Event programme, Luther King House

Christian theology. Luther King House is one of our partner institutions and is located in nearby Fallowfield. It represents Baptist, Methodist, United Reformed and Unitarian traditions. See their programme of activities, including public events on Ageing and spirituality (12 March), the Baptist encounter with Judaism (23 March), Thinking theologically about Higher Education (18  June), Spirituality in contemporary society (22-25 June). Further information.

Event programme, Nazarene Theological College

Christian theology. The Nazarene Theological College is one of our partner institutions and is located in nearby Didsbury. Associated with the Church of the Nazarene, which emerged in the nineteenth-century, NTC belongs to the World Methodist Council. See their programme of activities, including public events on 'An Evening with Krish Kandiah' (10 March), 'Church planting for the 21st century' (17 April), 'Church History' (8 May). Further information.

Religion in... the BBC

Sheringham Viking Festival 'warrior' finds faith in Norse gods. A man said he eventually found his own faith by "becoming a Viking warrior". Richard Mehmed, 31, from Lowestoft, Suffolk, is one of many Viking re-enactors across England who spend their weekends in battle. Fighting with the Wuffa Viking and Saxon Re-enactment Society, he did not expect that his hobby of more than three years would help him find his own belief through Norse mythology. "What it is about the Norse gods is they teach you to respect nature and the world and that's how the world should be run, not like in the modern day," said Mr Mehmed, who is also known as Magnus Shield-Breaker. Government figures show 55,000 people in England follow pagan and pantheism faiths. Further information.

Religion in... Areo Magazine

Does Secularism Lead To Racism? Discussion of two contradictory theses about religion and racism. The first argues that secularisation led to the decline of Christian universalism and thereby paved the way for “scientific” racism. The second argues that Christianity was the foundation on which racism and slavery rested, and that it was only with the decline of faith and the revelations of scientific progress that bigotry could be overcome. Conclusion: “Freethinkers have a fairly decent record on race, and religion a patchier one. Further information.

Study skills workshop, L3

Five Deadly Sins of Dissertation Writing. Building on the success of our previous dissertation study skills session, don’t forget that our second session on avoiding the five deadly sins of dissertation writing will be held on Wed 4 March 12-1pm in Sam Alex A102. Snacks and drinks provided. The session will be run by our writing tutor and will cover: Outline the most effective way to use paragraphs; Identify how to improve academic voice; Practise being concise; Discuss common mistakes with sentences and punctuation; Explain how to effectively paraphrase and synthesise sources to present argument. Students who attended our previous session have reported that it was incredibly useful for their dissertation work. Last year’s dissertation students also said it was vital in helping bump their grades higher. Don’t miss out! We’ll also be joined by Louise Sethi, our R&T careers consultant, who will talk about using your degree as a theology and religious studies graduate.  Co-ordinated by Ketan Alder. Wed 4 March 12-1pm in Sam Alex A102. Further details.

Religion in... the TLS

What Lies Beyond The Senses? Accessible introduction to the ideas of Immanuel Kant. “Kant’s philosophy tells us to take responsibility for our own lives. It sees human understanding as the law-giver of nature, morality as resting on autonomy, aesthetic experience as dependent on our experience of our faculties and our moral vocation. We might think of it, therefore, as secular, anti-religious or irreligious. Kant would protest against this interpretation. He seeks not to reject religion but to understand it and reform it.” Further information.

Religion on... BBC Radio 4

The Secret History of Science and Religion. Episode 1: The Nature of the Beast. Episode 2. Rumours of War. Episode 3. On the Origins of Humans. Nick Spencer examines the history of science and religion and questions the extent to which they have been in conflict with one another. Listen again.

Religion in... the New York Times

How to Be Good. What a therapist, scholar, monk, C.E.O. and others can teach us about bringing our best to everything we do, every day. Further information.

