James Jay Carney

James Jay Carney, PhD is a Professor of Theology and African Studies at Creighton University's College of Arts and Sciences. He also directs the Christian Spirituality Program and Graduate School initiatives in Rwanda and Uganda.

• Education: B.A. (University of Arkansas), M.Div. (Duke University Divinity School), Ph.D. in Church History (Catholic University of America)
• Research: Focuses on modern Catholic history in Africa, political theology, missiology, and the intersection of sport and spirituality.

His notable works include award-winning books such as Rwanda Before the Genocide (Oxford, 2014) and For God and My Country (Cascade, 2020). Carney’s scholarship examines church-state relations, ethnic discourse, and reconciliation mechanisms post-genocide.

• Scientific Awards:
  • 2015 Bethwell A. Ogot Book Prize (African Studies Association)
  • African Studies Association Honors Distinction on Dissertation
• Grants:
  • U.S. Fulbright Scholarship (Uganda)
  • Haddix Sabbatical Research Grant (Creighton University)
  • Kripke Center grants for postcolonial Ugandan research
  • George F. Haddix Fund for DRC grassroots ecclesiology

Carney teaches courses on the Christian tradition, sport spirituality, and African Christianity. He has led student trips to Tanzania and Rwanda and contributed to Holocaust & Genocide Studies curriculum development.