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

This module introduces you to essential theories, methods and concepts in the study of religion. You'll learn about 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 examines how religion intersects with politics and society today. It also introduces you to the sometimes contentious role of religion in public settings. Key questions centre upon secularity, liberal democracy and human rights, as well as pressing concerns like 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 introduces some of the key religious traditions that originated in the Indian subcontinent, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and 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 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. You'll learn to construct rational arguments, reflecting on your beliefs and analysing possible objections and responses to a variety of ideas.

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

Within sociology, there is a long tradition of thinking about religion as being at odds with modernity, the assumption being 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 di

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.

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'll look into issues such as the status of women, men's identities, views regarding homosexuality and reproductive rights, in diverse religious traditions.

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

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 on your degree-related knowledge and skills into non-academic contexts and reflect on your experiences.

This module deals with the overarching question of how religious beliefs and practices can be conceptualized, as well as specific topics such as indigenous and/or ancient religious practices, eternal life, reincarnation, prayer, the problem of evil, and connections between religious belief, ethical values, and conceptions of humanity.

This module brings philosophy, theology, and religious studies into debate with psychiatry, psychology, sociology and medical anthropology to discuss key questions relating to religion and mental health. You'll develop a critical understanding of various religious interpretations of mental illness, the impact these have on people's experiences, and the way they intersect with e.g. gender and sexuality and relate to broader socio-political issues.

This module examines the interrelationship between religion and the media, including how religion is mediated and how the media portray and represent religion in general and different religious traditions. You'll learn about research on religion in the media, and about the analytical methods that researchers use, including trying these out for yourselves.

This module explores the role of religion in international development theory and action; the nature of religion as resource, obstacle and critical participant in development; particular forms of co-operation between religious communities, religious aid agencies and communities in development; and the relationship of religion, human values and community bui