Paul Williams

Paul Williams is an Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), part of the College of Arts and Sciences. He holds a PhD in History of Religions from the University of Chicago (2000), with research focusing on socio-cultural changes in religious identity in Africa and North America, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Israel, and Morocco. His teaching spans African Religions, Islam, Christianity, and Religion in America, and he has developed multiple curricula for UNO's Religious Studies program.

Williams served as Chairperson of the Religious Studies Department (nearly 3 years) and Editor of the Journal of Religion and Film. He co-founded UNO's Islamic Studies program, contributing to the establishment of an Islamic Studies minor. His research employs oral history methods to center Congolese perspectives on their religious history, challenging Western missionary-centric narratives.

He received an NEH Fellowship in 2002 to study early Islamic states, enabling annual Islam course offerings since 2003. Williams also coordinates dual enrollment programs and collaborates across disciplines, including co-developing a graduate course on religious diversity in education. His service extends to community engagement through lectures on interfaith dialogue, religious identity, and global religious trends.

Publications include peer-reviewed articles in Annales Aequatoria, Discipliana, and the Journal of Religion and Film, as well as contributions to the Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement (2006). Recent presentations include a 2010 video on liturgical innovations in Congolese Christian history.