Princeton Theological Seminary Hosts 'Faith and Food' Workshop, Oct. 29–31
Explore how belief, culture, and culinary traditions shape human flourishing.
Public program features keynotes by Benjamin Zeller and Ruth Illman and an evening Food Bazaar
Food is never 'just food.' It is memory & ritual, ethics & power, culture & community. We aim to reimagine how religious communities can advance food security, sustainability, and human flourishing.”
PRINCETON, NJ, UNITED STATES, October 14, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Princeton Theological Seminary will convene an international workshop, FAITH AND FOOD: The Intersectionality of Belief, Politics, Security, and Human Flourishing, from Wednesday–Thursday, October 29–31, 2025, bringing scholars, faith leaders, and practitioners together to examine how food shapes identity, ritual, policy, and human well-being. While the three-day workshop includes invitation-only working sessions, the keynote lectures and an evening Food Bazaar are free and open to the public. — Afe Adogame, Faith & Food Convener and Professor of Religion and Society
Public Program (Open to All):
Keynote #1 — “Thinking about Method in the Study of Religion and Food”
Dr. Benjamin E. Zeller, Lake Forest College
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 10:30–11:30 a.m. | Theron Room, Wright Library (Hybrid)
Keynote #2 — “Nordic Jewish Foodways: Vernacular Religion in Practice”
Dr. Ruth Illman, Åbo Akademi University
Thursday, Oct. 30, 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Theron Room, Wright Library (Hybrid)
Food Bazaar
Thursday, Oct. 30, 6:00–8:00 p.m. | Mackay Dining Hall
Taste and purchase ethnic foods, meet growers and chefs, and explore home-gardening techniques. Admission is free.
About the Workshop
The convening probes how food practices—growing, preparing, sharing, and governing—intersect with religious traditions, migration, culture, public health, justice, and sustainability. Topics include faith, food, and human flourishing; food, culture, and identity; food justice and public health; ritual foods and religious symbolism; and sustainable production and consumption. The workshop will inform a major research initiative and a forthcoming grant proposal, with a second workshop planned in the Global South in 2026.
“Food is never ‘just food.’ It is memory and ritual, ethics and power, culture and community,” said Afe Adogame, Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Religion and Society at Princeton Theological Seminary and convener of the workshop. “By bringing theologians, social scientists, faith practitioners, and policy voices into the same room, and inviting our neighbors to learn, taste, and converse, we aim to reimagine how religious communities can advance food security, sustainability, and human flourishing from Princeton to the Global South.”
Featured Research Themes
In addition to the public keynotes and Food Bazaar, the Faith and Food Workshop will host three days of interdisciplinary sessions featuring scholars and practitioners from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.
Topics include:
- Food, faith, and human flourishing — theological and ethical reflections on sustainability, ecology, and social justice (Olusanya Festus Ogunmola; Graham Harvey).
- Religion, migration, and identity — how immigrant and diasporic communities use food to sustain belonging and resist marginalization (Janice McLean-Farrell; Ozoz Sokoh).
- Faith, conflict, and food security — religious and economic dimensions of resource scarcity and community resilience (Ajani Garba Abdul-Ganiyu; Albert Ayeni).
- Gender, culture, and ritual practice — women’s roles in shaping culinary identities and spiritual meaning (Annie Hauck; Telesia Musili).
- Scripture, ethics, and commensality — reinterpreting ancient and contemporary food practices within theological and philosophical frameworks (KC Choi; Ulrich Berner; Yudit Kornberg Greenberg).
- Global perspectives on sustainability and cooperation — models for faith-based agricultural transformation and food justice (Raphael Mrode; Natasha Mwila).
Together, these themes will explore and illustrate how food functions as both a spiritual and social language, as well as a medium for negotiating power, expressing identity, and envisioning just and sustainable futures. In doing so, they lay the foundation for a sustained, interdisciplinary effort to advance research and practice at the intersection of faith, food, and human flourishing.
“The conversations that begin here will not end here,” Adogame noted. “Our aim is to build a living network of scholars, practitioners, and faith leaders committed to transforming how food systems serve people and the planet.”
Media & Registration
Members of the media are welcome. To RSVP or request interviews, please contact Linda Romano at linda.romano@ptsem.edu.
About Princeton Theological Seminary
Founded in 1812, Princeton Theological Seminary equips women and men for faithful, compassionate, and competent leadership in ministry, academia, and public life — preparing them to serve Christ with integrity, scholarship and joy.
Linda Romano
Princeton Theological Seminary
+15163141913 ext.
email us here
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