The Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion co-ordinates the teaching of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. The Theology Faculty Centre was at 34 St Giles' in central

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. It is now on the second floor of the Gibson Building in the

Radcliffe Observatory Quarter The Radcliffe Observatory Quarter (ROQ) is a major University of Oxford development project in Oxford, England, in the estate of the old Radcliffe Infirmary hospital. The site, covering 10 acres (3.7 hectares) is in central north Oxford. It is ...

on Woodstock Road.

History

One of the first series of lectures delivered at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

was on theology. As early as 1193,

Alexander Neckam Alexander Neckam (8 September 115731 March 1217) was an English poet, theologian, and writer. He was an abbot of Cirencester Abbey from 1213 until his death. Early life Born on 8 September 1157 in St Albans, Alexander shared his birthday with ...

from

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

gave biblical and moral lectures on the Psalms of David and the

Wisdom of Solomon The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, is a book written in Greek and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. It is not part of the Hebrew Bible but is included in the Septuagint. Generally dated to the mid-first century Anno Domini, ...

. One of the first university buildings was the

Divinity School A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

, begun in 1423 specifically for theology lectures. The modern theological faculty emerges during the reform of the University of Oxford in the nineteenth century. The Final Honour School of Theology - as a route to the Bachelor of Arts degree - was introduced in 1869. Up until then, theological study was the reserve of graduates and those seeking ordination in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, who would attend a short series of lectures by the Regius Professors on basic divinity; its focus was on the Thirty-Nine Articles,

Joseph Butler Joseph Butler (18 May 1692 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 16 June 1752 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Anglican bishop, Christian theology, theologian, apologist, and philosopher, born in Wantage in the English count ...

's ''

Analogy of Religion The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature is an apologetic work of an English Anglican theologian and philosopher Joseph Butler (1736). The book aims to show a real correspondence, or analogy, betw ...

'' and a knowledge of the

Greek New Testament Greek New Testament refers to the New Testament in Koine Greek. It may also refer to the following texts: * ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' * ''Textus Receptus The (Latin for 'received text') is the succession of printed Greek New Testament texts ...

. Although an honour school in theology was recommended from as early as 1853, it was not until the late 1860s, amidst concerns about the declining influence of the Established Church in the university, that

Edward Pusey Edward Bouverie Pusey (; 22 August 180016 September 1882) was an English Anglican cleric, for more than fifty years Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. He was one of the leading figures in the Oxford Movement, with interest ...

and

Henry Parry Liddon Henry Parry Liddon (20 August 1829 – 9 September 1890), usually cited as H. P. Liddon, was an English Anglican theologian. From 1870 to 1882, he was Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford. ...

began to advocate the introduction of a separate School of Theology responsible for the training of Anglican ordinands. Its curriculum was biblical and historical in its focus, with its first examinations requiring knowledge of scripture, ecclesiastical history and patristics, dogmatic and symbolic theology, apologetics, liturgy and sacred criticism. The faculty remained as a stronghold of the Church of England well into the 20th century, with denominational restrictions on the higher theological degrees (the Bachelor of Divinity and the Doctor of Divinity) and examiners in the Final Honour School of Theology only being abolished in 1920 and 1922 respectively. Still, three of the regius professorships are tied to canonries at Christ Church Cathedral, requiring their holders to be in ordained in the Church of England or in a church in communion with the Church of England. A significant proportion of the faculty's students are preparing for ordination, either as candidates for the B.A. or the B.Th. Despite the faculty's historic obligations to the Church of England, the foundation of Nonconformist and Roman Catholic institutions in Oxford from the late 19th century onwards, alongside changing academic and ecclesiastical attitudes towards theological study, resulted in the gradual transformation of theology from a purely professional discipline into an aspect of humanistic study. During the 20th century, Oxford established itself as an internationally significant centre of theological study with important contributions from S. R. Driver, William Sanday, C. H. Turner, B. H. Streeter, N. P. Williams,

R. H. Lightfoot Robert Henry Lightfoot (30 September 1883 – 24 November 1953) was an Anglican priest and theologian, who was Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford from 1934 to 1949. Life Lightfoot was the younge ...

, G. R. Driver,

Austin Farrer Austin Marsden Farrer (1 October 1904 – 29 December 1968) was an English Anglican philosopher, theologian, and biblical scholar. His activity in philosophy, theology, and spirituality led many to consider him one of the greatest figures of 20t ...

Maurice Wiles Maurice Frank Wiles, FBA (17 October 1923 – 3 June 2005) was an Anglican priest and academic. He was the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford from 1970 to 1991. Life and academic career Wiles was educated at the Tonbridge ...

