Childhood &Youth and Religion, Theology & Spirituality

CHILDHOOD & YOUTH

Childhood & Youth is an exciting, multidisciplinary subject in which you will explore a range of issues and challenges faced by children and young people in contemporary society, both here in the UK and on a global level. Drawing on key ideas from sociology, politics, history, social policy and cultural studies, the degree examines important questions about children and young people and the social contexts in which they live.

Topics studied include: how children and young people’s place in society has changed over time; how social class, poverty, gender, ethnicity, disability, social policy and so on impact children and young people’s lives; the role of risk and risk-taking in children and young people’s everyday lives and; how children and young people make sense of and help to shape their social worlds. In exploring such issues you will also look at various political debates and policy initiatives, as well as learning about various ways of researching with children and young people that aim to help them overcome the many challenges that they face.

With its strong emphasis on social justice and welfare, the degree will enable you to develop as critical social scientists who value their role within the academic community at Hope and who, as graduates, will be able to use their skills and knowledge to the benefit of their local community and society more broadly.

RELIGION, THEOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY

‘If you want a cathedral, we’ve got one to spare!’ runs a traditional Liverpool song.  This city has been shaped by its religious past – it has seen over two centuries of religious riots, you'll find the oldest mosque in England here, and the landscape is dominated by two amazing cathedrals. Liverpool now is home to vibrant new religious communities from across the world. All that makes Liverpool Hope the perfect place to study the spirituality, wisdom, and mysticism of the major religious traditions like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. But our city with its art and music scenes also tells us that the human quest for meaning and purpose goes beyond the traditional ‘religions.’ People today are often seeking a ‘spiritual’ identity – but not necessarily a ‘religious’ one.

Liverpool Hope is the perfect place to study all this. Our university is rooted in the attempts by Catholics and protestants to mend their differences in the city, and our teaching team is made up of people from many different cultures and christian traditions.  offers you the opportunity to look at the big questions that people ask today – bringing together both traditional religions and contemporary perspectives. You will gain insights into ancient wisdom, rituals, and sacred texts that influence millions today. Plus, you’ll actively participate in critical debates about human existence in a world facing numerous crises. You will tackle ethical and theological questions concerning the beginning and end of life, sexuality, gender, evil, suffering, and contemporary issues like radicalisation, ecology, violence, inter-religious dialogue, secularisation, post-secularism, health, wellbeing, and near-death experiences. You will examine how our beliefs about our place in the universe impact how we treat our planet and all life forms.

The city will be a constant backdrop to our studies. It is home today to new and changing religious traditions. We will visit and take a close look at places of worship – both the traditional and the strikingly new. And we will also explore the other ways that people find meaning, hope and community here – looking at the ways they actively create and use different types of ritual performance and expression to shape their spiritual identity. In this city, that of course includes art, music and football! 

People who study this programme will benefit from the experience of meeting people who make sense of their lives in very different ways. The course challenges its students to broaden the way they think of other people and their beliefs. So, it provides excellent professional grounding for the kinds of careers that involve understanding and working with people, especially in contexts where complex ethical decisions are needed – for example, in community planning and support, education, politics, and the civil service.