Peter Christian Vardy (born July 1945)
[ is a British ]theologian
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 ...
. The author or co-author of 18 books about religion and ethics, Vardy was vice-principal of Heythrop College
Heythrop College, University of London, was a constituent college of the University of London between 1971 and 2018, last located in Kensington Square, London. It comprised the university's specialist faculties of philosophy and theology with soc ...
, a Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
college in London, from 1999 to 2011. He is known for the religious-studies conferences he runs in the UK for schools.[
]
Early life and education
Vardy was born to Mark Vardy[ and Christa Lund Vardy; his mother was Danish.][Vardy, Peter (1996). ''The SPCK Introduction to Kierkegaard''. London: Fount Paperbacks, p. ix.] He attended Charterhouse
Charterhouse may refer to:
* Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order
Charterhouse may also refer to:
Places
* The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery
* Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey
London ...
, an independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
in Godalming
Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...
, Surrey. In 1974 he married his first wife, Anne Vardy, née Moore; the couple had two sons and three daughters before divorcing in 2004.[ Vardy remarried in 2009; he and his wife Charlotte, née Fowler (born 1978), have two daughters.]
Vardy trained as a chartered accountant, becoming a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA) in 1967. He ran management-training sessions for the National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...
and Swiss Bank Corporation
Swiss Bank Corporation was a Swiss investment bank and financial services company located in Switzerland. Prior to its merger, the bank was the third largest in Switzerland with over CHF300 billion of assets and CHF11.7 billion of equ ...
, and was the chairman of H. Young Holdings plc from 1979–1983. At the age of 30, Vardy began to study theology, receiving a BA from the University of Southampton
, mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour
, type = Public research university
, established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
in 1979 and a PGCE (a teaching qualification) from the West Sussex Institute of Higher Education in 1980. He was awarded a master's degree in theology from King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
in 1982,[ and a PhD in theology in 1984, also from King's, for a thesis entitled ''The concept of eternity''.
]
Academic career
Vardy taught philosophy of religion
Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning ph ...
at King's College London and the Institute of Education
IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to m ...
.[ He began lecturing at Heythrop College in 1986][ and in 1999 became the vice-principal,] a position he held until his retirement in 2011.
Whilst at Heythrop, he served on the University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
's Board of Theology (1990–1993). Vardy served as President of the London Society for the Study of Religion from 1996 to 1998 and remained a member until at least 2007 when the Society celebrated its centenary.
Vardy's primary academic interest is in the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...
, whose work he taught at Heythrop for 25 years. From 1987 he organized annual dinners in London on the anniversary of Kierkegaard's death, and in 1996 his book ''Kierkegaard'' was published, later published as ''The SPCK Introduction to Kierkegaard''.
Work with schools
Conferences
Vardy served as chair of the governors of Shebbear College
Shebbear College is an independent day and boarding school for girls and boys aged 4 – 18 situated in Shebbear, Devon, England. The school's 85-acre rural campus is situated in the Devon countryside.
It was founded by the Bible Christian Soci ...
, a Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
school in Devon. He has also worked as a member of the Methodist Schools Committee, and has been a keynote speaker at conferences in the field of education, including for UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
and UNHRC
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
. While at Heythrop, Vardy served as an editorial adviser for ''Dialogue'', a journal of religion and philosophy aimed at sixth-form students, and made a series of teaching videos through Dialogue Education. He began running day conferences for sixth-form students in the mid 1990s and set up Wombat Education Ltd in 1998. In 2002 he and Julie Arliss of Richard Huish College, Taunton, organized a conference there and several others around the UK. In 2009 Vardy and his second wife, Charlotte Vardy, set up Candle Conferences Ltd, and in 2012 Candle Education Ltd, through which they run day conferences for schools.
Since 2010 Vardy has campaigned against the introduction of the English Baccalaureate
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance indicator in England linked to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results. It measures students' attainment by calculating an average score from specified subject grades. ...
, which he argues has led to a decline in numbers taking religious studies. He views philosophy of religion as an exercise in exploring the terms left undefined by theology (such as "God" and "soul") and encouraging humility. Education is a way to help young people become fully human, in his view, or good in the Aristotelian sense. He described the approach in his books "What is Truth?" (2001) and "Being Human" (2003), and in a paper, "Becoming Fully Human", for ''Dialogue Australasia'' in 2007.