Teaching innovation, conference experience

Research paper training. Did you know that Religions and Theology, in conjunction with ArtsMethods@Manchester and the SALC Graduate School, hosts an annual conference that showcases undergraduate students’ work? It gives students an opportunity to experience an academic event, pitch and present their work, and receive feedback from mentors and peers. Papers are selected to be presented, and successful students are assigned a PGR mentor to help them to develop their ideas and skillset for presenting their work. The conference itself and all training sessions are held in the SALC Graduate School in order to highlight connections with graduate study, and to provide students with invaluable experience that can feature on CV and future job/study applications. Teaching excellence, as reflected by high student satisfaction and teaching awards, is central to the departmental ethos.

Teaching training, Lancaster

South Asian Studies. Jackie Suthren Hirst gave a session on Teaching Resources at the Hinduism day of Lancaster University's Teachers' Conference, June 2019, organised by Dr Brian Black, Politics, Philosophy and Religion. Teachers of Hinduism at A Level and GCSE gave feedback on her article on 'The Representation of Women in Hindu Texts'. Jackie gratefully acknowledges their contributions, including the request for further material by Indian feminists which is incorporated into the version of the material published in further information.

New publication

South Asian Studies. Jackie Suthren Hirst, ‘Refutation or dialogue? Śaṃkara’s treatment of the Bhāgavatas’, in eds Brian Black and Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, Dialogue with Classical Indian Traditions: Encounter, Transformation and Interpretation (London & New York: Routledge, 2019), 51-65. Further information.

New publication

South Asian Studies. Jackie Suthren Hirst, 'Spreading Hindu Texts: Tellings and Translations', Discovering Sacred Texts (London: British Library, 2019). Further information.

Religion in... Time Magazine

Church of England 'Still Deeply Institutionally Racist,' Says Archbishop. The Church of England has voted to apologize for “conscious and unconscious racism experienced by countless Black, Asian and minority ethnic” people over the past seven decades, as its senior bishop said Tuesday that the church is “still deeply institutionally racist.” 13 Feb 2020. Further information.

Religion in... the BBC

Sex and religious education to be compulsory in Wales. Parents will no longer have the right to withdraw children from lessons about relationships, sexuality and religion, the Welsh Government has confirmed. 21 Jan 2020. Further information.

New publication

Dead Sea Scrolls. Hon. Research Fellow in the Centre for Biblical Studies: Helen R. Jacobus, "Astral Divination in the Dead Sea Scrolls," in Hellenistic Astronomy: The Science in Its Contexts, edited by Alan C. Bowen and Francesca Rochberg; Brill's Companions to Classical Studies (Leiden: Brill, 2020), 539-550. Further information.

Popular publications

Religious and theological studies. Browse the wide range of recent publications written by colleagues in the Department of Religions and Theology, University of Manchester. You can also access some of our department's all-time most downloaded publications via Research Explorer: God, the Past and Auschwitz (2011), Luther’s Legacy and the Origins of Kenotic Christology (2017), Jewish Evolutionary Perspectives on Judaism, Anti-Semitism and Race Science (2014), Abraham Ibn Ezra`s Astrological Works in Hebrew and Latin (2006), Jewish Studies and Reading (2016), Divine Revenge Porn, Slut-shaming, Ethnicity and Exile in Ezekiel 16 and 23 (2018), and Robo-theisms and Robot Theists (2018). Among our department's publications with the highest Scopus citations are: Wisdom-Laws: A Study of the Mishpatim of Exodus 21:1-22:16 (2006), The Exorcism Stories in Luke-Acts: A Sociostylistic Reading (2004), Defending Hindu Tradition: Sanatana Dharma as a Symbol of Orthodoxy in Colonial India (2011), The Books of Chronicles and the Scrolls from Qumran (2007), Śamkara's Advaita Vedānta: A Way of Teaching (2005), The Apostle Paul in the Jewish Imagination (2010), and Re-mapping the Universe: Paul and the Emperor in 1 Thessalonians and Philippians (2005).

Social responsibility, Ashton Sixth Form College

Congratulations on Ofsted report. The Department of Religions and Theology works closely with Ashton Sixth Form College and OxNet in Widening Participation activities. It is with great pleasure that we report that Ashton Sixth Form College has just been assessed as 'Outstanding in all areas' under Ofsted. Further information.

