Religion and Public Life

In your first semester you’ll take a core module that develops your understanding of the research process, equipping you with a range of skills from different disciplines. You’ll learn about interviewing and other forms of fieldwork as well as working with legal and historical documents, the use of theory and ethics among others.

A second core module in the following semester will build your knowledge of the role of religion in public life, focusing on issues such as the meaning of secular and post-secular society, tolerance and religious freedom, multiculturalism and globalisation. By the end of the year, you’ll be able to showcase the knowledge and skills you’ve gained with your dissertation – an independently researched project on a topic of your choice – and you can even choose to extend your dissertation to go into greater depth.

You’ll also have the chance to select from a range of optional modules. These will allow you to specialise in topics that suit your interests, from religion and global development to Islam in the modern world. You’ll take two optional modules if you do the standard dissertation, or you can swap one for the extended dissertation.

If you choose to study part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.

Course structure

These are typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.

Modules Year 1

Compulsory modules

There are three compulsory modules throughout the year including the Dissertation (60 credits). You’ll then choose two optional modules, or just one if you select the Extended Dissertation (90 credits).

• Religion and Society: Research Process and Methods 30 credits
• Religion, Society and Public Life 30 credits

Optional modules

• Unfinished Business: Trauma, Cultural Memory and the Holocaust 30 credits
• Modernity and the Jews 30 credits
• Science and Religion Historically Considered 30 credits
• Sin, Public Discourse and Public Life 30 credits
• Religions and Global Development 30 credits
• Contemporary Issues in Religion and Gender 30 credits
• Muslims, Multiculturalism and the State 30 credits
• Religion, Politics and the Future: From Apocalypse to Utopia 30 credits
• Theology and Public Life 30 credits
• Research Project (Theology and Religious Studies) 30 credits
• Special Options in Theology and Religious Studies 30 credits

For more information on typical modules, read Religion and Public Life MA Full Time in the course catalogue

For more information on typical modules, read Religion and Public Life MA Part Time in the course catalogue

Learning and teaching

Most of our taught modules use a combination of lectures and seminars, which allow you to discuss the issues arising from your lectures and reading. Independent study is also an important element of this programme, as it allows you to develop your skills and gives you space to form your own ideas.

Assessment

We also use a range of assessment methods. These usually include essays, but some modules may involve project reports and presentations. Modules taught by other Schools within the University may also use different methods.