Theology, Philosophy and History of Ideas

Religious philosophy explores what it means to be human, how we know what is true, the demands of ethics and virtue, the purpose and end of the universe, the nature and existence of God and much more. These are questions of intense intellectual complexity and profound importance, which have helped to guide vast movements of people over thousands of years.

Our research strengths include the study of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and atheist philosophies, in the distant past and the present day. We study how each tradition emerged, explore the debates within and between them, and grapple with questions that will shape the future of religious thought.

Main research interests

• Anglican ecclesiology
• Atheisms: historic, post-modern and contemporary
• Christian theology in the 20th century
• Church of England in colonial British North America
• English religion between the 17th and 19th centuries
• Hegel and German philosophy
• Jewish thought in continental philosophy
• Kabbalah and Jewish thought
• Medieval Islamic intellectual history
• Metaphysics and theology
• Patristics and early Christian thought
• Systematic theology

Key staff

• Richard Bell
• Agata Bielik-Robson
• Michael Burdett
• Conor Cunningham
• Jeremy Gregory
• Jon Hoover
• Alison Milbank
• Frances Knight (emeritus)
• Tom O’Loughlin (emeritus)