Reading Group Session, JMRN

Jewish-Muslim Studies. Urussa Malik (Manchester) will facilitate a reading group session discussing Brian Klug’s 'The limits of analogy: comparing Islamophobia and antisemitism' (2014) and Reza Zia-Ebrahimi’s 'When the Elders of Zion relocated to Eurabia: conspiratorial racialization in antisemitism and Islamophobia' (2018). March 20 2020, 1 - 2 pm. Further information. 

Lecturer in New Testament Studies

Congratulations to Andy Boakye, whose position within the Department of Religions and Theology is now permanent. Andy's activities, including a teaching award, were featured recently in Humanities eNews.  Further information.

Industrial action in Higher Education

Information for students. Industrial action will take place across many UK university campuses over the next few weeks. See the University and College Union's position and the management of the University of Manchester's position; both provide a list of expected strike dates. Some of your lecturers will take part in the action, some will not; always check with the relevant lecturers for details of how your courses are affected.

National Student Survey

Help your department! The National Student Survey is completed by final-year undergraduates at universities across the UK. It will run at the University of Manchester from 27 January until 30 April 2020. Universities and students' unions use student feedback to see how we can keep delivering high quality teaching (R&T has very high student satisfaction and our lecturers are regularly nominated or win teaching awards), and future students can see the results to help them make degree choices. For further information, see the Q&As for students. Please take the survey!

Postdoctoral fellowship opportunity

Christian theology. Religions and Theology at Manchester is pleased to advertise a postdoctoral fellowship here at the Lincoln Theological Institute, beginning 1 Sept 2020. The closing date for applications is 17 March 2020. Informal enquiries are very welcome. Full details in the Further Particulars.

Teaching innovation, Jewish Studies

Mixed virtual and classroom teaching of Modern Hebrew. Did you know that the Centre for Jewish Studies has developed an innovative means for teaching modern Hebrew that draws in distance learners and makes language learning a more viable option for HEIs by increasing class size? The project, which uses a Swivl robot, has run since 2015 and the classes currently take place under the auspices of LEAP. Teaching excellence, as reflected by high student satisfaction and teaching awards, is central to the departmental ethos.  Further information.

Reading Group Session, JMRN

Jewish-Muslim Studies. Adi S. Bharat (Manchester) will facilitate a reading group discussing the introduction and chapter 1 of Aaron Hughes’ 'Shared Identities: Medieval and Modern Imaginings of Judeo-Islam' (2017). Feb 28 2020, 1 - 2 pm. Further information. 

Interview, Beshara Magazine

Islamic Studies. Arts & Literature magazine interview with Alan Williams (Beshara Magazine, issue 14: Autumn/Winter 2019-20). The 13th-century poet, Jelaloddin Rumi, has been a surprising best-seller in America and Europe for many years now, his message of divine love and mystical union finding universal appeal. His masterwork is the epic poem, The Masnavi, a monumental composition in Persian of some 25,000 verses – combining stories, fables and spiritual teachings – which is regarded by many within the Islamic world as its greatest mystical text. This month sees the publication of the first two volumes of a complete new translation into English by Alan Williams, Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Religion at the University of Manchester. David Hornsby talks with him about the book and why he thinks it is so important for our contemporary world. Further information.

Research seminar, Ehrhardt

Biblical Studies. Caroline Kaye (Manchester Metropolitan University) presents ‘What's Luke got to do with it? Relating the disputation as portrayed in painting to its textual origins’. February 27 2020, 2pm, Room 5.206, University Place, 176 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL. 

Funding, social responsibility

Public engagement event. Congratulations to Katja Stuerzenhofecker who has been awarded a total amount of £1100 by Creative Manchester, the SALC Social Responsibility Fund and the Department of Religions and Theology for a ‘Screen & Talk’ public screening of the film Wall (2017) followed by a panel discussion. The event is to take place in June 2020. Further details to be announced.

Research seminar, Ehrhardt

Biblical Studies. Robert Evans (University of Chester) presents '"See what you hear” (Mark 4.24): Reflections on Translation and the BSL Bible from a (Hearing) Biblical Scholar’. February 20 2020, 2pm, Room 5.206, University Place, 176 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL. CANCELLED DUE TO INDUSTRIAL ACTION

Public debate, Islam and Christianity

Madinah Society. 'Islam & Christianity: The Choice' is a public debate between Asrar Rashid and Caleb Corneloup. Often Islam and Christianity are described as belonging to one of the three Abrahamic faiths, but which religion is right? Both debaters will argue the truthfulness of their respective faiths before a Q&A opportunity for audience involvement. 6:30-9:30pm, Wed 19 Feb 2020, Lecture Theatre A, University Place. For registration details, see further information.

