BA (Hons) Philosophy, Ethics and Religion Bachelor's degree at the University of Leeds

This introductory module offers you a foundation in some of the formal and informal reasoning skills used in philosophy.

This module introduces you to some of the key themes, debates and ideas in moral and political philosophy.

This module introduces you to essential theories, methods and concepts in the study of religion. You will be introduced to critical debates and issues such as gender and postcolonialism. The module also develops your academic skills, facilitating success throughout your degree studies.

This module provides an orientation into biblical writings and theological thought. The focus is on Jewish and Christian traditions and their contemporary relevance. You will learn about the different ways biblical texts are interpreted and applied, and how beliefs about God and God's relationship to humanity have developed over time.

This module introduces you to philosophical thinking about key questions relating to religion, such as the nature of religious belief, theodicy, immortality, religious pluralism, and religious knowledge.

This module introduces you to central issues in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and metaphysics which concern the self and its relationship to the rest of the world.

This module examines how religion intersects with politics and society today. It also introduces you to the sometimes contentious role of religion in public settings, considering local, national and international scales. Key questions centre upon secularity, liberal democracy and human rights, as well as pressing concerns associated with globalisation, development, ecology and multiculturalism.

This module introduces the study of everyday religious cultures, dwelling on Christianity and Islam in selected regions of the contemporary world. You will engage with anthropological studies, literary sources and contemporary media to examine the complex ways in which religious traditions are mediated, lived and transformed locally and globally.

This module explores interactions among science, magic and religion concentrating on debates over the natural and the supernatural.

This taster module introduces you to a cluster of philosophically interesting issues around the topic of race.

This taster module takes you through different ways in which academic philosophy can illuminate real world issues. This might be approached through a wide range of different areas of philosophy such as moral and political philosophy, applied ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of law or philosophy of mind. The particular approach will change annually.

This module introduces some of the key religious traditions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. You may, for example, study Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and/or Jainism. Through studying these religions in their historical and contemporary form, and through their texts and traditions, the module enhances your understanding of the contested nature of 'religion' and the challenges of studying religion.

This core module prepares you for your final year project. It covers philosophical, social scientific, and theological approaches, and familiarizes you with a variety of methods, including textual analysis and fieldwork. It also stimulates you to think about your ambitions after your degree, and to reflect on your personal and academic development.

This module offers an intermediate level exploration of central concepts, theories, and debates in political philosophy, such as liberty, equality and human rights. It broadly investigates how we should live together and what we owe one another as political actors.

This interdisciplinary module examines the relationship between religion and human rights from historical, theological, philosophical and social-scientific perspectives. It explores questions such as: How do religious commitments and commitments to human rights affect each other, in theory and in practice? Are religious communities the sources, the guardians or the enemies of human rights? Are human rights 'sacred' – and should they be?

This module offers an intermediate level exploration of a selection of themes, debates and ideas in the philosophy of religion including, for instance, philosophical considerations that bear on rational (dis-) belief in God and common arguments for and against the existence of God.

This module offers an intermediate level exploration of some of the central concepts, issues, theories, and debates in an area of moral philosophy called 'normative ethics', thereby providing you with a framework for thinking seriously about moral matters, and to assist you in developing your philosophical and analytical skills.

This module offers an intermediate level exploration of a selection of themes, debates and ideas in epistemology, including for instance issues concerning human knowledge and associated epistemological concepts such as having a good reason ('justification') for belief.

This module offers an intermediate level exploration of a selection of themes, debates and ideas in metaphysics (the study of fundamental reality). Its main concern is with ontology, the study of what, in the most general, abstract terms, exist.

Theology – our thinking about God – is informed by our diverse cultural, social, economic and political contexts and related human experience. This module helps you to understand how this situatedness – e.g. in terms of class, disability, gender, sexuality and race – shapes particular doctrinal beliefs, and gives rise to contextual theological discourses, such as black, feminist, womanist and liberation theologies.

The postcolonial condition – that is, the aftermath and legacies of colonialism and neo-colonialism – shapes religious identities and movements in the majority parts of our world. Focusing on the beliefs and practices of various traditions, such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism, this module explores how religion is a source of meaning, identity, agency and resistance in regions such as Africa and South Asia and their diasporas.

Within sociology, there is a long tradition of thinking about religion as being at odds with modernity. The assumption is that as societies become more modern, religion will become more marginal. This "secularisation thesis" has become highly contested, as religion continues to play a vital and public role in societies across the world. This module introduces you to classical as well as contemporary sociologists and their thinking about religion, and explores the current debates within the disci

This module explores the ways in which religious belief and practice intersect with ideas and social attitudes regarding gender and sexuality. Using a range of critical perspectives, such as feminist, masculinity, queer and postcolonial studies, you will look into issues such as the status of women, men's identities, views regarding homosexuality and reproductive rights, in diverse religious traditions.

This module takes a detailed look at one or more traditions that have originated in India, most notably Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh traditions. The module will typically include discussion of religious, mythological, philosophical, and/or political themes.

This final year project option is designed to provide you with an opportunity to carry out independent research on a topic of your choice, subject to the approval of the School and to the availability of an appropriately qualified supervisor.

This final year project option allows you to carry out a piece of extended research with the additional support of a scaffolding module, selected from semester 1 taught modules, which will provide the basis for your independent research with the support of an appropriately qualified supervisor.

This final year project option allows you to undertake a placement with an external organisation. You will apply your degree-related knowledge and skills into non-academic contexts and reflect on your experiences.