Isaac Osei-Tutu studied Philosophy and Sociology at the St. Paul’s Catholic Seminary in Accra, Ghana and Catholic Theology at the University of Augsburg, Germany and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He holds a Diplom in Theology (Dipl.-Theol. Univ., equivalent to MTheol.) from the University of Augsburg and a Canonical Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from the University of Fribourg.

His first area of specialization is Theology, specifically Old Testament Exegesis. In his Diplom thesis, he undertook an exegetical and theological interpretative study of the Sacrifice of Abraham in Genesis 22:1-19, dwelling on Abraham’s unreserved “Here I am” to God, irrespective of putting his own future, embodied in his son Isaac, at stake. His Licentiate dissertation dealt with the syntactical and semantical analysis of Psalm 138, with a focus on the characterization of David and of JHWH by the Psalmist.

In 2018, Isaac Osei-Tutu received a joint Master of Arts degree in the interdisciplinary study of Religion, Economics and Politics (MA RWP, JD) from the University of Zurich. His second area of specialization, which stems from this interdisciplinary field of study, is, therefore, Economics of Religion. His research for the MA RWP expounded on the religious-economic strategies and operations of major Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches in Ghana, making a case study of the religious economies of Pastors Mensa Anamoah Otabil, Dag Heward-Mills and Eastwood Anaba, the frontrunners of Neo-Pentecostalism/Charismatics in the country.

Currently, Isaac Osei-Tutu is undertaking a PhD project in the framework of a Cotutelle de thèse (Joint Doctoral Supervision) at the Centre for Religion, Economics and Politics (ZRWP/CREP) of the University of Zurich, Switzerland and the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) of the University of Bayreuth, Germany.

• Theology
• Business and Corporate Ethics
• Economics of Religion
• Pentecostalism and Charismatics
• Christianity in Africa
• Religion and Politics
• Religion and Development
• Biblical Exegesis

The PhD project is being carried out under the topic: “Entrepreneurship and Prosperity Gospel – A Business and Corporate Ethical Perspective on the Economy of Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic Megachurches in Ghana”. In this interdisciplinary doctoral research, he is examining the place and role of business ethics in the prosperity message and entrepreneurial activities of Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic organizations in Ghana.

For more details on the project, see Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies

• Osei-Tutu, Isaac (2021): “The Utopia of Hope: Hope as Underlying Utopia-Motive in Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic Economy”; upcoming at the African Studies Association Germany (VAD e.V.), organized by the Centre for Interdisciplinary African Studies (ZIAF) at the Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
• Osei-Tutu, Isaac (2021): “Religion and Culture as Bifurcate Instrument of Peace, Acceptance and Integration Employed by Chinese Christians in Ghana” under “Religion – Religion and Peace Studies” at the 2021 Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy (ACERP 2021), International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Tokyo, Japan
• Osei-Tutu, Isaac (2021): “Sino-Pentecostalism/Charismatics: The Cultural, Religious, and Ethical Negotiations of Chinese Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians in the Ghanaian Religio-Scape” under “Interfaith Dialogue” at the 2021 Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy (ACERP 2021), International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Tokyo, Japan
• Osei-Tutu, Isaac (2019): “The Understanding of Religion Among Neo-Pentecostals/Charismatics in Ghana and Its Impact on Developments in the Christian Religious Field in the Country” under “The Concept of Religion and Its Consequences for the Study of Religion in and from Africa” at the 33rd Conference of the German Association for the Study of Religion / 33. Fachtagung der Deutschen Vereinigung für Religionswissenschaft (DVRW 2019), Hannover, Germany
• Osei-Tutu, Isaac (2019): “Contemporary Pentecostalism/Charismatics in Ghana and the Gospel of Prosperity” under “African Studies – Christianity in Africa” at the 2019 Bayreuth International Summer School (BISS 2019), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany

• 2020/21 Winter Semester: BA/MA Seminar: “Pentecostal Churches in and from Africa”, in partnership with Prof. Dr. Eva Spies, Chair for the Study of Religion with Focus on Africa, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Bayreuth, Germany
• 2020 Fall Semester: Tutor at the MA Lecture “Ethics for Economists”, ZRWP/CREP, in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Andreas Scherer, Chair of Foundations of Business Administration and Theories of the Firm, Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics, University of Zurich

• Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS), University of Bayreuth, Germany
• Society for Business Ethics (SBE)
• African Studies Association in Germany / Vereinigung für Afrikawissenschaften in Deutschland (VAD e.V.)
• Swiss Society for the Study of Religion (SSSR) /Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Religionswissenschaft (SGR)
• International Academic Forum (IAFOR)
• Society for the Study of Theology (SST)