Religion & Society (MA)

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Postgraduate 2010

Religion & Society (MA)

The MA in Religion and Society affirms that religion is a significant factor in the understanding of both culture and society. It aims to provide students with a broad but coherent programme of study at Masters Level that will enable in-depth engagement with key issues pertaining to the role of religion in society.

Course Details/ Module Information

At the heart of the programme are five 15 credit modules that explore the following issues: Religion and Migration; Islam in Britain; Buddhism in the Contemporary World; Religion and Plurality: Identity, Co-Existence and Co-Responsibility; Religion and Gender. In addition to this, there is a compulsory module on Religion and Culture. Students may also choose to do one 15-credit module from the MA in Christian Theology.

Assessments are mainly by 3,000 word essay, although some modules also require students to prepare shorter written pieces. Each module is taught across five, three-hour sessions, all of which take place between six and nine p.m.

A capacity for independent study is essential for this programme. Students demonstrate this above all in the final, compulsory dissertation (60 credits, c. 15,000 words). They can also replace two of the taught modules with a 30 credit Independent Research Project, taken under the supervision of an appropriate academic member of staff.

An integral part of the programme is training in research skills. This is done through two modules that are taught jointly with the MA in Christian Theology. The first initiates students into the level of critical reading and writing required for Masters study. The second trains them in research methodology in preparation for the final dissertation.

Research Environment

Students pursuing the MA in Religion and Society will find themselves working within a thriving research environment. All members of the teaching team are actively involved in cutting-edge research. Their recent publications include:

Jenny Daggers (co-editor with Diana Neal, Sex, Gender & Religion: Josephine Butler Revisited (Peter Lang, 2006)

Ron Geaves, Saivism in the Diaspora: Contemporary Forms of Skanda Worship (Equinox, 2007)

Elizabeth J Harris, Theravada Buddhism and the British Encounter: religious, missionary and colonial experience in nineteenth century Sri Lanka (Routledge, 2006)

John Walliss (co-editor with James A. Beckford), Theorising Religion: Classical and Contemporary Debates (Ashgate, 2006)

John Walliss is Director of the Centre of Millennialism Studies and Ron Geaves is establishing a centre for applied Islamic studies, both at Hope University.

Career Opportunities

Critical awareness of the role of religion in society is needed in a number of professions that demand interface with faith communities. In addition, local and national government, media, religious institutions and providers of social services are increasingly recognising the importance of a broad-based religious literacy that can both analyse and interpret the impact of religion in society.