, Henry Chadwick, James Barr and

Arthur Peacocke Arthur Robert Peacocke (29 November 1924 – 21 October 2006) was an English Anglican theologian and biochemist. Biography Arthur Robert Peacocke was born in Watford, England, on 29 November 1924. He was educated at Watford Grammar School fo ...

. Although the department has, more recently, introduced examination papers in modern systematic theology, world religions and even separate postgraduate master's degrees in the study of religion, the Final Honour School of Theology remains primarily focused on biblical and historical study. Each undergraduate devotes at least half of his or her degree to the study of the Old Testament, New Testament, the development of Christian doctrine to AD 451 and modern Christian doctrine. Candidates can then choose four further papers from a wide selection of topics in biblical studies, history, doctrine and world religions.

Professors

Statutory professorships

The following statutory professorships are held in conjunction with a canonry of Christ Church: the professor must be ordained in priest's orders in the

or in an

Anglican church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

in communion with the Church of England, or eligible for and prepared to accept ordination. *

Regius Professor of Divinity The Regius Professorships of Divinity are amongst the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. A third chair existed for a period at Trinity College Dublin. The Oxford and Cambridge chairs were founded by ...

- Canon Graham Ward (Canon Ward will vacate the Professor at the termination of the 2023-2024 Academic Year) *

Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity The Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity is a senior professorship in Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church of the University of Oxford. The professorship was founded from the benefaction of Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443–1509), mother of Henry ...

- Canon

Carol Harrison Carol Harrison (born 8th June 1954) is an English actress and writer. She is known mostly for her work on British television, in particular her role as Louise Raymond in BBC's ''EastEnders''. Career Harrison made her acting debut in 1976, in th ...

Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology The Regius Professorship of Moral and Pastoral Theology, together with the Regius Professorship of Ecclesiastical History, was founded at the University of Oxford by an act of Parliament in 1840, and first filled in 1842. The act attached the cha ...

- Vacant (Canon

Nigel Biggar Nigel John Biggar, Baron Biggar (born 14 March 1955) is a British Anglican priest, theologian, ethicist, and life peer. From 2007 to 2022, he was Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford. Early life and educ ...

is currently the Regius Professor Emeritus of the Chair) The following statutory professorship is held in conjunction with a canonry of Christ Church: the professor must be ordained in priest's orders in the Church of England or in an episcopal church in communion with the Church of England, or eligible for and prepared to accept ordination; alternatively, in accordance the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 1995 §2, the professorship may be held in conjunction with a lay canonry: the professor must be a lay member of the Church of England, or of any church in communion with it, or a minister or lay member of a church not in communion with the Church of England provided he or she is a suitably qualified member of one of the churches to which the Church of England (Ecumenical Relations) Measure 1988 refers. * Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History - Vacant * Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture (attached to a fellowship at Oriel) - Hindy Najman *

Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture The position of Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture was established at the University of Oxford in 1847. This professorship in the critical interpretation or explanation of biblical texts, a field known as exegesis, was ...

(attached to a fellowship at

Keble Keble is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Bernard Keble Sandwell (1876–1940), Canadian newspaper editor * Edward Keble Chatterton (1878–1944), English writer * Henry Keble (?–1517), Lord Mayor of Lond ...

) -

Markus Bockmuehl Markus Bockmuehl (born 1961) is a Canadian biblical scholar. He has been the Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford since 2014, and a Fellow of Keble College, Oxford, since 2007. Biography Bockmue ...

Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion The Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion is a chair at the University of Oxford, associated with Oriel College, Oxford, Oriel College. The chair was established in 1920 by an endowment from Charles Frederick Nolloth, on ...

(attached to a fellowship at Oriel) -

Mark Wynn Mark Wynn is a British philosopher of religion, philosophical theologian and academic. He is the seventh Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion Oriel College, University of Oxford. He was formerly the president of the ...

* Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion (attached to a fellowship at Harris Manchester) - Mark Harris * Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions (attached to a fellowship at

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally known under ...

) - Anna Abulafia

Other professors

Paul Fiddes Paul Stuart Fiddes (born 30 April 1947) is an English Baptist theologian and novelist. Fiddes is Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology in the University of Oxford, Principal Emeritus and Senior Research Fellow of Regent's Park College, ...

: Professor of Systematic Theology (Fellow Emeritus

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

) * Martin Goodman: Professor of Jewish Studies (fellow of

Wolfson See also Woolf, Woolfe, Wolfe, Wolff, Wolfson and Woolfson (especially for family names). Wolfson or Volfson is a Jewish surname, and may refer to: * Alice Wolfson, American activist and attorney who specializes in women's health * David Wolfson ...

)

References

External links

Faculty of Theology website

{{University of Oxford Christianity studies Teology Faculty Christian seminaries and theological colleges