Theology and Religious Studies
Theology and Religious Studies is an attractive humanities degree course offering you the chance to do a wide range of subjects within the shared focus of world faiths: philosophy and history, literary theory and language study, textual work and scientific approaches to religion, as well as the standard topics of theology and biblical studies.
Theology and Religious Studies appeals to many different kinds of undergraduate – many of whom have some religious commitment, many of whom do not. A number of faith traditions are represented in the student body, as in the course itself.
Graduates in Theology and Religious Studies end up in every type of career – as barristers and journalists, working for the National Health Service and the BBC, as school teachers and civil servants, in businesses and also religious and charitable organisations. We mean to train you to think clearly and to express yourself well, while considering a number of interesting and important topics along the way.
As a small Faculty, Theology and Religious Studies is friendly and close, without being oppressive. Most first year students who are opting for Greek or Hebrew do a ‘pre-term’ intensive course taught by the Faculty in the week before the first term begins. This is generally enjoyed as a time to concentrate on only one subject, and a chance both to get to know your year group in the Faculty and to find your bearings in College before the tumult of term begins.
The Cambridge course (called a Tripos) was revised in October 2000, after much consultation with students and staff. The course is for three years, with exams after each year.
First year (Part I) students will do five papers, one of which must be an introductory language course (Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit or Quranic Arabic) and one of which is a biblical paper (either Paper 2 One God? Hearing the Old Testament, or Paper 3 The birth of Christianity).The language courses, since many ask, are designed to be do-able; you should have no fear.
The other three papers are chosen from a list that includes papers on world religions, philosophy of religion and ethics, the history of Christianity and the transformation of culture, the social study of religion, and modern theology. The papers in this first year are intended to introduce the subject area in question to the students.
The final two years are divided into Part IIA and Part IIB, with a choice of more advanced papers in philosophy, ethics, religious studies, theology and art, biblical studies, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Christian studies. Students take four papers in each year.
There is opportunity in Part II to choose papers examined by two long essays (rather than the traditional exams), and in the final year a dissertation may be substituted for one paper. The essay-based papers are taught in seminars rather than by lectures.
You can find more details by visiting the Faculty of Divinity’s website at: http://www.divinity.cam.ac.uk/default.html