Rev. Dr. Paul A. Williams, PhD – Biography
An Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), Dr. Paul A. Williams was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and raised in both Congo and Texas; he completed his education in Illinois, and has lived in Nebraska for twenty years.
During his academic training, he earned a BA degree in Anthropology and Asian Studies (1978) from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in Religion from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest. At the University of Chicago, he earned an MA in Religious Studies (1981) and a Ph.D. in History of Religions (2000), with a dissertation entitled "The Disciples of Christ Congo Mission (DCCM), 1897-1932: A Missionary Community in Colonial Central Africa."
As a full-time professor at UNO, Dr. Williams regularly offers courses in African Religions, History of Christianity, Islam, New Testament, World Religions, and other topics. He has served as the Chair of the Religious Studies department for over a decade, and he is also the co-founder and Associate Director of the Goldstein Center for Human Rights.
An ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Dr. Williams has served congregations in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Illinois and Wisconsin and in the Presbytery of the Missouri River Valley (PCUSA). He currently serves the Anderson Grove Presbyterian Church in Bellevue, NE, and he serves on the Board of Directors of Education Congo, a nonprofit committed to scholarship support and capacity building in higher education in the DRC.
An Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), Dr. Paul A. Williams was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and raised in both Congo and Texas; he completed his education in Illinois, and has lived in Nebraska for twenty years.
During his academic training, he earned a BA degree in Anthropology and Asian Studies (1978) from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in Religion from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest. At the University of Chicago, he earned an MA in Religious Studies (1981) and a Ph.D. in History of Religions (2000), with a dissertation entitled "The Disciples of Christ Congo Mission (DCCM), 1897-1932: A Missionary Community in Colonial Central Africa."
As a full-time professor at UNO, Dr. Williams regularly offers courses in African Religions, History of Christianity, Islam, New Testament, World Religions, and other topics. He has served as the Chair of the Religious Studies department for over a decade, and he is also the co-founder and Associate Director of the Goldstein Center for Human Rights.
An ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Dr. Williams has served congregations in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Illinois and Wisconsin and in the Presbytery of the Missouri River Valley (PCUSA). He currently serves the Anderson Grove Presbyterian Church in Bellevue, NE, and he serves on the Board of Directors of Education Congo, a nonprofit committed to scholarship support and capacity building in higher education in the DRC.