Lamin Sanneh facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lamin Sanneh
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Sanneh in 2014
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| Born | May 24, 1942 Abuko, Gambia
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| Died | January 6, 2019 (aged 76) United States
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| Occupation | Scholar of missions and religious studies |
| Known for | History of African Christianity and a pioneer in the academic field of world Christianity |
| Spouse(s) | Sandra Sanneh |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Ghana, University of Aberdeen, Harvard, Yale University, Yale Divinity School |
Lamin Sanneh (born May 24, 1942 – died January 6, 2019) was a very important professor. He taught about Christian missions and World Christianity at Yale Divinity School and Yale University. He was known for his deep studies on African Christianity. He also helped create the academic field of "World Christianity."
About Lamin Sanneh
Lamin Sanneh was born and grew up in The Gambia, a country in Africa. His family was part of an ancient royal family there. Later, he became a citizen of the United States.
He studied at several universities, including the University of Birmingham and the Near East School of Theology. He earned his highest degree, a doctorate, in Islamic History from the University of London.
Professor Sanneh taught at many famous universities. These included the University of Ghana, the University of Aberdeen, Harvard University, and Yale University. He worked at Yale from 1989 until he passed away in 2019.
He was also an editor for The Christian Century magazine. He received special honorary doctorates from the University of Edinburgh and Liverpool Hope University.
Sanneh received a very high honor from Senegal, called the "Commandeur de l'Ordre National du Lion." He was also a member of important groups that studied history and how different religions relate to each other.
In 2018, a new center was created in his name. It is called the Sanneh Institute at the University of Ghana. Another research grant was also named in his honor.
Lamin Sanneh passed away on January 6, 2019. He was survived by his wife, Sandra Sanneh, who is also a professor at Yale. He also had two children, Sia Sanneh and Kelefa Sanneh.
His Work on Religions
Lamin Sanneh grew up as a Muslim but later became a Roman Catholic. A lot of his academic work focused on the relationship between Christianity and Islam. He was especially interested in how these religions interacted in Africa. He studied what he called "African Islam."
Understanding World Christianity
Another big part of Professor Sanneh's work was studying World Christianity. This field looks at how Christianity has grown and changed around the world, especially outside of Europe and North America.
In his book Translating the Message (1989), Sanneh wrote about how important it was to translate the Christian message into local languages. He believed that when missionaries translated the Bible into "mother-tongue" languages in places like Africa and Asia, it had a huge impact.
He argued that missionaries, by translating, actually helped local people. This was different from the common idea that Christian missions only spread Western ideas. He continued to explore these ideas in his book Disciples of All Nations (2008).
