Course summary

Religion continues to shape our society and our understanding of the world. Deepening our knowledge of religious beliefs and practices is essential to responding to some of the greatest ethical and political challenges we face. On this course you'll explore how religious traditions shape our understanding of the world, and how they sometimes facilitate, disrupt, or otherwise influence society and culture. You'll learn about the relevance of theology, sacred scripture, religious ritual, and faith-based organisations to contemporary issues such as climate change, terrorism, global development, gender, sexuality and race discrimination, migration and diaspora. You'll also critically interrogate the concept of ‘religion’ in the context of different theories of politics, policy and social change, engaging with hotly debated and contested topics such secularisation, religious identity and representation, and religion and the public sphere. The course draws on academic expertise from across the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, including theological, philosophical, sociological and anthropological approaches to the topic. Our academic staff approach religion from a variety of angles, but they share a commitment to studying and teaching about religion critically and emphatically as a relevant factor in understanding our contemporary world. We have active links with charitable, activist, community and faith organisations in the city. As a postgraduate student, you'll be able to participate in our Centre for Religion and Public Life, and Centre for Philosophy of Religion and Theology. You'll be encouraged to join in with our fortnightly seminars and occasional research days, showcasing the work of our very own researchers at Leeds as well as external scholars. This course can be used for preparing for further research or to develop within any sector where religion or theology is relevant (for example the voluntary, advocacy, NGO, or policy sectors), or simply to further your interest in this fascinating area. You can study full-time or part-time, and we also offer postgraduate certificate (PGCert) and postgraduate diploma (PGDip) versions of the course.