The McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics & Public Life is a research institute in the
University of Oxford, which is associated with the
Faculty of Theology
Faculty may refer to:
* Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage)
* Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States)
* Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warrant ...
. Its director is
Nigel Biggar,
Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology. The current McDonald Fellow for Christian Ethics & Public Life i
John Perry
The Centre supports research on the contribution of Christian traditions to the understanding of moral life in conversation, with other traditions of religious and philosophical thought. It fosters collaboration both between theology and other disciplines, and between academia and those who shape public deliberation and policy. In publishing the research that it supports, the Centre addresses academic, church, and wider public audiences.
In 2017, the McDonald Centre attracted controversy after receiving funding from Oxford University for its project Ethics and Empire, which Director Nigel Biggar said aimed to "pay careful attention to the historical variety of things that empire can be, and work out a more sophisticated way of evaluating them morally.” In response, more than 170 scholars of imperialism signed a joint letter condemning Oxford University's support for the project. The signatories stated that “We are not surprised that such an approach should be recuperated by Prof Biggar – a long-time apologist for colonialism – but we are alarmed that the University of Oxford should invest resources in this project.”
External links
McDonald Centre website
Departments of the University of Oxford
Political research institutes
Research institutes in Oxford
{{UOxford-stub