Highlight: Fear and Belonging Project

Buddhist Studies. Fear is fundamental to human experience. It tends to be analysed as a negative and disempowering emotion, but it can also create solidarity and be a potent force for change. A project led by Erica Baffelli and Jane Caple, with Sian Fan as a collaborating artist, investigates the productive role of fear in contemporary religious belonging through studies of two distinct minority Buddhist communities in the UK and Japan. The project is funded by a Leverhulme Trust research project grant. Further information.

Careers Service News

For students. Interested in sustainable and ethical careers? Sign up to the career services' focus groups in November and get a £10 voucher for participating. Sign up here.

Research Paper

Biblical studies. Join the Feminist Theology Network online 28 October, 7pm, to hear from Holly Morse about her work on the biblical character of Eve: "Eve: (M)Other of All Living." Exploring how women have interpreted Eve and understood her maternity, Holly will present a radical 'counter-history' to interpretations of Genesis 1-3. Join the mailing list for the event link.

National Gallery Course

Religion and Art. In December, Siobhán Jolley is teaching a three-part online course "Sacred stories: Saints in art" through the National Gallery. Through close examination of masterpieces in the collection, the course will explore how saintly figures shaped both devotional practice and artistic development, discovering how their stories continue to speak to contemporary concerns about compassion, moral courage and our relationship with the natural world. Siobhán is also writing a book on this subject to be published in 2026. Further information.

Didsbury Lectures 2025

Christian Theology. The 2025 Didsbury Lectures will be delivered by UoM HRF Stephen C. Barton. The theme for the event is 'The Conversion of the Emotions in Early Christianity'. His case studies will be: anger, grief, and joy. October 27th - 30th, 2025, 7:00 PM, NTC Chapel. Further information and registration here.

Go Abroad Fair

Student event. Expand your horizons and discover exciting new places by studying abroad, attending a summer school or volunteering internationally. Enhance your employability, experience new learning styles and develop your confidence, communication skills and cultural awareness Come to the Go Abroad Fair and talk to students who have already experienced studying and living abroad; find out more about our partner universities in over 30 countries around the world; meet staff from the Placements and International Programmes team; talk to representatives from Volunteering, Student Union, Confucius and local societies; and find out next steps and how to apply. Tuesday 21st October 11-3pm, Whitworth Hall.

Career Spotlight: Charity Officer

For students. Interested in making a difference through your work? Charity officers help plan projects, raise awareness, and manage partnerships that support communities and causes. Your RELT degree gives you great communication skills, cultural understanding, and an ability to think about ethical and social issues, all key in this sector. Check out the Prospects job profile for more detailed information on this role and book a careers meeting to discuss your career ideas further.

Book Launch

Public event. On Monday 3rd Nov 2025, Manchester Cathedral will host a launch for Dominic Budhi-Thornton's book 'Public Theology in the Post Secular Age - Lessons Learned from Manchester Cathedral', published by Wipf & Stock. Dom's book is based on his PhD research that he completed in our department, supervised by Peter Scott. Professor Elaine Graham says of the book 'This study of Manchester Cathedral offers a model of religious public engagement that is practical and inclusive. Budhi-Thornton calls for the cultivation of a theological imagination that is attentive to a diversity of voices and informed by expansive visions of what makes a good city.' Further information.

SALC Placement Scheme

Employability. The SALC Placement Scheme allows SALC students on a 3-year programme to convert their course into a 4-year programme with the third year being a placement year. Successful completion of the placement year will allow you to graduate with ‘with Professional Experience’ added to your degree title. Taking a placement year provides a wide range of benefits including valuable experience for future job applications, insight into your potential career choices, and the opportunity to apply your academic learning in a professional setting. You can apply for the scheme during your second year and applications opened on the 1st September 2025. Further information.

Ehrhardt Seminar in Biblical Studies

 

Biblical studies.  Dr Andrew Mein (The Queen’s Foundation), "Mapping Biblical Reception: Questions, Answers, Stories". 27th October, 3-5pm – Room A116 Samuel Alexander Building and Zoom. For further information and Zoom link, please email Lynne Potts.