Teaching innovation, biblical studies

Workshop for creative assessment.  Did you know about the additional workshop that provides students enrolled on Holly Morse's All About Eve with specialist training? The text and communication workshop is delivered by a specialist from Museum Studies or Creative Writing, and provides students with tailored training on how to write for a museum context, thus offering an important opportunity to learn new study and employability skills. Teaching excellence, as reflected by high student satisfaction and teaching awards, is central to the departmental ethos.

Summer school, Central European University

Political Theology. The Central European University (CEU) is organising a summer school 2020 on ‘Political Theology of the Early Church from its Formation to Justinian’, for which Dr Michael Hoelzl acted as the external evaluator. As an extra curriculum research activity for postgraduades, doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, it would be of particular interest to those interested in the patristic legacy of political theology. Financial aid is available. Event: 22-31 July 2020, Budapest, Hungary. Application deadline: 14 February 2020. Further information.

Social responsibility, OxNet

Widening participation. Kamran Karimullah presents on 'Reason and Religion' (11 Feb) as part of the OxNet evening seminar series. For 2020, this Oxford-Manchester series for A-level students of religious studies and theology was co-ordinated by Michael Hoelzl and entitled ‘Religion and Knowledge'. Further information.

Public debate

Atheism vs faith. The University of Manchester's Islamic Society has organised a public debate on 'Is life absurd without God?' with Imran Hussein and John Richards. Roscoe Lecture Theatre A, 5:30pm, 4 Feb 2020. Further information.

New publication

Biblical Studies. Holly Morse, Encountering Eve’s Afterlives: A New Reception Critical Approach to Genesis 2-4, Oxford Theology and Religion Monographs (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020). Further information.

Social responsibility, Aurora programme

Women in Higher Education. Congratulations to Holly Morse, who has been awarded a place on the national Aurora Leadership Programme. This is a unique partnership programme bringing together leadership experts and higher education institutions to take positive action to address the under-representation of women in leadership positions in the sector. Further information.

Research seminar, Ehrhardt

Biblical Studies.  Stephen Barton (University of Manchester and Durham University) presents ‘Paul and Mental Health’. February 13 2020, 2pm, Room 5.206, University Place, 176 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL. 

Research seminar, Ehrhardt

Biblical Studies.  Bernard Jackson (Manchester emeritus) presents ‘Ruth, Rachel and Domestic Religion’. February 6 2020, 2pm, Room 5.206, University Place, 176 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL. 

Research seminar, Ehrhardt

Biblical Studies. Kimberley Fowler (Durham University) presents ‘Asceticism in Late-Antique Egypt as told through the Book of Thomas the Contender (NHC II,7)’. January 30 2020, 2pm, Room 5.206, University Place, 176 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL. 

Social responsibility, OxNet

Widening participation. The OxNet programme, which partners the Dept of Religions & Theology with Oxford University, is designed to attract A-level students located in the North of the UK, selected by Pembroke College, Oxford, with the aim of encouraging the study of religions and theology at university, among other areas in the humanities. Ketan Adler and Kamran Karimullah will host and contribute to the Easter 2020 OxNet conference at Manchester, and Michael Hoelzl will co-ordinate the 2020 OxNet evening seminar series given by Manchester-based lecturers entitled ‘Religion and Knowledge', also located at the University of Manchester. The seminar programme includes: Kamran Karimullah, 'Reason and Religion' (11 Feb); David Law, 'Knowledge of God' (3 March); Daniel Langton, 'Science and Religious Knowledge' (10 March); Ketan Alder, 'Religion and the Other' (17 March CANCELLED); Michael Hoelzl, 'Ethics and Morality' (24 March). Contact sonja.bernhard@manchester.ac.uk for details of the series at University Place, University of Manchester. Further information.