Bio:
I identify as a theological anthropologist with a background in missiology and contextual theology. I teach units in missiology. I was educated in Nigeria, the Netherlands, and Australia. I was a former Commonwealth Scholar on the International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) at the University of Divinity between 2013 and 2016.
My research expertise lies in qualitative and quantitative research. I have successfully designed and co-delivered qualitative research projects focusing on the inclusion of African refugees and asylum seekers in Victoria. In 2022, I was awarded a competitive industry grant of over $55,000 from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation for a research project investigating the deconstruction of negative public perceptions of mental health among women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. I’m currently in the final stages of implementing a research project exploring the integration of African migrant communities in Australia using the European-developed Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) (with Associate Professor Darrell Jackson and Dr Alessia Passarelli) funded by a Collaborative Large Grant of just over $38,000.00 from the University of Divinity.
Between September 2023 and November 2024, I served as the College’s Interim Director of Research, overseeing the research agenda, supporting all HDR students, and assisting students and faculty with the HREC application process and competitive grant applications.
I sit on the board of Action Research Centre Ltd – a not-for-profit organisation that combines research with advocacy for social change on issues affecting migrant communities – as its founding CEO and Principal Researcher.
My research strengths lie in the areas of faith and development, missiology, new religious movements, migration and diaspora movements, Pentecostalism, and contextual theologies. I am particularly interested in how theology addresses perennial social (and human) concerns in the postmodern world.
Qualifications:
- PhD (University of Divinity, Australia)
- Graduate Certificate of Research Management (Deakin University, Australia)
- MA (VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
- BA (Hons) Religious Studies (University of Ibadan, Nigeria)
- B.Th. (Hons) (The Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso, Nigeria)
Recent publications:
- Leslie, M., Murtagh, K., Prasad, N., & Olorunnisola, T.S. (2023). “An Exploration of Australian Online Government Portals for Women Experiencing Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Violence Against Women, 1–25. https://Doi:10.1177/10778012231179209.
- Abordo, P., Anastasov, A., Bridgeman, C., Harvey, L., Khalili, C., Olorunnisola, T. S., Surany, D., & Yuill, J. (2023). “Living Through Family Violence in Australia: An Integrative Literature Review of Children’s Mental Health Outcomes.” Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cfp0000243.
- Cronshaw, D., Hyun, H., Laughlin, P., Olorunnisola, T. S., & Parker, S. (2023). “Mission as Hospitality with Refugees and Other Migrants: Exploring Ross Langmead’s “Guests and Hosts” in Australian Churches.” Mission Studies 40, 150–176. https://doi:10.1163/15733831-12341890.
- Lester, H., Ryakhovskaya, Y. & Olorunnisola, T. S (2023). “Asset-Based Community Development Approaches to Resilience among Refugees and Recent Migrant Communities in Australia: a scoping review.” International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care. (May), DOI https://10.1108/IJMHSC-09-2022-0098.
- Jackson, D., Erwich, R., Flynn, E., and Olorunnisola, T.S. (2022). “Equipping Families and Friends to Offer Spiritual Care to People Living with Dementia: Findings from a Meta-Synthesis.” Religions 13: 462. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13050462.
- Titus S. Olorunnisola (2020). “Rhapsody of Religious Violence in Nigeria: Dynamics, Case Studies and Government Responses.” International Journal of Social Science Research. Vol. 8, N0. 1 (January): 17-37. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ijssr.v8i1.15394.
- Titus S. Olorunnisola (2020). “Migration and the Trans-nationalization of African Pentecostalism in Europe: Encounter and Prospects.” Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal. Vol 7 No 1 (January): 66-75. Doi: https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.71.7163.
- Titus S. Olorunnisola (2019). “Beyond Interreligious Dialogue: Dialogue of Life as a means to Peaceful Coexistence and Mutuality in Nigeria.” European Scientific Journal 15. No 17, (June): 28-45. Doi: URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.19044/esj.2019.v15n17p28.
- Titus S. Olorunnisola (2019). “John Hick’s Global Theology of Death and Immortality in Conversation with the Yoruba-African Philosophy of Afterlife.” Journal of Philosophy, Culture and Religion, Vol. 44, (June): 31-50. Doi: https://doi/7176/JPCR/44-04.
- Titus S. Olorunnisola (2015). “The Church in Conversation for Social Transformation: From Christology to praxis.” International Journal of Philosophy and Theology 3, No. 2, (December): 65-72 (USA).
Units currently teaching:
- Witness, Service, and Discipleship: Mission in Many Places and Many Voices
- Human Research Methodologies
Research Areas:
- Diaspora Mission
- Migration and theology
- Mission theology
- Intercultural/contextual theologies
- Pentecostalism
- Faith and family violence