Graham John Ward (born 25 October 1955) is an English theologian and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest who has been Regius Professor of Divinity at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

since 2012. As Regius Professor, he is ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' a member of the College of Canons and

Cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He is a priest of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and was formerly the Samuel Ferguson Professor of Philosophical Theology and Ethics and the Head of the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

. Previous to that he was the Professor of

Contextual Theology Contextual theology or contextualizing theology refers to theology which has responded to the dynamics of a particular context. Terminology The term contextualizing theology was used in missiology by Shoki Coe when he argued that the Venn-Anders ...

and Ethics (1998–2009) and Senior Fellow in Religion and Gender (1997–98) at the university. Prior to this he was, successively, a chaplain and fellow at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

, a part-time lecturer at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

and the Dean and Director of Studies for Theology at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

. He was ordained deacon in 1990 and priest in 1991, having originally studied English and French at

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college traces its origins back to 1869 and the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

, and then studied theology at Selwyn College while training for ordination at Westcott House. Ward has engaged in different fields of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, especially

postmodern theology Postmodern theology, also known as the continental philosophy of religion, is a philosophical and theological movement that interprets theology in light of post- Heideggerian continental philosophy, including phenomenology, post-structuralism, ...

, and other disciplines such as

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

, and queer theory. He has written on the theology of language,

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

cultural analysis As a discipline, cultural analysis is based on using qualitative research methods of the arts, humanities, social sciences, in particular ethnography and anthropology, to collect data on cultural phenomena and to interpret cultural representatio ...

, and

christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...

. His contemporary research focuses on Christian social ethics, political theory and cultural hermeneutics. He is editor of three book series: ''

Radical Orthodoxy Radical orthodoxy is a Christian theological and philosophical school of thought which makes use of postmodern philosophy to reject the paradigm of modernity. The movement was founded by John Milbank and others and takes its name from the title ...

'' (Routledge), ''Christian Theology in Context'' (OUP) and ''Illuminations: Religion & Theory'' (Blackwell).

Views

In ''Cities of God'', Ward declared his support for 'same-sex unions':

For me, something of that standpoint is composed of the fact that I am a male, Christian theologian who openly advocates same-sex unions, who has friends dying or living with the fear of AIDS, and a family who lives the shadows, embarrassments and sufferings of a genetic disorder But each of us moves out from where we are placed and place ourselves, and in doing so understands that we are also elsewhere.

Books and edited volumes

*''Another Kind of Normal: Ethical Life II'' (Oxford University Press, 2022), *''Theology and Religion: Why is Matters'' (Polity, 2019), *''Unimaginable: What We Imagine and What We Can't'' (I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd, 2018) *''How the Light Gets In: Ethical Life I'' (Oxford University Press, 2016), *''Unbelievable: Why We Believe and Why We Don't'' (I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd, 2014), *''The Politics of Discipleship: Becoming Postmaterial Citizens'' (SCM Press, 2009), *''Christ and Culture'' (Blackwell, 2005), *''Cultural Transformation and Religious Practice'' (Cambridge University Press, 2004), *''True Religion'' (Blackwell, 2002), *''Cities of God'' (Routledge, 2000), *''Theology and Contemporary Critical Theory'' (Macmillan, 1996, 2nd edition 2000), *''Barth, Derrida and the language of theology'' (Cambridge University Press, 1995), *(Edited, with Michael Hoelzl) ''Religion and Political Thought'' (Continuum, 2006), *(Edited) ''The Blackwell Companion to Postmodern Theology'' (Blackwell, 2004), *(Edited) ''The Certeau Reader'' (2000), *(Edited) ''Theology and Masculinity'' (The Journal of Men's Studies, Vol. 7, 1999) *(Edited, with

John Milbank Alasdair John Milbank (born 23 October 1952) is an English Anglican theologian and is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham, where he is President of the Centre of Theology and ...

and Catherine Pickstock) ''Radical Orthodoxy: a New Theology'' (Routledge, 1998), *(Edited) ''The Postmodern God: a Theological Reader'' (Blackwell, 1997),

References

External links

Graham Ward at the Religion and Civil Society NetworkInterview with Graham WardTheology and Masculinity - The Journal of Men's StudiesUniversity of Oxford - Regius Professor of Divinity - Graham Ward
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Graham 1955 births Living people LGBT and Anglicanism British Christian theologians English Anglican theologians Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Manchester Academics of the University of Birmingham Christian continental philosophers and theologians Fellows of Exeter College, Oxford Fellows of Peterhouse, Cambridge Alumni of Westcott House, Cambridge Regius Professors of Divinity (University of Oxford)

Views

Books and edited volumes

See also

References

External links