Theology and Religion MA

Core module

You will study one core module:

This module unpacks the core issues of researching in theology and religious studies.It addresses debates surrounding the design, conduct, ethics and evaluation of research in a multidisciplinary subject area. It prepares you to carry out independent research and to critically assess others’ research across a wide spectrum of approaches.
Assessment: 4,000-word essay

You will choose five optional modules from a range which typically includes:

• Advanced Biblical Studies
• Approaches to Studying Islam (modern)
• Approaches to Studying Islam (traditional)
• Auschwitz in History and Memory
• Contemporary Issues in Sikhism
• Feminism in the Muslim World
• God in Christian Philosophy
• Historical and Contemporary Debates on the Holocaust
• Holocaust and Genocide: Comparative and Interdisciplinary Perspectives
• Islam in Europe
• Islamic Philosophy
• Jewish Religious Responses to the Holocaust
• Muslim Thinkers of the Western World
• Political Islam
• Religion in Contemporary Global Politics I
• Religion in Contemporary Global Politics II
• Religious Nationalism
• Sikh Perspectives on Interreligious Relations
• The Bible and Sacred Space
• “Women” and Wellbeing: Soulful Dimensions

For more information, see our Theology and Religion postgraduate modules.

UK/EU students also have access to two additional options offered by Al-Mahdi Institute in Birmingham, as part of their collaboration with the Department of Theology and Religion:

Focussing on the philosophical and theological ideas of mediaeval Arabic thinkers, this module provides you with an opportunity to study a range of thinkers and their ideas, ranging from topics such as the Graeco-Arabic translation movement during the so-called Islamic ‘Golden Age’, to the impact of Neoplatonism on Islamic philosophy, the proofs of God’s existence, political philosophy, theological reactions to Hellenistic philosophy, ethics and philosophical Sufism. It aims to give you the ability to navigate original texts in their historical context, the ability to unpack and assess philosophical arguments, to appreciate the ecumenical nature of shared philosophical and theological concerns among Jews, Christians and Muslims, and the ability to assess the compatibility or lack thereof of faith and reason during the Islamic middle ages.
Assessment: 4,000-word essay

This module will you with an opportunity to review an extensive list of Western scholarship (in English) on key themes that have formed and continue to form the unique identity of Shi’ism within Islam. These themes could include: beginnings of Shi’ism; theological doctrines of Shi’ism; legal doctrines of Twelver Shi’ism; authority structures within Shi’ism; and contemporary issues of the Twelver Shi’i world.
Assessment: 4,000-word essay

In addition to your taught modules, you will conduct a piece of independent research with the support of a supervisor, culminating in a 15,000-word dissertation.

Please note that the optional module information listed on the website for this programme is intended to be indicative, and the availability of optional modules may vary from year to year. Where a module is no longer available we will let you know as soon as we can and help you to make other choices.