Religion, Culture and Ethics BA

Introduces religious traditions from Africa and Asia, including Traditional African Religion, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Daoism.

This module is worth 10 credits.

This module introduces students to the development of Western Christian theology, both Protestant and Catholic, from the Enlightenment to the present.

It surveys the challenges posed to Christian faith by modernity and a range of theological responses to these challenges.

It also introduces modern Christian approaches to ethics.

Watch Dr Michael Burdett give an overview of this module in less that 90 seconds.

This module is worth 10 credits.

The Bible is a perennial bestseller and its influence on Western culture is unparalleled. This influence is not always obvious though, nor limited to the 'religious sphere'. In the Arts - whether Bach or The Beatles, Michelangelo or Monty Python - the use of the Bible is extremely varied. This module explores the ways the Bible is drawn upon in art, music and literature ranging from ancient Jewish synagogue mosaics and early Christian iconography, to contemporary - secular - films and music. Students are encouraged not only to engage with case studies of works of art which demonstrate the use and influence of the Bible, but also to consider critically the way in which art, music and literature - both 'religious' and 'secular' - function as biblical interpretations, and as part of the Bible's 'reception-history'. The module is taught by a variety of theologians in the department specialising in different areas of the Bible's reception. Introductory contributions on the influence of the Bible on, and through, a range of authors, musicians and artists can be seen in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies' Bibledex video project.

This module will provide an overview of the most important philosophical ideas, theories, and arguments that are of special interest to students of theology. The module will begin with the Greek 'natural theology' of the pre-Socratic thinkers and end with the post-modern 'turn to religion' of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida. 

This module is worth 10 credits.

This module examines the narrative and textual foundations of the Islamic tradition including the Qur'an, the prophetic tradition and the life of the Prophet Muhammad. You’ll also look at the development and structure of Islamic society, law, doctrine and spirituality through the classical period, and Muslim responses to challenges posed by modernity including questions of gender and the nation state.

This module is worth 10 credits.

This module will introduce Judaism in the period from its formation to modernity. We will study major texts of Second Temple and Late Antique Judaism, the developments of medieval Jewish culture under Islamic and Christian rule, and key topics in early modern and contemporary Judaism. Special emphasis will be given to the textual strategies of Jewish readings of the Bible, to the continuing important of the Temple as a central religious symbol, and to the impact of the foundation of the state of Israel. The module will give students an overview of Judaism as a diverse tradition that has always engaged its Roman, Christian, Persian, Muslim and modern Western surroundings.

This module is worth 10 credits.

This module is an introduction to the literature, history and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament or Tanakh.

Attention will be paid to the biblical text as history, as literature and as scripture in the Jewish and Christian traditions, both in general and with particular reference to specific texts.

Watch Dr Cat Quine explain why she thinks teaching biblical studies is far from boring.

This module is worth 10 credits.

This module will cover the following themes: the canon and text of the New Testament; the Roman, Greek and Jewish background to the New Testament; source, form and redaction criticism of the Synoptic Gospels; the historicity of the Synoptic Gospels and Acts, and the authenticity of Paul's letters.

This module is worth 10 credits.

Explore the landscape of religions in modern British society, with particular emphasis on:

• Christianity
• Judaism
• Islam
• secularism
• nonreligion

You'll be introduced to leading theories of the sociological study of religion, including models for interfaith contact and dialogue, and examine how these theories and approaches developed.

Through groupwork you'll research an interfaith topic for a class presentation, learning to communicate your ideas to a supportive audience.

This module is worth 20 credits.

In this module you’ll explore the way in which a wide range of literary texts engage in religious thought and the way they ‘perform’ or ‘do’ theology. Topics vary but can include investigations into God and the Gothic, the rise of the fantasy genre, Dante, and Holocaust literature.

This module offers students a grounding in the various ways in which narrative shapes theological thinking, looking at the Yale School in particular and their promotion of 'narrative theology'. This will include questions about the tragic nature of the gospel, its 'realistic' character, the history of ways of reading scripture, and the relation of narrative and liturgy. It also looks at the ways throughout Christian history whereby narrative has been used to describe the religious life through autobiography (Augustine's Confessions) and lives of the saints. There will also be a comparative element in which we shall look at Jewish and Sufi story-telling as well as life-writing in Judaism and Islam and holocaust writings. 

This is a 10,000 word individual project based on a geographical topic involving fieldwork and/or secondary data, and agreed by the candidate with their tutor and a specialist supervisor.

Virtue ethics is an ancient form of moral practice, which has also come back into prominence in recent years. It believes that ethics belongs to the lived experience of a tradition and is therefore narrative in character, offering itself naturally to literary embodiment. We shall study key ancient Greek texts, such as Aristotle's Nichomachaen Ethics and Theophrastus' work on character, as well as Cicero, Aquinas and contemporary reconsturals of the virtue tradition by Alasdair MacIntyre and Stanley Hauerwas. Virtue ethics will then be analysed in literary texts, such as Homer's Iliad, the medieval poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and Graham Green's Brighton Rock. Students will also do a short presentation, applying virtue ethics to a particular moral problem or specific form of activity, e.g nursing, war, or teaching.

Watch Professor Alison Milbank give an overview of this module in less than 80 seconds.

