Centre for Theology, Philosophy and Religion

28/05/2026

We are delighted that the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, Birmingham are hosting a conference in honour of our late Nottingham colleague, Mary Cunningham, on Friday 12 June. Our own Chris Thornhill will present a tribute to Mary at the end of the programme. Details below.

07/05/2026

On 13 May 2026, our Prof Emeritus Alison Milbank will be speaking at the conference ‘What makes a novel Christian’ in Oxford.

Tickets are now available for What makes a novel Christian? at Pusey House Chapel, Oxford on Wednesday 13th May 2026. Click the link for further information and to secure your tickets now!

05/05/2026

CTPR research seminar this Wednesday (tomorrow), 3 - 5 pm: Badreldeen Ismail (The Classical Institute, Birmingham), “An Eleventh-Century Muslim Theologian on God’s Attributes and Human Agency: Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi’s al-Ishara.” Dr Ismail will be speaking with us by video link due to his unexpected circumstances. Come join us in Humanities A1 for the event or online (email [email protected] for the link).

Abstract
Abū Isḥāq al-Shīrāzī (d. 476/1083) is renowned as a towering medieval jurist, yet he is less well-known for authoring works in Islamic philosophical theology (kalām), the most substantive of which is the hitherto understudied al-Ishāra ilā madhhab ahl al-ḥaqq (“Indication toward the Doctrine of the People of Truth”). Aside from a limited number of largely Francophone studies engaging with al-Shīrāzī in the late twentieth century, both al-Shīrāzī and al-Ishāra remain relatively unknown in Western academia. This seminar analyses the standpoint of al-Ishāra on a number of topics that function as litmus tests for theological affiliation. It situates the text against the backdrop of al-Shīrāzī’s intellectual milieu in fifth/eleventh century Baghdad — an environment in which factional rivals jostled for the custodianship of Islamic orthodoxy — before discussing his responses to a number of enduring philosophical topics: God’s attributes, with particular attention to divine speech and the ontological status of its material manifestations in recitation and writing; the grounding of normativity and the relationship between reason and revelation in determining moral obligation; human agency and responsibility under comprehensive divine omnipotence, especially through the distinction between divine command and divine will; and the epistemology of belief, including what counts as theological knowledge and the place of rational inquiry. Through a series of excerpts showcasing al-Shīrāzī’s position on these debates, the seminar will also bring al-Ishāra’s distinctive argumentative methodology to light. In contrast to some of the era’s more highly systematised theological treatises, he advances a notably practical vein of theological reasoning, deploying dialectical argumentation that draws upon his legal and linguistic expertise to clarify theological perspectives.

20/04/2026

The organisation 'Visual Theology' is holding a conference 'Beauty and the Revival of Faith' in nearby Southwell 8-10 May 2026, focusing on the long nineteenth century in England and bringing together a mix of artists and scholars working in art history, history, literature, aesthetics, and philosophy and theology. For full details, including the programme and ticket sales, see the conference website:

Welcome to Beauty and the Revival of Faith   The full programme of speakers is available here and tickets are now live. Visual Theology’s third conference is a major two-part s…

12/03/2026

This seminar is now rescheduled for Wednesday 3 June 2026, at 3 pm. It will be in A36 Portland Building (not the Humanities Building). Be sure to add it to your diary!
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Cancelled due to transport problems. To be rescheduled.

CTPR Research Seminar: "Psychopathology AND religious experience?," by Tasia Scrutton from the University of Leeds. We meet in Humanities Building A02 (UoN University Park Campus), Wed. 11 Feb at 3:00 pm. Come join us in-person or online. If you would like to join online, email [email protected] for the link.
Abstract: Psychiatric literature about when instances of voice hearing should be regarded as religiously-inflected psychopathology and when they should be regarded as religious experiences sometimes presupposes that a person’s experience can only be either psychopathological, or else a genuine religious experience. In this paper I will consider an alternative: the possibility of a both-and account. A both-and account might involve the idea that a religious experience causes psychopathology, or is psychopathology, or that people open to religious experiences may also be susceptible to psychopathology. After arguing that these are either problematic or under-evidenced, I will argue for another version of a both-and account: that genuine religious experience can arise out of situations involving psychopathology. I will also point to some of the clinical and pastoral implications of my view.

09/03/2026

Come join us for our research seminar with Dr Christine Joynes of Regent's Park College, Oxford, presenting "Reframing the Canon: Art and Biblical Interpretation." It is this Wednesday, 3 pm, in Humanities A01. One of the artists to be discussed is Genesis Tramaine. Here is the presentation abstract:

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between art and biblical interpretation by engaging in dialogue with the work of Genesis Tramaine and Emily Young. Tramaine’s work is held in many permanent collections including the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Young has been described as the ‘greatest living British sculptor’, whose sculptures appear in many ecclesiastical settings, including Salisbury Cathedral. Considered together, their work offers important insights for developing a Theology and Visual Art methodology. I begin by identifying existing boundaries in current Theology and Visual Art approaches, highlighting problems raised by the biblical texts missing from the art repertoire as well as the dominance of a Eurocentrism in the art canon. Tramaine’s work challenges some of these boundaries, for example through her ‘focus on the shape and definition of the American Black Face’ in her biblical paintings. My discussion of Emily Young’s work brings art, biblical interpretation and disability studies into the frame. The essay unpacks the significance of Young’s sculpting technique and her portrayal of bodies to question whose voices are included in a Theology and Visual Art methodology. Analysis of her work also highlights how the artist’s intention is not determinative when evaluating the biblical resonances of a piece of art. The paper concludes by supporting the contention that this emerging area of study needs to unsettle settled presuppositions and avoid reinscribing exclusivism that has plagued some other areas of biblical interpretation.

