Religious Studies

What is religious studies?

Religious studies explores a range of philosophical and ethical issues surrounding religion, appealing to those who are curious about the ‘deeper things’ in life and the role and impact of religion on modern society. You do not need to be religious to study this, and we take an academic and critical approach to religious claims.

What will I study?

The course is divided into three areas: philosophy of religion, ethics and Christianity. You will study the issues surrounding whether God’s existence can be proved and the complexities surrounding religious language and miracles. In ethics, you will study both religious and non-religious ethical theories, investigating their strengths and weaknesses.

In Christianity, students study the history, developments, teachings and practices of one of the world’s most important religions and consider how far Christianity has evolved to meet the challenges of being a religious believer in the modern world. This paper involves elements of history, sociology, psychology and literary criticism and students will find that it complements these other subjects well.

Trips, visits and enrichments:

• Annual Rome trip – shared with Classics
• Visit to Auschwitz with the Holocaust Education Trust
• Excellent links with universities mean we go to at least one conference a year
• In recent years we have visited London, Manchester, Worcester, Oxford and other cities/universities to enjoy conferences and other extension opportunities

What can it lead to?

Religious studies is an excellent preparation for many humanities and social science degrees and is well respected by employers as evidence of well-developed religious literacy and skills of interpretation, analysis and evaluation. Whatever career you end up in, you’ll likely be working with other people and those from different ethical and cultural viewpoints from your own; religious studies is an excellent practical preparation for this. Former students have gone on to study a wide range of courses with some taking religious studies, philosophy or theology at university.