christianity at Drew University

Otto Maduro, a Latino philosopher and sociologist of religion (b. Venezuela 14/4/45) lives in the U.S. since 1987. He teaches since 1992 at Drew University (in Madison, New Jersey), where he is Professor of World Christianity & Latin American Christianity. Married in 1984 to Dr. Nancy Noguera, a Venezuelan-born writer and Drew faculty, too, they are parents to Mateo (b. 1995).

A world-traveling lecturer, a prolific author, and a polyglot teacher, Otto's work focuses, first and foremost, on the interrelation of religious traditions (the Christian churches in particular) and the yearnings for liberation among the economically, racially, culturally, and/or sexually oppressed peoples (Latin American and U.S. Latinas/os in the first place). He is deeply interested, too, in wider issues of peace, social and ecological justice, epistemologies, and sexualities. He is a life-enjoying person with a weakness (among many others) for listening and dancing to folk music traditions from around the world -- jazz, salsa, bluegrass, klezmer, blues, tango, zydeco, celtic and country music among these -- preferably while chatting, drinking and eating among good friends!

At Drew, he has chaired the Division of Church & Society in its Theological School (1997-1999; 2001-2005), and the Doctoral Program in Religion and Society in its Graduate Division of Religion (1995-1997; 2004-2006); he is co-founder and co-chairs with Dr. Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz both its Hispanic D. Min. Program (1997- ), and the Hispanic Institute of Theology (1997- ).

Since the Fall of 2006 he is on sabbatical with a grant of the Henry Luce III Fellows in Theology Program for researching The Role of Pentecostal Congregations in the Lives of Latina/o Immigrants in Newark (New Jersey). Simultaneously, he accepted to be national director of the Hispanic Summer Program in religion & theology -- an independent, ecumenical, itinerant educational program striving since 1998 to enhance the education of U.S. Latina/o seminarians from all the Christian churches.

Otto has two M.A.s and a PhD, all three magna cum laude, from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. He has written five books and over 100 articles published in a dozen languages in five continents. He has taught and/or lectured in five languages in a number of academic, religious and socio-political institutions of over 20 countries on both sides of the Atlantic.

He is associate editor of the Journal of World Christianity, Cristianismo y Sociedad, Concilium, SIC, Liaisons Internationales, Pasos, Maiêutica, and the Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology -- and, fior many years, was, too, on the editorial board of Social Compass, the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and the Journal of Contemporary Religion.