Theology
Theology is at the core of the Department’s research activity and output. Our varied research interests include practical theology, systematic theology, pneumatology, ecclesiology, ecumenical theology and (Islamic and Christian) philosophical theology.
The Department has been a hugely important and influential centre – nationally and internationally – in the evolution of practical theology, and present staff members specialise in related areas such as disability theory, interreligious relations, and biblical ethics and morality. It also has an outstanding international reputation in the philosophy of religion, with many of the world’s most recognisable figures in the discipline – including John Hick, Ninian Smart, Denys Turner, David Ford, Karen Kilby and Julius Lipner – having taught here.
Researchers
Academics
- Nicholas Adams specialises in the relation of philosophy to theology, and on philosophical problems in interreligious engagement.
- Daniela Augustine specialises in theological ethics and public theology (through pneumatological, ecclesiological and liturgical lens) and in World Christianity, with emphasis on Eastern Orthodox and Pentecostal Studies
- David Cheetham researches topics including the relations between religions, contemporary philosophical theology, and theology and the arts
- Amy Daughton works on political theology, which explores theological reasoning on questions about how communities are constituted, the use of power, and the character of political and moral practices.
- Rhiannon Grant looks at Quaker theology, especially religious language and spiritually engaged theologising
- Jeremy Kidwell specialises in theological ethics, esp. intersection of political philosophy, ecology, economics and technology
- Richard Todd works on Islamic philosophical theology
- Wolfgang Vondey specialises in systematic theology with focus on ecclesiology, pneumatology and Pentecostal studies.
Major publications
- Augustine, Daniela C., The Spirit and the Common Good: Shared Flourishing in the Image of God (2019)
- Kidwell, J.H. and S. Doherty eds. (2015), Theology and Economics: A Christian Vision of the Common Good, Palgrave
- Kidwell, J.H. (2016), The Theology of Craft and the Craft of Work, Routledge
- Vondey, Wolfgang, Pentecostal Theology: Living the Full Gospel (2017)
- Vondey, Wolfgang, The Routledge Handbook of Pentecostal Theology (2020)