BA (Hons) Theology, Philosophy & Ethics

Liberation Theology was born out of the decision by the Catholic Church leaders to make an option for the poor in late 1960s Latin America. Combining theology with a Marxist ideology this new movement sought to ground concepts of salvation in contemporary struggles for liberation. This module will provide you with a knowledge, understanding and awareness of the context in which liberation theology exists. It will give you opportunities to gain academic and personal knowledge of liberation theology through reading, learning and through visits and meetings. Religion has not always had a positive encounter with either sexuality or racial minorities and these encounters continue to be an area that is attached with great importance. By examining political theologies from core thinkers such as Gutierrez, Loades and Cone, this module will offer you an opportunity to encounter issues of poverty, sexuality powerlessness and liberative theologies. It will explore the implications these global issues have for religions to provide insights into crucial areas of theology, ethics and society.

This module covers both critical approaches to understanding holocaust education and the ways in which it is delivered in contemporary society. It explores major concepts including: the relationship between perpetrators, rescuers, bystanders and victims; anti-Semitism at key points in British and European history; filmographic perspectives on Judaism, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust; the socio-political context surrounding various holocausts; wider aspects of the conflagration; and critical and pedagogic approaches to exploring holocausts in contemporary learning settings, including through the school curriculum and Holocaust Memorial Day. It considers why and how holocausts can be used as a vehicle for teaching issues relating to social justice and whether this is appropriate.

This module builds on the introductory themes studied at Level 4. The module content offers you the opportunity to explore selected accounts of psychic and paranormal activity in the UK and elsewhere, considering popular, scientific, and theological explanations for these phenomena. Historical mainstream and alternative religious teachings about angels, spirits, miracles, mystical experiences etc are explored, and a study is made of established mystery cults and sects, and the conspiracy theories which have often surrounded them.

This module builds on the introductory themes studied in Religion at the Fringes 1: New Religions and Cults. The module content offers you the opportunity to explore selected accounts of psychic and paranormal activity in the UK and elsewhere, considering popular, scientific and theological explanations for these phenomena. Historical mainstream and alternative religious teachings about angels, spirits, miracles, mystical experiences etc are explored, and a study is made of established mystery cults and sects, and the conspiracy theories which have often surrounded them.

This module covers a broad sweep of the of three major world religion’s attitudes towards and treatment of women particularly that of Christianity, Judasim and Islam. It looks at the contributions to theology and spirituality of some of outstanding women; scriptural women such as Esther, Deborah, Mary mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, historical women such as Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila and the more modern contributions made by feminist theologians such as Mary Daly and Rosemary Radford Ruether. This module provides you with an arena in which to apply previously acquired knowledge and skills in order to engage with the study of women thinkers and writers of theology and spirituality.

This module covers a broad sweep of the last 2,000 years of major world religion’s attitudes towards and treatment of women and in particular that of Eastern Religions and new religious movements. It looks at the contributions to theology and spirituality of some of outstanding women as well as the experiences of women who belong to these faiths. This module provides you with an arena in which to apply previously acquired knowledge and skills in order to engage with the study of women thinkers and writers of theology and spirituality.

This module will explore the historical relationship between the World’s main religions and the environment. It will place the issues that surround our environment in an historical context in order to ask whether these religious organisations contributed to the problems facing our planet since the advent of industrialisation and whether they can now contribute to a solution. It will explore sacred text from the Jewish Torah, the Bible, the Koran as well as the Eastern texts from Hinduism and Judaism in order to determine their significance in terms of Green issues. It will also explore the modern contributions from historians, such as Lynn White, through to theologians such as Sean McDonagh, as it assesses the contribution of the eco-theology movement to the wider disciplines of Theology and Ethics.

The module begins with a study of the nature of explanation in science. Key Philosophers of Science will be engaged, including Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, Paul Feyerdabend, Bas van Frassen and Imre Lakatos. Comparisons will be made with the rationality of theology. Models of the relationship between science and religion are explored and the possibility of a genuine dialogue between theology and science is raised. The module further explores the consequences of this work for key Christian concepts such as creation, providence, and miracle, freewill, time and eternity, the nature of human beings, natural and revealed theology. The relationship between these two disciplines, with their questions of compatibility or exclusivity, form a pivotal issue not just with regard to theology and society, but with regard to our contemporary society in general. This module is specifically designed to complement THP60122 Cogito ergo Sum: Questions and Answers module, which will explore the contemporary debate between scientists such as Richard Dawkins and modern theologians. Throughout the module, the contribution of Christian theology to the development of science will be studied as well as alternative religious perspectives e.g. Islamic, Eastern.

After preliminary consideration of what is meant by 'modernity', 'religion' and 'atheism', this module examines the thought of some central thinkers, theistic, agnostic and atheistic, and the implications of their thought for religious questions. Some of the most central themes in Enlightenment and post Enlightenment Western religious and atheistic philosophical debates will be examined and evaluated in order to engage students with both the history and the latest developments in core religious, philosophical and ethical issues.

The module explores the history and beliefs of major Indo-Chinese religions, and some of the ways in which their beliefs and assumptions are expressed in everyday life and practice. In exploring a range of expressions within the different religions, the module will seek to offer a balance between classical and subsequent articulations, and studies of the religions within their traditional environments, and expressions of the same religion within contemporary Britain. A list of journals and websites appropriate to this subject will be made available in the module handbook. In addition to readings from scholarly literature, as far as possible, you will be offered first-hand experience of the various faiths through visits to places of worship, meetings with faith-adherents, guest speakers and the use of various sources produced from within those faith traditions.

This module looks at the historical relationship between Religion and acts of political violence. It will examine Christian, Islamic, Judaic, Buddhist and Hindu responses to politics, violence, and the world. It will explore the issues raised by modern conflict, war and terrorism in order to discuss their implications for theology. In particular it will offer insights into how and why religions might regard acts of violence as an appropriate expression. It will provide opportunities to encounter issues of war, terrorism, and liberative theological thinking. It will offer an in-depth exploration of the implications these global issues have for Religions, and will critically engage you in the responses of World Religions to these challenges. This module will look at the role of Islam, Hinduism and other religions in confronting issues of terrorism, war and globalisation. Various responses of religious individuals will be discussed, such as Martin Luther King, Ghandi and Malcolm X, to political and social problems. Finally it will discuss the future for World religions in the 21st Century.

You will undertake a project, drawing on tutors’ advice as well as your own interests and instincts. You will conduct your researches through self-formulated questions, supported by the gathering of relevant information and opinion along organised lines of enquiry. The relatively modest guiding role of the supervisor means that students will be empowered to develop their skills of initiative and responsibility. You will more fully understand the opportunities in, and vicissitudes of, advanced independent study, further defining and drawing upon your styles of learning. You will proactively manage the development of your conceptual ideas and related arguments, using the challenge of the abstract and working bibliography to summarize both quantitatively and qualitatively the research you have undertaken; and that of the dissertation itself to construct an advanced piece of literary scholarship that is both conceptually and structurally strong.

During this module you will undertake a project, drawing on tutors’ advice as well as your own interests and instincts. You will conduct your researches through self-formulated questions, supported by the gathering of relevant information and opinion along organized lines of enquiry. The relatively modest guiding role of the supervisor means that you will be empowered to develop your skills of initiative and responsibility. You will more fully understand the opportunities in, and vicissitudes of, advanced independent study, further defining and drawing upon your particular styles of learning. You will proactively manage the development of your conceptual ideas and related arguments, using the challenge of the abstract and working bibliography to summarize both quantitatively and qualitatively the research you have undertaken; and that of the dissertation itself to construct an advanced piece of literary scholarship that is both conceptually and structurally strong.

The module takes as its theme "Crisis and Change" and responds to it in such a manner as to historically narrativise the development and dissemination of knowledge and responses to the theme. It is broken into four segments, with a coherent link provided to what came before and what will come next. The four are: Crisis of Modernity; The Challenge of Nihilism; Lemons to Lemonade; and Post-Modernity taking students from the end of the 19th century through to today. It engages with topics of what is real and how can we know? Making moral choices, race, humour, gender and non-gender, marginalization, migration and belonging (or not). The four sections are infused by the question of where religion sits within these topics - consciously and unconsciously -for the creators and the readers / consumers, and what do we mean by 'religion'? You will be exploring thinkers such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Adorno, Beauvoir, and Hooks. You will also be reading works by sociologists of religion, specifically Tricia Rose, Rachel Wagner and Francis Stewart, and popular writers such as Reni Eddo-Lodge. In addition you will be working on the following films: "Black Swan", "Calvary", "Trainspotting", "In Time", and "Pulp Fiction". You will be examining television shows, specifically "Gone Too Far" and "Best of Times, Worst of Times" and will engage with two documentaries, Dave Chappelle's "Black Party" and "The Taqwacores". You will also be taught how to analyse and critically respond to music, not necessarily in the genre you would choose to listen to. This will focus on "Big A, Little A" by Crass, "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone, "All Along the WatchTower" by Bob Marley, "Lust for Life" by Iggy Pop, and a selection of Krishacore and Taqwacore bands. Finally, you will engage with video games, specifically "Far Cry 5" and "Bioshock" as a new medium with a very powerful message.