Oxford has a long history of producing some of the world’s most famous religious thinkers. Students in this course will gain an understanding of the roots of religious traditions, their historical context, and their implications for society. Theology, the “Queen of the Sciences”, greatly develops analytical, reasoning, and debating skills. This is a fairly small course, with an intake of 45 undergraduates a year, of whom 52% are female. 39% of applicants are successful.
Students study a variety of religious texts and learn one of a possible six languages, meaning they can study particular texts in their original forms. This makes the experience much more authentic and students are able to pick up on subtleties that may not be present in translation.
Over the first three terms of the degree, core and introductory modules are taken in addition to a language. These papers include Religion and religions, Jesus through the Centuries & Introduction to the study of the Bible. After this, students are free to choose topics which interest them such as Biblical studies or the History of religions. All students must write a thesis on a topic of their choice.
Teaching takes place in the form of lectures and language classes. Students will have time for independent study, most of which they will spend writing essays to be discussed and argued in their tutorials. Tutorials for this course are often very engaging, offering the students the chance to defend what they have written and talk to some of the leading theologians and religious thinkers in the world.
It may be useful to study an essay-writing subject at A Level (or equivalent).