Paul C. Johnson

Paul C. Johnson is Professor of History and Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan, where he maintains an active research program examining religious practices in the Americas, particularly Brazil and the Caribbean. His scholarly work bridges religious studies, anthropology, and cultural theory with a focus on questions of agency, embodiment, and religious transformation.

Johnson's research interests center on hybrid forms of agency in religious contexts, the relationship between religion and secrecy, and church-state relations. His work explores how religious practices navigate questions of autonomy, embodiment, and cultural transmission across the African diaspora. He has developed innovative frameworks for understanding 'nearhuman' agency in religious contexts, examining how figures that operate without conscious volition become central to religious practice and revelation.

His publications demonstrate a consistent trajectory exploring religious agency across different cultural contexts, with particular attention to Brazilian religious traditions, Caribbean religious movements, and transnational religious networks. Johnson's work shows increasing theoretical sophistication while maintaining deep ethnographic and historical engagement with specific religious communities.

• Guggenheim Fellowship (2008)
• Antonio Cândido Prize, Latin American Studies Association
• Cheiron Book Prize Honorable Mention
• Best Book Award, American Academy of Religion (2003)
• NEH Fellowship Award (2003-2004)

As Editor of the interdisciplinary journal Comparative Studies in Society and History (CSSH), Johnson influences scholarly discourse across multiple disciplines. His current research continues to explore the intersections of art, religion, and material culture through his project My Mutilated Gods: Rodin, Rilke, Simmel.