Loreen Iminza Maseno
| Loreen Iminza Maseno | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| 🏳️ Citizenship | Kenyan |
| 💼 Occupation | Theologian, Author, Academic |
| Known for | Feminist theology, Christology, gender justice, ecology, and the role of religion |
| Title | Senior Lecturer, Department of Religion, Theology and Philosophy |
Loreen Maseno (Loreen Iminza Maseno) is a Kenyan theologian and scholar of African women's theology, gender studies, and contextual Christian thought. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Religion, Theology, and Philosophy at Maseno University. Her academic work focuses on African feminist theology, Christology, gender justice, ecology, and the role of religion in public and political life in Africa.[1][2]
Maseno is recognized for her contributions to African women's theological discourse. Particularly, in articulating how African women theologians reconstruct Christian theology through lived experience, community engagement, and gender-critical interpretation.[2]
Education
She began her higher education at the University of Nairobi, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Religious Studies. She later proceeded to pursue an MPhil in Contextual Theology at the University of Oslo, Norway, and a PhD in Systematic Theology at the University of Oslo, Norway: Dissertation Title: Widows’ Christologies: A Preliminary Feminist Analysis of Abanyole Widows’ Christologies, considering Kinship, Gender, and the Power of Naming.[3] Her academic formation is grounded in African feminist theology and contextual hermeneutics, drawing from her engagements with the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians and broader African liberationist traditions.
Career
Maseno serves as a Senior Lecturer at Maseno University, where she teaches courses in theology, Christian doctrine, religion and gender, and systematic theology. Her research examines how theology functions as a transformative tool in contexts marked by gender inequality, socio-economic injustice, and environmental crisis.[4]
She has contributed to scholarly debates in peer-reviewed theological journals, particularly in South African and African theological scholarship platforms such as Theological Studies and the Stellenbosch Theological Journal.[5]
Research and scholarship
African Women’s Theology and Community
In her 2021 article, “African women’s theology and the re-imagining of community in Africa”, Maseno argues that African women's theology reconstructs the concept of community beyond patriarchal hierarchies and exclusionary structures.[6] She examines how African women theologians reframe community as relational, reciprocal, and justice-oriented, centering women's lived experiences as legitimate sources of theological knowledge. Maseno situates African women's theology as both ecclesial and socio-political, demonstrating how it contributes to gender justice within the church and society.[1]
Gender and Christology
In“Gender and Christology in Africa for social and political involvement” (2020), Maseno interrogates traditional Christological models that have historically marginalized women's experiences.[6] She argues for a contextual Christology that addresses contemporary African realities, including gender-based violence, political exclusion, and economic injustice. Her work emphasizes that Christology in African contexts must not remain doctrinally abstract but should respond concretely to women's suffering and agency.[1]
Awards and recognition
Maseno was awarded and recognized in the following;
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award Programme (2025) by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, recognizing her outstanding international research contributions.
- Ambassador Scientist for Kenya (2022), appointed by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to strengthen research collaboration between Kenya and Germany.
- HRAF Global Scholar (2021) at Yale University, in recognition of her excellence in global scholarly research.
- Georg Forster Research Fellowship (2015–2018) from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, supporting advanced interdisciplinary research at the University of Bayreuth, Germany.
- Bayreuth Academy Research Fellowship (2013), awarded for research under the Multiple Futures project in African Studies.
- She has also been recognized through appointments as External Examiner at Kenyatta University (2023) and Kaimosi Friends University (2022), reflecting her academic leadership and expertise.[7]
Selected works
- Maseno, L., 2017. ‘The Glory is Here!’Faith Brands and Rituals of Self-Affirmation for Social Responsibility in Kenya. Alternation Journal, (19), pp. 252–267.
- Maseno, L., 2020. Gender and Christology in Africa for social and political involvement. Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 6(1), pp. 55–59.
- Maseno-Ouma, L. ed., 2024. African Pentecostalism from African Perspectives. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Maseno, L. and Chirongoma, S., 2024. African Women, COVID-19, Grounded theology and the adoption of a religious virtual space in CITAM Ngong Church and Nomiya Luo Church in Kenya. Pharos Journal of Theology, 105(4).
- Maseno, L., 2024. From your seat in Heaven, hear our prayer: Prayer in the Nomiya Church. Concilium (00105236), (4).
- Maseno, L., 2021. Eschatological Prophecies before and during COVID-19: Female Pentecostal-Charismatic Preachers Self-Legitimation through Prophecy in Kenya. Pharos Journal of Theology, 102(2), pp. 1–12.
- Maseno, L., 2023. 3 Sitting on a Grave. Religious Responses to Pandemics and Crises: Isolation, Survival, and# Covidchaos, p. 40.
- Maseno, L., 2024. Mapping East and Central African Feminist Theologies. Queen of Sheba: East and Central African Women’s Theologies of Liberation (Circle Jubilee Volume 2).
- Maseno-Ouma, L., 6. Patriarchy Ridiculed and Turned Upside Down: The Role and Place of Humour in Esther 1.1–22. THE BIBLE AND, p. 89.
- Maseno-Ouma, L. and Mamati, K.A., An appraisal of the Pentecostal eco-theology and environmental consciousness among youths in Parklands Baptist Church, Kenya. HTS teologiese studies, 77(2).[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wolff, Michelle (2020-06-10). "Karl Barth's Christology and Jan Christian Smuts' Human Rights Rhetoric". STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal. 5 (1): 141–161. doi:10.17570/stj.2019.v5n1.a08. ISSN 2413-9467.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Maseno, Loreen (2021-08-27). "African women's theology and the re-imagining of community in Africa". HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies. 77 (2). doi:10.4102/hts.v77i2.6736. ISSN 0259-9422.
- ↑ Maseno, Loreen. "UNBOUNDED CHRISTOLOGIES: THE CASE OF WIDOWS' CHRISTOLOGY – 'JESUS CHRIST IS BREATH'". Scriptura. 114 (0). doi:10.7833/114-0-1132. ISSN 2305-445X.
- ↑ "Prof. Dr. Loreen Maseno - Alttestamentliche Wissenschaften". www.uni-bamberg.de (in Deutsch). 2026-06-25. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
- ↑ Maseno, Loreen (2020-08-28). "Gender and Christology in Africa for social and political involvement". STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal. 6 (1). doi:10.17570/stj.2020.v6n1.a04. ISSN 2413-9467.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Maseno, Loreen (2021-08-27). "African women's theology and the re-imagining of community in Africa". HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies. 77 (2): 6. ISSN 2072-8050.
- ↑ "Prof. Dr. Loreen Maseno". www.humboldt-foundation.de. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
- ↑ "Google Scholar". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
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