Examine British society during what is often regarded as the last great age of Christian faith, when Britain was at its height as a world power.

Topics covered include:

• the changing relationship between the established Churches, nonconformity and Roman Catholicism
• the concept of church reform
• the internal dynamics of the major Christian denominations
• the expansion of the Jewish community
• revivalism
• crises of faith
• worship and church building
• missions

In this module you’ll examine the prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible, considering the nature of prophecy in the Hebrew Bible and in the wider ancient Near Eastern context. You’ll examine biblical prophetic texts as literature such as: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel as well as the narratives about the prophets in the Pentateuch/Torah, historical books, and Latter Prophets. 

This module will examine a range of ethical issues in the New Testament in light of their cultural and historical context. Topics may include, for example, love of neighbour, martyrdom, and empire. 

This module explores the role of women and gender in the texts in and around the New Testament. The epistles, canonical gospels, and apocalypse will be examined alongside other contemporaneous evidence in order to construct a picture of not only the roles of female characters in literature and visual art, but also some of the socio-historical realities for real women. Students will learn about the special problems historians face when searching for the history of women in antiquity, and will practice using a variety of interpretive approaches, both historical and theological, to form their own careful scholarly analyses.  

This module builds on the year one introductory biblical language modules (Biblical Greek or Biblical Hebrew) and aims to develop your ability to handle the biblical text in its original languages.

The basis of the module is the study and translation of individual texts with analysis of vocabulary, grammar and style. By the end of the module you’ll be able to read and produce a detailed exegesis of a range of biblical texts in their original language. 

The Eucharist has been known by many names over its history: the ‘Eucharist’, the ‘Agape’, the ‘Divine Liturgy’, the ‘Mass’, the ‘Lord’s Supper’ and ‘Holy Communion’. The variety of names suggests not only its significance for Christians but also the diverse ways in which it has been understood over the past two millennia. In this module you’ll discuss topics such as the practice and development of the Eucharist as well as central disputes and contemporary issues relating to it. 

At the heart of Christian theology lie a set of questions about Jesus: Who is he? What did he do? Why did he die? How do Christians understand him to be present in their lives today? This module will examine the answers that Christian theology has traditionally given to these questions, from the early debates about the humanity and divinity of Christ through to contemporary debates about the plausibility of the Resurrection. The module also serves as an introduction to Christian systematic theology as the rigorous intellectual examination of Christian beliefs and practices.

The module provides an overview of the most important theological and philosophical ideas, theories and arguments that Jewish thought developed from the Hellenistic period of Philo of Alexandria to the postmodern times of Emmanuel Levinas. The method of instruction will combine historical and speculative approaches, using the perspective of the 'history of ideas'. 

This module examines how Muslims have addressed fundamental theological and philosophical questions relating to their faith. These questions concern the foundations of religious knowledge and authority, God's unity and attributes, God's relationship to the world, divine determinism and human freedom, prophecy, and eschatology. Key figures will include the rationalist Mu'tazili and Ash'ari theologians, the philosophers Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and the influential medieval intellectuals al-Ghazali, Ibn al-'Arabi, and Ibn Taymiyya. Selections from primary sources will be read in translation, and special attention will be given to the integration of late antique philosophical traditions into Islamic theology.

Watch Dr Jon Hoover give an overview of this module in just 60 seconds.

Ibn Taymiyya was one of the foremost Muslim scholars of the medieval period, and he is well known today for inspiring movements ranging from violent extremism to Salafism and reformist modernism. Ibn Taymiyya campaigned for jihad against the Mongol invaders of Syria, and he landed in jail several times for challenging the religious and political status quo. He also wrote prolifically on law, theology, philosophy, spirituality, Christianity and Shi‘ism in an attempt to reform and commend the Islamic religion. This module examines Ibn Taymiyya’s life and thought and trace his legacy to the present, and it will ask how he is best characterised: as a jihadist, a theologian, or perhaps something else. 

In this module you’ll explore significant problems in the philosophy of religion, such as the credibility of the existence of God, the relation between religion and science, the relation between religion and morality, the problem of evil, and the possibility of an after-life. There will also be discussion of significant themes such as the nature of being, of faith, of religious experience, of religious language, and of religious love. You will consider significant thinkers including Plato, Anselm, Aquinas, Hume, Kant, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Freud and Weil. 

Examining the major theologians of the last century this module will ask – what is nature, and what is grace? Likewise, what is natural and what is supernatural? This module will explore how theologians (Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox) have articulated this division and the many profound consequences that have arisen from such attempts This module will trace the development of various heated debates that tackled the above questions and in so doing influenced the shape of twentieth century theology, the idea of secularism, the relation between philosophy and theology, and lastly, between theology and science. 

What is Darwinism? Is it metaphysics, a philosophy, or ‘merely’ science? Does it entail atheism? Could it even accommodate theism? This module will explore Darwin’s theory of evolution, outlining its historical development up to the present day and considering the various debates that shaped its formation. You’ll explore the theory’s application in terms of Social-Darwinism, Socio-biology, and Evolutionary Psychology and the consequences this might have for our own self-understanding, and for how we interpret the world. The module is taught by Conor Cunningham, whose book Darwin’s Pious Idea and BBC documentary on the topic have ignited much debate.