Discover the artworks of Genesis Tramaine. Learn more about the artist, and explore their biography, bibliography, and exhibitions.

27/02/2026

Great news! Gabrielle Thomas (PhD Univ of Nottingham 2017) has been appointed dean of the Episcopal seminary affiliated with the Yale Divinity School.

I am thrilled to announce to the YDS community the new Dean of Berkeley Divinity School. The Rev. Dr. Gabrielle Thomas, a noted scholar of fourth-century Christian theology and Anglican Studies, will succeed Andrew McGowan and become Berkeley’s 15th Dean. She will begin her tenure on July 1st, als...

10/02/2026

Cancelled due to transport problems. To be rescheduled.

CTPR Research Seminar: "Psychopathology AND religious experience?," by Tasia Scrutton from the University of Leeds. We meet in Humanities Building A02 (UoN University Park Campus), Wed. 11 Feb at 3:00 pm. Come join us in-person or online. If you would like to join online, email [email protected] for the link.
Abstract: Psychiatric literature about when instances of voice hearing should be regarded as religiously-inflected psychopathology and when they should be regarded as religious experiences sometimes presupposes that a person’s experience can only be either psychopathological, or else a genuine religious experience. In this paper I will consider an alternative: the possibility of a both-and account. A both-and account might involve the idea that a religious experience causes psychopathology, or is psychopathology, or that people open to religious experiences may also be susceptible to psychopathology. After arguing that these are either problematic or under-evidenced, I will argue for another version of a both-and account: that genuine religious experience can arise out of situations involving psychopathology. I will also point to some of the clinical and pastoral implications of my view.

13/01/2026

Mark your diaries. Four fascinating CTPR seminars this spring semester. All taking place in Humanities A01, 15.00-17.00.

28 January 2026 (joint CTPR/Department of Music seminar). Bennett Zon (University of Durham) “Intertemporality and the Timeless Timefulness of Chant,”

11 February 2026. Tasia Scrutton (University of Leeds) “Psychopathology AND religious experience?”

11 March 2026. Christine Joynes (Regent’s Park College, Oxford) “Reframing the Canon: Art and Biblical Interpretation”

6 May 2026. Badreldeen Ismail (The Classical Institute, Birmingham), “An Eleventh-Century Muslim Theologian on God’s Attributes and Human Agency: Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi’s al-Ishara”

08/12/2025

A reminder of our research seminar this Wednesday with Prof Ghulam Shams-ur-Rehman (Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad) at 1:00 – 2:30 pm in Monica Partridge C15 (University Park Campus next to Hallward Library; bring your own refreshment). If you would like to join online, email [email protected] in advance for the link.

Title: “The Sufi Saint Khwaja Hafiz Jamal Allah Multani (d. 1811) and His Circle: Reassessing Chishti Scholarship in Early Nineteenth-Century Multan.”

Abstract:
Khwaja Hafiz Muhammad Jamil Allah Multani (d. 1811) was one of the leading Chishti Sufis of the early nineteenth century. His distinctions extended beyond his credentials as a religious teacher and Sufi master. He was a successful trader and is also remembered for his military prowess. He fought against the Sikh incursions and trained his disciples in archery, earning the sobriquet muhafiz Multan (Protector of Multan). However, his most significant contribution was the establishment of a khanqah in his hometown of Multan. Here, he trained a small group of scholars who would go on to play significant roles in the religious and social life of the region. They were poets, musicians, artisans, and public servants, as well as religious authorities and spiritual guides. Although little has been written about this Sufi center and its circle of scholars, they had a substantial intellectual influence on the region’s scholarly environment.

This study examines the Chishti scholarship in the early nineteenth-century Multan by analyzing the texts of three noteworthy memoirs by pupils of Hafiz Jamal: Khisal Raddiyya (Delightful Qualities) by ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Parharwi (d. 1824), Asrar al-Kamaliyya (Secrets of Perfection) by Sayyid Muhammad Zahid Shah (d. 1829) and Anwar Jamaliyya (Lights of Beauty) by Munshi Ghulam Hasan Shahid (d. 1850). The works of Hafiz Jamal’s spiritual heir, Khwaja Khuda Bakhsh Khayrpuri and his disciples, Khwaja ‘Ubayd Allah Multani (d. 1834) and Khwaja Imam Bakhsh Maharwi (d. 1882) are also briefly noted. Moreover, Hafiz Jamal’s Si-harfi, (thirty stanzas) written in Sira’iki for his daughter, in which he advised her to adorn herself with virtue in order to lead a successful life, is also discussed.

The religious literature produced by the scholars associated with this khanqah remained pivotal in the dissemination of knowledge in the region, a contribution that was largely overlooked during the colonial period. A brief historical overview of the institution helps illuminate the state of religious knowledge and pedagogy in Multan and its environs at a pivotal moment, when Mughal and Durrani regimes were in decline, while Sikh and British forces were emerging as political powers.

28/11/2025

A reminder of today's Marian Kelsey book launch. We look forward to seeing you at 4 pm in Humanities A22. If you would like a Teams link, email [email protected]

Book launch, Friday, 28 Nov, at 4:00 pm in Humanities A22 for Marian Kelsey's monograph on Jonah.