New Publication

Ecotheology. A special issue, Ecotheology in Asia and the Pacific, has been published in the Indonesian Journal of Theology. Co-editor Seoyoung Kim (UoM HRF) explores what she calls “ecotheology beyond adjective,” bringing together voices from Asia and the Pacific that reflect the region’s lived ecological realities. Contributors come from Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, and Sri Lanka. Further information. 

Going Beyond Belief Highlights

Public resource. Has the Christmas period sparked your curiosity in Jesus? A crucified Messiah was nowhere in the script of Israelite redemptive history, so how exactly did a man born in a manger and crucified on a cross come to be known as the Christ? On these pages of Beyond Belief, Dr Andrew Boakye explains how Christianity developed its notion of the Messiah, especially examining the works of Paul, and asks how this all raises questions for the church today.

Alumni Success

Christian studies. Seoyoung Kim, an alumna of the department, has been appointed Lecturer in Applied Theology and Ministry Placements Programme Lead at the Belfast School of Theology, beginning in January 2026. An ecotheologian specialising in the theology of water, she completed her PhD under the supervision of Professor Peter Scott. She also serves as a Central Committee member of the World Council of Churches, with particular interests in ecumenical theology and the global ecumenical movement.

New Publication

Dead Sea Scrolls. Jon Darby (from NTC) has published a book: Shaping Text Through Song: The Influence of Singing upon Processes of Textual Interpretation and Variation in the Dead Sea Scrolls, STDJ 156, Leiden: Brill, Dec 2025. Further information.

New Publication

Biblical studies. Samuel Hildebrandt (NTC) and Ekaterina E. Kozlova have published Loneliness in the Hebrew Bible, LHBOTS 718, London: Bloomsbury, Dec 2025. The volume features a chapter by Samuel "Good to be Alone: Positive Loneliness in Lamentations 3 and the Hebrew Bible" and a chapter by Holly Morse "'A Desolate Woman': Gender, Isolation and Loneliness in the Hebrew Bible". Further information.

Christmas Blog Post

For Christmas. The UoM Christian chaplain and Lecturer Omolade Allen shares her blog piece about how Christmas carries meanings far beyond Christianity alone, and why this is a good time for everybody to slow down and reflect on how we treat each other and ourselves. Read it here.

New Publication

Dead Sea Scrolls. George J. Brooke has published "Ritual as a Locus of Narrative, Liturgical and Prophetic Time in Some Sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls" in Performance, Space, and Time in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Papers from the Eleventh Meeting of the International Organization for Qumran Studies, Zürich 2022, edited by Michael B. Johnson, Jutta Jokiranta, and Molly M. Zahn (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah 154; Brill, 2025): 148–162. Further information.

Bogdanow Lectures 2026

Jewish Studies Event. We are delighted to announce that the Bogdanow Lectures in Holocaust Studies 2026 will be given by Professor Susannah Heschel, the Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor and chair of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College and currently the Gerard Weinstock Visiting Professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard University. Her scholarship focuses on Jewish thought in Germany during the 19th and 20th centuries, including the history of antisemitism. The Bogdanow lectures are titled: 'The Yellow Star in Church: Baptized Jews in Nazi Germany' and 'It's Happening Here: Antisemitism in the United States' and will be held on 16 & 17 February 2026, 5.30pm.

Hanukkah Celebration

Event for everyone. All colleagues, students and the wider community are invited to take part in a public lighting of the menorah, with live music, hot chocolate and doughnuts. Tuesday 16 December, 6pm, Brunswick Park (outside Simon Building), no sign up necessary, just come along. Further information.

New Publication

Hindu studies. Rosie Edgley and our HRF Jacqueline Suthren Hirst, ‘Addressing plurality in Madhusūdana’s Gītā commentary’, in Brian Black and James Madaio (eds), Provincialising Pluralism: Difference and Diversity in South Asian Traditions, (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2025), pp.321-344. Madhusūdana Sarasvatī was a prolific sixteenth century writer in the Advaita Vedānta Sanskrit tradition. The article argues that Madhusūdana uses this commentary to allow space for three different 'flavours' of contemporary Advaitin practice. Further information.

New Religious Studies Society

For students. We’re excited to announce the launch of the Religious Studies Society! The society is open to everyone, whether you’re studying religion or not, and we hope to create a diverse and welcoming community for anyone interested in faith, spirituality and philosophy, and the ways they intersect with culture and everyday life. We plan to have a wide range of events and socials to suit all interests, from interfaith discussions and guest lectures, study sessions and even club nights, so there will definitely be something for everyone! As a new society we’re excited to bring together students with shared interests and we can’t wait to welcome you to our events and build a new vibrant and inclusive community on campus. Please follow us on Instagram - rs_uom or drop us an email at religiousstudies@manchesterstudentsunion.com.

Community Conversation, hosted by Duncan Ivison

Religion, civil society, and the academy. An event entitled 'Religious tolerance in Manchester' took place 9 December at the University. Hosted by the President, Duncan Ivison, the aim of the evening was to acknowledge Manchester's difficult recent past and the Heaton Park Synagogue tragedy, and to use the university as a forum for discussing contested views among religious communities and civic society, and for academics to contribute to shaping those discussions. Religious and civic leaders spoke, including the Deputy Mayor Karen Green, preceded by an academic panel comprising Daniel Langton (on Judaism and antisemitism in the UK), Kamran Karimullah (on Diversity, Islam and Islamophobia in the UK), Eve Parker (on Religiosity and cohesion in Greater Manchester) and Hilary Pilkington (on the use and abuse of religion in extremist narratives). Further information.

Climate Change Film

Christian studies. The Religion, Theology and Climate Change project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, has produced a short film to present some of its findings. Principal Investigator Peter Scott writes: “The project was always envisaged to have practical recommendations—taken together with the Report, this film makes these recommendations available to an audience beyond the academy.” You can watch the film here: Religion, Theology and Climate Change - YouTube.