Vardy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Theology by the University of Chichester in October 2021, in recognition of his work in promoting the study of Religious Studies, Philosophy and Ethics and Values Education.
Dialogue Australasia Network
In 1999 Vardy worked as a consultant for an Australian school, Geelong Grammar School
, motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"(1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom)
, city = Corio, Victoria
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, ty ...
, in Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
, Victoria.[ Later he helped to set up the Dialogue Australasia Network, promoting the "five strands" approach to religious studies in schools that he proposed at the inaugural conference of Dialogue Australasia Network in 1997.] This was implemented in a number of Australasian Independent Schools. He also served as an editor and occasional author for the journal ''Dialogue Australasia''.[
]
Media
Vardy has served as an editorial adviser for BBC and Channel 4 documentaries, has been interviewed by ABC Radio in Australia, and has written for several publications, including ''Times Higher Education
''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education.
Ownership
TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
'', '' Eureka Street'', and ''The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
''. Vardy's ''Introduction to Kierkegaard'' was recommended in 2003 by the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
Open Book's Reading Clinic.
Selected works
Books
* (1987). ''God of Our Fathers? Do We Know What We Believe?'' London: Darton, Longman and Todd.
* (1988). ''And if it's True?'' London: Marshall Pickering.
* (1989). ''Business Morality, People and Profit''. London: Marshall Pickering.
* (1990). ''The Puzzle of God''. London: M. E. Sharpe.
* (1992). ''The Puzzle of Evil''. London: M. E. Sharpe.
* (1994, with Paul Grosch). ''The Puzzle of Ethics''. London: Fount Paperbacks.
* (1995, with Mary Mills). ''The Puzzle of the Gospels''. London: M. E. Sharpe.
* (1996). ''Kierkegaard'' (later ''The SPCK Introduction to Kierkegaard''). London: Fount Paperbacks.
* (1997). ''The Puzzle of Sex''. London: M. E. Sharpe.
* (1999). ''What is Truth?'' Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.
* (2003, with Julie Arliss). ''The Thinker's Guide to God''. Alresford: John Hunt Publishing, Ltd.
* (2003, with Julie Arliss). ''The Thinker's Guide to Evil''. Alresford: John Hunt Publishing, Ltd.
* (2003). ''Being Human''. London: Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
* (2010). ''Good & Bad Religion''. London: SCM Press.
* (2012, with Charlotte Vardy). ''Ethics Matters''. London: SCM Press.
* (2013, with Charlotte Vardy). ''God Matters''. London: SCM Press.
* (2016, with Charlotte Vardy). ''Bible Matters''. London: SCM Press.
* (2016). ''The Puzzle of Christianity''. London: William Collins.
* (2020). "Beyond the Cave: A philosopher's quest for Truth". London: Iff Books.
Articles and chapters
* (1987). "Review of ''Kierkegaard's Dialect of Inwardness'' by Stephen N. Dunning", in ''Religious Studies''. 23 (3):427–428.
* (1993). "Technology in the Age of Automata", in ''Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal''. 16(1): 209–226.
* (1995). "A Christian Approach to Eternal Life", in D. Cohn-Sherbok and C. Lewis (eds.). ''Beyond Death''. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
* (1997). "Theology and Sharing the Economic Cake", in P. Askonas and S. F. Frowen (eds.). ''Welfare and Values''. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
* (2002). "Is Religious Education and ethical and moral debate a contradiction?", in Lynne Broadbent and Alan Brown (eds.). ''Issues in Religious Education''. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
* (2005). "The Philosophy of Religion", in John R. Hinnells (ed). ''The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion''. London: Routledge.
* (2014). "Theologians should face Peter Singer's challenge". ''Eureka Street''. 24(14), July 2014.
References
External links
Candle Conferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vardy, Peter
1945 births
Academics of Heythrop College
Alumni of King's College London
English theologians
British ethicists
Kierkegaard scholars
Living people
English people of Danish descent