Nigerian doctoral candidate Omowumi Omole receives $27,000 US fellowship for research on Pentecostal marriage teachings

Omowumi Omole, who is pursuing a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Humanities at the University of California, has received the 2026 Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship from the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. This $27,000 grant is designed to fund her dissertation fieldwork and data collection efforts in Lagos, Nigeria, and within Nigerian diaspora congregations across the United States.

The fellowship announcement states that this funding will relieve Omole of her teaching duties during the Fall 2026 term, enabling her to devote her full attention to her research. Her dissertation investigates how Pentecostal marriage teachings influence women’s political subjectivity, especially their perspectives on laws designed to protect them from violence. A key area of her study is the continuing discussion regarding the non-criminalization of marital rape in Nigeria, an issue that has attracted fresh public interest following the widely publicized death of gospel artist Osinachi Nwachukwu.

Omole’s ethnographic work follows women attending marriage classes at two Lagos churches, examining attitudes toward bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. She has also conducted research with Nigerian diaspora congregations in Dallas, Texas, and plans to extend the study to a church in Houston to compare how the same teachings are embodied abroad.

Background

The Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship is an annual award aimed at assisting doctoral candidates across the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts to make steady progress on their dissertations. The 2026 cohort includes scholars from a range of disciplines, with Omole’s project standing out for its focus on gender, religion, and law in a Nigerian context.

Pentecostal marriage teachings have long shaped social expectations in Nigeria, influencing how women perceive marriage, sexuality, and legal protections. The debate over marital rape legislation intensified after the death of Osinachi Nwachukwu, a gospel singer whose case sparked public discussion about the legal status of marital rape in the country.

Omole’s research builds on earlier studies of religious influence on gender norms, extending the inquiry to both local and diaspora settings. By comparing churches in Lagos with those in Dallas and Houston, the study seeks to identify transnational patterns in how Pentecostal teachings are interpreted and lived.

Why it matters

The fellowship enables Omole to conduct extensive fieldwork that could inform policy discussions on marital rape and women’s rights in Nigeria. By documenting women’s experiences in marriage classes, the research may provide empirical evidence for lawmakers and advocacy groups pushing for the criminalisation of marital rape.

The study also highlights the role of religious institutions in shaping political subjectivity, offering insights for scholars of religion, gender studies, and African politics. For the Nigerian diaspora, the research may reveal how cultural and religious practices are maintained or transformed abroad, affecting community cohesion and identity.

Stakeholders such as human‑rights organisations, legal reform advocates, and church leaders have expressed interest in the findings, given the potential to influence public opinion and legislative action.

What happens next

The fellowship covers Omole’s fieldwork for the Fall 2026 semester, after which she will analyse the collected data and draft her dissertation chapters. The university’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts will monitor her progress and may disseminate interim findings through academic conferences or publications. No specific dates for final dissertation submission or public release of the research have been announced.

The award also underscores the university’s commitment to supporting research that addresses pressing social issues in Africa and among its diaspora, signalling continued investment in scholarship that bridges local and transnational contexts.