Researcher of the Month, October 2024: Gloria Adichie

Gloria Adichie is a PhD candidate in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science.

Tell us a little about your research journey – how did you get to where you are right now? 

My research journey started during my undergraduate days at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where I studied Religion and Cultural Studies. It all began with a casual conversation with a fellow student who told me that my parents were wasting money sponsoring me to study religion, calling it an "irrelevant" course. That comment made me feel determined and it sparked a fire within me. Instead of doubting my path, I decided to dive deeper into religion, eager to prove its worth and to study it fully. What was meant to put me down became the drive behind my passion for research and studying religion.

After completing my undergraduate studies, I began the next phase of my academic journey by taking up a graduate research and teaching assistant position at my undergraduate university.  In this role, I taught undergraduate courses on Religion and Society as well as Church History. At the same time, I conducted research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Roman Catholic Church in southeastern Nigeria, an experience that deepened my understanding of how religion interacts with society in times of crisis.

Following this experience, I was awarded a Commonwealth Shared Scholarship to pursue a Master's degree in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice at Queen’s University in Belfast where I specialized in gender and conflict, alongside religion and peacebuilding, which significantly shaped my research interests. During this time, I published an article titled “Religion as a Transformative Agent in the Conflict between Farmers and Fulani Herders in Nigeria.” For my Master’s thesis, I focused on religious discourses and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which further sparked my interest in the intersection of religion, gender, and nationalism. My curiosity about women’s religious ideologies and their roles in nation-building led me to pursue my PhD research at the University of Leeds, where I am now studying the Women of the Indigenous People of Biafra (WIPOB) in the UK  to explore how religion, gender, and nationalism intersect in a postcolonial and diasporic context.

A key aspect of my PhD journey has been the guidance and support of my three amazing supervisors: Professor Adriaan van Klinken, Professor Tendai Mangena, and Dr Caroline Starkey. Each of them plays a significant role in my research journey.

What are you currently, or about to start, working on?

As I approach the second year of my PhD studies, I am currently focused on exploring the intersection of nationalism, religion, and gender within the context of the Women of the Indigenous People of Biafra (WIPOB) who reside in the UK. Specifically, my research seeks to investigate these women’s religious ideologies and how they imagine Biafra as their nation. To achieve this. I plan to use an art-based methodology, which will allow for a creative exploration of WIPOB’s beliefs and national ideologies. I am working on organizing an Uliart workshop in the UK where participants will have the opportunity to express their ideologies of Biafra artistically using Uli art—a traditional Igbo art form historically practised by Igbo women. By using Uli art, my research not only highlights the religious, spiritual, and gendered dimensions of these women’s experiences but also promotes indigenous epistemology as a central framework.

In what way(s) do you feel your research examines the role of religion in public life and the relationship between the two? 

My research explores the role of religion in public life in two ways: theoretically and methodologically. In the theoretical way, it examines how religion intersects with nationalism, particularly within the Biafran community. For many Biafrans, religion—especially Judeo-Christian beliefs and traditional Igbo spirituality—forms a core part of their identity. The Biafran nationalist movement often incorporates religious symbolism, portraying Biafrans as a "chosen people" or as victims of divine injustice. This creates a deep connection between religious faith and the nationalist cause, where religion strengthens the Biafran struggle for self-determination. Women also play a crucial role in the religious and traditional structures of Biafran nationalism. Within both Igbo communities and the diaspora, women are central to practices in Judaism, Christianity, and traditional Igbo religions. They are often seen as custodians of culture and spirituality, which influence gender roles, with religious teachings either empowering or limiting women’s public engagement.

Methodologically, my research uses Uli art to explore the religious elements within Biafran identity.  Uli motifs have historically, incorporated religious symbols and metaphors, reflecting women's spiritual ideologies. This form of artistic expression allows women to navigate their roles within religious frameworks while participating in the nationalist struggle, which seeks to redefine their collective identity. Through Uli art, Igbo women express their religious beliefs, cultural identity, and political aspirations both individually and collectively. In this way, Uli art becomes a bridge between the sacred and the political, the personal and the collective, making it an effective tool for examining the roles of religion in nationalist movements.