New publication

Judaism and science. Daniel R. Langton, Darwin in the Jewish Imagination: Jews' Engagement with Evolution Theory (Oxford University Press, 2025). This book offers the first major study of Jewish responses to Darwinian evolution, one of the most transformative and contested ideas of the industrial age. Spanning a century of intellectual and cultural history, it traces how Jewish thinkers—traditionalists, reformers, secularists, mystics, and philosophers—grappled with the profound implications of evolutionary theory for religious belief and cultural identity. Through close readings of key figures and debates across Europe, North America, and pre-state Israel, the book situates Jewish responses within wider contexts: the science–religion controversy, Jewish-Christian interfaith relations, and the challenges of modernity. A central theme is the tendency in Jewish thought to identify God with the evolving universe and its natural laws. The book explores how foundational concepts such as creation, divine action, and human morality were reinterpreted in light of Darwin’s ideas, and examines the impact of these reinterpretations on religious practice, ethical frameworks, and even internal Jewish eugenic discourse. Interdisciplinary in scope, this study not only shows how Jewish thought engaged creatively with evolutionary theory but also reveals the broader cultural and theological exchanges that helped shape modern Judaism. In doing so, it illuminates how science and Jewish religion entered into a dynamic and often enriching dialogue—very different from the experience of Christian religion and science—with lasting consequences for Jewish belief, identity, and intellectual life. Free access via Oxford Scholarship Online (with institutional sign-in) and available in hardback 4 Nov 2025. Further information.

Staff training, Antisemitism and Islamophobia

Religion and prejudice? If you’re curious about some of the ways that a large educational institution tackles these kind of complex religious-related topics, have a look at the current 30-min online courses on antisemitism and Islamophobia (under 'training' on the StaffNet EDI webpage). Feel free to share any suggestions for improvement with Daniel Langton (Head of R&T) since we can feed them back up to the EDI Directorate. 

New Publication

Church history. HRF Peter Nockles has just published 'Handing Down the Principles of Laud’: History and Propaganda in John Henry Newman’s Tractarian Battle for the Church of England' in Researching the English Reformation: Essays in Honour of W.B. Patterson, edited by Benjamin M. Guyer and William E. Engel (Brill, 2025). Further information.

Teaching Innovation

Undergraduate Scholars Project. Katja Stuerzenhofecker is leading a student project to review undergraduate teaching in the School of Arts Languages and Cultures. The Undergraduate Scholars Project encourages students to engage in (non-credit) funded research and writing on a variety of over-arching themes. Katja will direct students to investigate 'Generative AI – what does machine learning do in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures?' Using SALC and its subjects as a starting point, students are invited to reflect on the present and future of higher education in the light of technological change. Case studies will evaluate benefits, risks, limitations and future potential of Generative AI for research, and for learning, teaching and assessment. Teaching excellence, as reflected by high student satisfaction and teaching awards, is central to the departmental ethos.

Religion & Theology Research Seminar

 

Religion & Theology.  This semester's R&T research seminar continues on 20th October with Erica Baffelli (UoM) '"A place to belong, a place that needs you, a place you can go home to": (Negative) Emotions and Belonging in Minority Buddhist Communities in Japan'. 3–5pm in Samuel Alexander A116 and online. Email Siobhán Jolley or Holly Morse for the online link. 

Faith spaces, University of Manchester

On Campus. If you're interested to see where the various kinds of faith facilities are located on campus, see this interactive map and select 'multifaith prayer and contemplation spaces'. See also this recent study of the use and benfits of such spaces in Manchester and a brief overview of faith, belief and worship at the university.

Incident at Heaton Park Synagague, Yom Kippur

In solidarity. We express our heartfelt sympathy with those who died, their families, and all who have been affected by the attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue on 2 October 2025. Rabbi Daniel Walker, the synagogue’s spiritual leader, is a former student of ours, and another of those present was the synagogue’s vice president Rob Kanter, a current PhD student with us, researching the history of Jewish-Muslim relations in the UK. Their ties to our community make this tragedy feel especially close. Education alone will not repair the world, but as we go about our work in the Department of Religions & Theology and in the Centre for Jewish Studies, attempting to understand religion, that most powerful of social forces, let us rededicate ourselves to building understanding, resisting hatred, and affirming the bonds of humanity that unite us. Here is the UoM President’s statement. 

BBC News

Judaism. R&T PhD student Rob Kanter, whose research is in Jewish-Muslim history, speaks to the BBC about the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue and continuing the Yom Kippur service. 2 Oct 2025. Further information.