Religion, Theology & Spirituality and History

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.

HISTORY

The study of History helps you to understand how individuals, communities and societies have lived in the past and how those past experiences have helped to shape the present world. History helps us make sense of our world and understand what may lie ahead because the future is shaped by its history in so many ways. Our History degree gives you the opportunity to study a wide-range of historical periods from the Early Modern period to more recent contemporary historical issues and events. You will encounter important themes such as nationalism and imperialism; colonisation and decolonisation; gender and identity. Our course will encourage you to engage with, and challenge, existing views of the past: history is always controversial and contested.

Liverpool’s long-standing connections with Ireland and many other places across the globe, and its diverse traditions and cultures, make it a fascinating place to study history. Historic sites in the University’s local area, Childwall – which is mentioned in Domesday Book – form part of our programme of study visits, which also includes the city’s impressive Museum of Liverpool, International Slavery Museum and the World Museum, and sites further afield, such as the Elizabethan wonder that is Hardwick Hall.

History at Liverpool Hope is part of the supportive and friendly environment within the subject areas of History, Politics and International Relations. You will benefit from being taught by a team of recognised scholars, who have published widely in their fields and who are dedicated and experienced teachers. You will work with a wide variety of historical evidence throughout the whole of your degree programme, including rare books housed in our Special Collections.

Our course offers the option of a placement year so that you can practise your research and communications skills in a professional setting. Our close links with National Museums Liverpool also enable us to offer final-year dissertation topics linked to museum research projects, providing valuable experience of handling artefacts. Whatever you choose to work on for your dissertation, it will showcase the important skills that you have developed during your degree course that are much in demand with a wide range of employers.