About the Faculty of Divinity

The Faculty's religious concerns

Theological and Religious Studies has been studied in Cambridge since the mid-thirteenth century, and in every century since then Cambridge figures have been prominent in meeting the theological challenges of contemporary society. You may wish to read more about the history of the Faculty of Divinity.

Between three and four billion of the world's population are directly involved in the major religions. The fostering of religious understanding, therefore, has immense implications, not only for the convictions, values and world-views of people throughout the world, but also for the flourishing of communities, institutions, and whole social systems. The Cambridge Faculty of Divinity is at the forefront of response to this complex situation: Theological and Religious Studies in Cambridge today is about pursuing questions of meaning, truth and practice in relation to the religions of the world. It has responsibilities to a wide range of academic disciplines, as well as to religious communities and modern societies which are deeply concerned about the massive transformations occurring around us.

The Tripos or three-year undergraduate B.A. degree explores a remarkably wide variety of subjects while at the same time investigating the ways in which they cohere. Biblical studies, church history, historical and systematic theology, religious studies and the philosophy of religion each have their own courses and research seminars, but the overlap of interest among the teaching staff is considerable and some of the most interesting questions a rise at the interface between the disciplines, such as the following.

Biblical Studies

The interpretation of the Old and New Testaments is a central theological concern of the Faculty. Detailed historical and linguistic study enriches Biblical studies by a judicious use of insights from other disciplines, such as literary criticism, sociology and archaeology.

Recent research has shown how deeply Jews and the first Christians were influenced by the Jewish world in which they grew up, a world which has been brought very widely to life by discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls. A research project in the Faculty has recently completed a three-volume edition of little-known Jewish texts which shed much light on the religion of ordinary people at the time.

The Christian tradition

The editing and translation of classic texts of the Christian traditions, as well as commentaries on the books of the Bible, continues to be an important contribution to the study of the Christian tradition. Historians in the Faculty are also taking part in the re-evaluation of major movements in the Church, such as the Reformations and the modern ecumenical and missionary movements.

Modern issues

The modern world raises many new questions for religious faith, such as the relations between science and religion, the interaction of social theory and theology, issues related to peace and justice, and the need to take account of the plurality of world religions in the formulation of belief. Theologians and philosophers of religion are researching in all these areas.

The wider world

In recent years the Faculty has taken an increasing part in the University's long-standing interest in Semitic and Oriental cultures and religions. It has, with cooperation from the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, developed teaching and research in Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism from their beginnings to the present day, and a paper in Islam has recently been added to the Tripos course. Cambridge theologians have never been afraid to ask questions and, where necessary, to challenge the orthodoxies of the day in the quest for truth. The same relentless pursuit of a deeper, truer understanding is integral to research in theological and religious studies as is found in other Faculties of the University.

The nature of theology also gives it borderlands with most other subjects studied in the University, and there is fruitful cooperation with members of other faculties such as History, Philosophy, Classics, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Social and Political Sciences and the History and Philosophy of Science.

The training of clergy has been a part of the University's work for centuries. Today it is carried on by the Cambridge Theological Federation, an independent body comprising Anglican, Methodist, United Reformed, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox colleges and institutions. The Federation has close links with the Faculty and, as in the past, many of its students follow University courses. In this way sound scholarship and research are being channelled into the life of the churches. Most of the students in the Faculty will not be ordained, and many of them go into influential positions in careers such as the media, publishing and teaching. Our aim is that they will take with them a critical but positisve vision of the part which religion has played and continues to play in human society.

Contact details

Faculty of Divinity
West Road
CAMBRIDGE
CB3 9BS

Tel: 01223 763002
Fax: 01223 763003
Email: The Faculty Office