Religion, Theology & Spirituality and Geography

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.

GEOGRAPHY

Geography is about exploring, encountering and engaging with the world around us. It is a dynamic and exciting subject to study. It looks at how the physical world works; how people interact both with each other and with the physical world; how landscapes (both physical and human) evolve; and the ways in which the environment needs to be conserved and managed. Geography covers many different perspectives and brings them together to create a distinctive way of understanding the world. Whether your interests are more towards physical, environmental or human geography, our degree offers you the chance to develop an integrated, enriched understanding of what is taking place on our planet.

Studying Geography means you will look at a wide range of different topics and learn a broad range of skills. For this reason, a Geography degree is one of the most valued subjects among potential employers.

An enthusiastic and friendly team of geographers and environmentalists with wide research interests teach Geography at Hope. You will find that Liverpool is a great place to study Geography, being an excellent case study of economic, environmental and social regeneration, and having surroundings that include stunning upland and coastal landscapes.

A Placement Year option is available for this course. Undertaking a placement year as part of your degree programme offers you the opportunity to gain valuable work experience alongside your studies.