Centre for Philosophy of Religion and Theology

We are a large and diverse community of philosophers of religion and philosophical theologians. We are committed to expanding and diversifying the conversation in philosophy of religion.  

We work across a range of different religious traditions. These include Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, African traditional religions and Afro-Brazilian traditions. We are also interested in different ways of conceptualising religious belief and commitment. Our research takes an interdisciplinary approach, working at the intersections between philosophy and cognate disciplines such as theology, religious studies, sociology and anthropology.   

We are located in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, which provides a fertile environment for cross-disciplinary research in the fields of philosophy and religion, drawing together the perspectives of philosophers, scholars of religion, theologians, and historians of science.  In addition to bringing the tools of philosophical analysis to religious concepts and beliefs, our distinctive approach to philosophy of religion comprises close attention to several key aspects:

• living religion: the place of religion in people’s lives
• religious practices: rituals, sacrifice, forms of worship
• experience and emotions: happiness, depression, wellbeing
• narratives: scriptural, mythological, biographical, artistic
• a global perspective, encompassing religious traditions from every inhabited continent of the world

We have a diverse range of research interests, including:

• metaphysics and philosophy of mind
• christology and conceptions of God
• religion, mental health, neurodiversity and disability
• religion, in/justice, politics and ethics
• theodicy, the problem of evil and theologies of suffering
• Wittgensteinian approaches to philosophy of religion
• comparative and cross-cultural philosophy of religion
• Conceptions of religious belief and commitment

We offer supervision and support to students undertaking research degrees in a wide range of topics in the area of Philosophy of Religion. Supervision is available for PhD, MPhil and Masters by Research. Centre members are currently supervising PhD students on topics including Indian philosophy of religion; philosophy of religion, emotion and mental health; divine attributes; God and time.  

As well as supporting the work of research students in philosophy of religion, members of the Centre also contribute to modules and teaching in the field.

We offer a number of philosophy of religion modules at undergraduate level.

These can be taken as part of the Philosophy, Ethics and Religion (PER) BA, and are also offered as options on other degree courses, such as the Theology and Religious Studies (TRS) BA and Philosophy BA 

At postgraduate level we are involved in teaching modules as part of the online-only MA in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics.