Theology and Religious Studies BA (Hons)

The BA in Theology and Religious Studies course introduces the core areas of the study of religions and theology, and then enables you to develop existing or new interests through a range of specialist topics.

Year 1 (Level 4) provides a foundation by introducing the core disciplines within the theology and religious studies subject area: Christian theology; religious studies; biblical studies; ethics; and religious traditions, such as Islam, Christianity and Buddhism.

MODULES

• Studying Religion (20 Credits) Core: This module will provide you with the foundational knowledge, skills and understanding for the specialised study of religions. It explores key concepts including ritual, deities, belief, texts, cosmology, community, religious experience, religious imagination and material culture.  It questions assumptions about the nature and definition of religion, and its relationship with culture and the secular/postsecular. It explores religion through the body, gender, sexuality, art, media and politics. 
  
• Introduction to Christian Theology (20 Credits) Core: This module introduces you to some of the central themes and methods in the study of Christian theology. You will explore theological topics which may include creation, Christology and sin in relation to contemporary issues such as the environmental crisis, gender and sexism, evil and suffering. You will examine these themes from multiple theological and global perspectives and will engage historical as well as contemporary voices. 
• The Bible: Contents and Contexts (20 Credits) Core: The module will provide you with an overview of the biblical literature of both testaments and will equip you with a range of exegetical skills. You will be introduced to the literary and theological contours of the Hebrew Bible and the literature, theology, and historical background of the New Testament with a particular focus on the synoptic gospels.
• Introduction to Ethics (20 Credits) Core: In this module you will explore the big questions in ethics. You will be taught to think critically about ethics and morality itself, introduced to the main theories of normative ethics, and explore contemporary and classic questions in applied ethics.
• Islam and Christianity (20 Credits) Core: This module introduces you to the academic study of Islam and Christianity. In the first half, you will focus on Islam, exploring: the historical context for the life of the Prophet Muhammad; the revelation of the Qur'an; Islamic law; the Shi'i tradition; Sufism (Islamic mysticism); and Muslim traditions within the UK. The second half will survey the diverse identities, practices, beliefs, teachings, and institutions that are part of Christianity. It traces the major influences on the emergence of Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Protestantism, and Orthodoxy and considers their main characteristics, in a range of contexts.
  
• Buddhism and Judaism (20 Credits) Optional: In this module, you will explore the dharmic tradition of Buddhism together with rabbinic Judaism as living religious traditions. You will discover different forms of modern Buddhism and their relationship to the history of Buddhism and its traditional teachings. You will also investigate key features of modern Jewish communities and practices in their historical contexts.
• Language Module (20 Credits) Optional

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

In Year 2 (Level 5), you will be able to choose specialist pathways through module themes, relating to theology and religion in both the modern and ancient worlds. Topics on Jesus and the Gospels, God in Christian theology and philosophy, and contemporary Islam, for example, will enable you to explore your interests in greater depth. You’ll also be able to apply your skills in workplace settings or to contemporary problems in our innovative module, Religion in the City.

MODULES

• Religion, Culture and Society (40 Credits) Core: In this module, you will examine contemporary religion and the shifting meanings of the sacred, secular, and spiritual in Muslim-majority and Christian and post-Christian-majority societies. Choosing from different routes through the module, you will investigate how individuals and cultures engage with and shape religious systems, symbols, practices, rituals, and spaces, whether in popular culture, contemporary Islam or religion in Britain. You will learn to think critically about the roles religion plays in personal lives, societies, and cultures.  
• Bodies, Gender and God (40 Credits) Core: In this module you will explore philosophical, biblical and theological traditions where beliefs and ideas about divinity, gender and embodiment develop and are critiqued. It gives you flexibility to study these features with different foci and approaches and a breadth of texts, practices and artefacts. These may include: the historical reconstruction of the development of ancient Israelite monotheism; the interpretation of early Christian Gospels; the historical study of philosophical and theological texts; and theological themes from feminist, Womanist and postcolonial perspectives.
• Religion in the City (40 Credits) Optional: In this experiential module, you will take ‘the city’ as your starting point to examine a pressing contemporary issue or problem related to religion, spirituality, belief, and non-belief. You will either undertake a placement in a school (RE) or with a local partner organisation (e.g in education, culture, heritage, government, third sector groups, religious communities, for example) and identify, research and explore a particular challenge facing your placement organisation – and hopefully offer a solution. You will not only gain valuable experience of working in your chosen area but follow your own interests and passions and explore ways of pursuing them in a future career.
• Work Placement (40 Credits) Optional

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

Year 3 modules allow you flexibility in how you focus your study broad themes through specialist topics. You can deepen your interests and enhance your skills through the study of ancient narratives and religious communities and investigate key themes such as gender, religion and violence, philosophy and the imagination, and evil. You will have the opportunity to work individually with a subject specialist to pursue an in-depth project of your own choosing.

MODULES

• Religion, Violence and Power (40 Credits) Core: Violence, power and evil are core concerns in the way we think about religion both historically and in the present day. Choosing among different approaches including history, sociology, anthropology, theology, ethics and philosophy, you will study how human societies have engaged these questions. How have religious thinkers and practitioners justified and resisted violence over time? How far can experiences of evil be reconciled with basic trust in God or the cosmos? What are the power dynamics within religions that intersect with broader societal forces? You will engage with a variety of themes, such as authority, gender, nationalism, pessimism and theodicy, forgiveness and reconciliation. You will investigate how individuals and communities respond to moral crises like suffering, oppression, and injustice, and how these responses influence and are influenced by religious worldviews.
• Religion, Narratives and Imagination (40 Credits) Core: This module provides you with the opportunity to explore the intersection of religion, narrative, and imagination in ancient and modern cultures across a variety of philosophical, biblical, and literary traditions. It gives you flexibility to study these features through a range of texts and worldviews, incorporating a diversity of critical interpretative approaches. You might focus, for example, on short stories in the Hebrew; how communities of Jews and Christians interacted with wider Graeco-Roman religion, culture, and society; and/or and historical and contemporary approaches to key questions about truth, beauty, and art.
• Dissertation (Philosophy, Ethics, Religion and Theology) (40 Credits) Core: This module provides you with an opportunity to engage in independent study with one-to-one support from an academic on a topic chosen by you. You may decide to build on and develop an area already addressed in your programme of study or may choose to focus on a related area or existing interest. The dissertation also offers the opportunity for interdisciplinary study.

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

Students from countries outside the UK are expected to have entry qualifications roughly equivalent to UK A Level for undergraduate study and British Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) for postgraduate study. To help you to interpret these equivalents, please click on your country of residence to see the corresponding entry qualifications, along with information about your local representatives, events, information and contacts.

We accept a wide range of qualifications and consider all applications individually on merit. We may also consider appropriate work experience.

English Language Requirements

• IELTS Academic: Undergraduate: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
• Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each band)

For more information on our entry requirements, please visit International Entry Requirements.

In November 2024, as part of the government’s Autumn Budget, it was confirmed that some foundation years from September 2025 will have a fee of £5,760 for the first foundation year of a four-year course. This is mainly for courses in the Humanities, Business, and Social Sciences disciplines. The following three years of these courses will be the standard fee of £9,535 per annum.

* For courses which accept applications from International Students

This course may include optional field trips, usually in Chester and the North West region. The costs will vary depending on the destination, but are likely to be between £0 and £15 for travel. Participation on these trips is not required to successfully complete the course.