King's College London Department of Theology and Religious Studies

King's College London Department of Theology and Religious Studies
Name	Department of Theology and Religious Studies
Parent	King's College London
Established	1829
Location	Strand, London
Type	Academic department

Contents

King's College London Department of Theology and Religious Studies is an academic department within King's College London that offers undergraduate and postgraduate study in Theology, Religious studies and related fields. The department operates in central London and engages with historic institutions such as Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, and the British Museum while contributing to debates linked to Oxford University, Cambridge University, University College London, Durham University, and international partners like Harvard University and Yale University.

History

The department traces its origins to the founding of King's College London alongside institutions such as University of London and the influence of figures associated with George IV and Duke of Wellington; its early curriculum responded to debates involving Evangelicalism and Anglicanism during the era of Oxford Movement and encounters with thinkers from University of Edinburgh and Trinity College Dublin. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the unit engaged with controversies around Darwinism and dialogues featuring scholars linked to Cambridge Philosophical Society, Royal Society, British Academy and exchanges with theologians associated with Pusey and Newman; the department's development paralleled institutional reforms enacted by Education Act 1944 and shifts following the formation of the Arts and Humanities Research Council. In recent decades it has established connections with projects at European University Institute, Max Planck Society, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Princeton University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Sorbonne, and cross-disciplinary initiatives involving Wellcome Trust and Leverhulme Trust.

The department offers bachelor's degrees, master's programmes and doctoral supervision that attract students from contexts including Church of England, Roman Catholic Church, Church of Scotland, Greek Orthodox Church, Islamic University of Medina, Al-Azhar University, Tel Aviv University, and secular institutions such as London School of Economics and Imperial College London. Courses cover historical and textual studies on authors like Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Schleiermacher, and engage with comparative work on traditions represented by Muhammad, Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Laozi, Guru Nanak. Professional pathways intersect with bodies such as Church of England Pensions Board, Diocese of London, General Synod of the Church of England, National Health Service, and international NGOs connected to United Nations and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Joint and diploma programmes operate with faculties at King's Business School, Guy's Hospital, Royal College of Music and partnerships with centres like Centre for Contemporary Religion and Public Life.

Research themes encompass biblical studies, systematic theology, ethics, history of religions and interreligious dialogue with projects aligned to funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council, European Research Council, Wellcome Trust, and collaborations with institutes such as Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Pontifical Gregorian University, The Woolf Institute, Centre for the Study of Religion and Conflict, and Khalili Research Centre. Internal centres and initiatives connect scholars working on topics linked to New Testament, Hebrew Bible, Patristics, Reformation, Enlightenment, Secularisation thesis, and contemporary issues addressed at forums like World Economic Forum, G20 Summit, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and policy bodies including Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The department's outputs appear in journals associated with Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Brill, and in collaborative monographs with scholars from Princeton Theological Seminary and Vanderbilt University.

Faculty include scholars whose work intersects with figures and institutions such as N.T. Wright, Rowan Williams, Elaine Pagels, Marcus Borg, Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, Graham Ward, John Milbank, and partnerships with visiting fellows from University of Notre Dame, Yeshiva University, Boston University, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and University of Bonn. Leadership roles within the department liaise with governance structures in King's College London and with external bodies including the British Council, Association of British Universities and Colleges (AUCC), European Consortium for Church and State Research and editorial boards of periodicals tied to Society for Biblical Literature and European Academy of Religion. Professors hold fellowships in organisations such as the British Academy, Royal Society of Arts, Academia Europaea and maintain networks with clergy and leaders from Archbishop of Canterbury, Patriarch of Constantinople, Dalai Lama offices and senior figures across World Council of Churches and Vatican.

Students participate in societies and student unions linked to King's College London Students' Union, chaplaincies connected to Church of England and London Buddhist Centre, and associations that run events with partners like Theos and Cardiff Centre for Ethics and Law. Societies stage lectures and debates featuring visiting speakers from House of Commons, House of Lords, European Parliament, and cultural programmes with collaborators such as Royal Opera House, National Theatre, British Library, Tate Modern, and outreach with Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

The department uses facilities on the Strand, London campus and holds special collections and archives that draw on materials from British Library, Bodleian Library, Vatican Library, Cambridge University Library and rare holdings relating to manuscripts associated with Codex Sinaiticus, Dead Sea Scrolls, Gutenberg Bible, and correspondence connected to John Wesley and William Wilberforce. Teaching resources incorporate digital collections and partnerships with repositories such as JSTOR and consortia involving SOAS University of London, Royal Holloway and international archives at Bibliothèque nationale de France.