Theology and Religious Studies in Higher Education

Theology and Religious Studies in Higher Education by Dl Bird

Theology and religious studies co-exist in the majority of departments in higher education institutions within the UK, yet there has been very little debate or discussion on how these two disciplines relate to one another in this context and on a more general level. This new collection of essays aims to redress the balance and to add to fruitful discussion in this area Including essays by some of today's leading academics on the sometimes contentious relationship between religious studies a?? or the study of religions a?? and theology, this volume is international in scope, with contributions from scholars from the UK, USA, South Africa, Netherlands, Sweden and Iran. Many of the essays offer a contextualised account of the evolving relationship between the disciplines. The contributors address such issues as the place of theology within today's universities; the problem of clashing methodologies in theology and religious studies; the possibility for a 'theological religious studies'; approaching the study of religions without theology; interdisciplinary approaches for bridging the theology/religious studies divide; and the place of biblical studies in the theology/religious studies debate.

"This is a remarkable a timely collection of essays addressing the highly contested relationship between the study of theology and religious studies in universitiesThe debate and differences between the scholars is provocative in its multidisciplinarity and its representation of a wide range of cultural origins - British, Dutch, Swedish, South African and Iranian. Terms ae defined and redefined in a rich context of historical, educational, academic and political arenas in discussions which are sometimes definitive and sometimes open-ended. Overall the reader is left better informed and provoked into new reflections on issues in religion which remain central to culture and the place and purposes of our educational institutions." - Professor David Jasper, University of Glasgow, UK
"The impact of religion on the world in which we live is of great significance for communities' values, politics, and social practices. The ways in which we study religion are therefore very important. In this interesting volume, Simon Smith and Darlene Bird have brought together many views and nuances in the debate between Theology and Religious Studies. This book should be read by everyone interested in the nature of religion, how academics should approach religion, and the place of religion in late modernity" - Gavin Flood, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, UK
"A fascinating, coherent and highly readable book." Literature and Theology, Vol 24 no 1.

D.L. Bird is Subject Coordinator for Theology for the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies, University of Leeds, UK. She is co-editor (with Yvonne Sherwood) of Bodies in Question: Gender, Religion, Text (Ashgate 2005) and associate editor with David Jasper and George Newlands of Believing in the Text (Peter Lang 2004). Simon G. Smith is Associate Director of the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies, University of Leeds, UK.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781847063120
ISBN 10	1847063128
Title	Theology and Religious Studies in Higher Education
Author	Dl Bird
Series	Continuum Advances In Religious Studies
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Year published	2009-01-22
Number of pages	208
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.