Why Should A-Level Science Students Consider Theology and Religion at University?

It’s a common misconception that you need to have studied Religious Studies or Philosophy at A-Level in order to take a degree in Theology and Religion at university. In this new blog series, academic staff from the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter encourage A-Level students of other subjects to consider TRS. In this post, Prof Christopher Southgate, who originally trained as a research biochemist, asks, “Why should A-Level Science students consider Theology and Religion at university?”

The natural sciences that you have been learning disclose in astonishing detail how the universe works, from the first femtosecond after the Big Bang to its probable end in a ‘heat death’. They also show how life functions, including all the intricate chemical and biological processes that keep your own body flourishing from minute to minute.

A Theology and Religion-based degree at Exeter gives you the chance to explore, in the company of cutting-edge scholars in a whole range of fields, what existence and flourishing mean. Human beings have been wondering this since we first evolved, and human history is in part a history of the narratives by which we have explained our existence and our nature, our selfishness and capacity for love.

In the Department of Theology and Religion at Exeter, consistently highly-rated both for research and student satisfaction, you would have the chance to explore those narratives through the sacred texts of the Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all of which answer those great questions in related but different ways. The narratives of our origin and importance as humans lead naturally to the question: ‘how then should I live?’, which we take up through the study of ethics.

Specifically, Exeter offers modules across the Theology and Religion degree programme exploring the relation between the sciences and religious claims. How did modern science emerge from the dominantly religious culture of Renaissance Europe? How does it change Christianity when we start to take science seriously? What does it mean that we are both evolved animals and creatures ‘capable of God’?

In the past that last question has tended to be answered historically by looking at Galileo and Darwin – fascinating case-studies in themselves. But a far more vital case of the interaction of the sciences with theology and ethics comes in relation to climate change. What the science says, why some refuse to believe it, and what it means for how we should live can be explored intensively at a university which, through its association with the Met Office here at Exeter, is one of the leading centres in the world for climate science.

Every year up to a quarter of your study can be outside your home department. So insights from all sorts of subjects can be brought to bear on these fundamental questions of meaning. The rigorous training of thought acquired through science A-Levels is an excellent basis for starting this exploration, and we at Theology and Religion at Exeter would be delighted to have the chance to accompany you on that great search.

Why Should A-Level Economic and Business Studies Students Consider Theology and Religion at University?

It’s a common misconception that you need to have studied Religious Studies or Philosophy at A-Level in order to take a degree in Theology and Religion at university. In this new blog series, academic staff from the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter encourage A-Level students of other subjects to consider TRS. In this first post, Prof Esther Reed asks, “Why should A-Level Economics and Business Studies students consider Theology and Religion at university?”  

How many company websites have you visited recently? How many have ethics statements? How many businesses that operate in many and diverse countries talk in their sustainability policy statements about generating good relationships with local communities?

Every good business with transnational reach is challenged today to maintain high ethical standards, to listen to the communities amidst and with which it works, and to meet ever-growing consumer demand for information about performance in these respects.

Image: World map color-coded to denote major religion affiliations (as of 2011) CC BY 3.0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_religious_ groups#/media/File:World_religions_map_en.svg

A degree programme in Theology and Religion could help to prepare you for the workplace and make you a useful employee. In addition to honed research, writing, critical-thinking and presentation skills, Theology and Religion can provide you with a knowledge base and skill set with many applications in businesses – large and small – that need to maintain high ethical and working standards.

A degree in Theology and Religion could help you think about the value of work, wealth creation, financial integrity, the meaning of common good, enterprise, responsible credit and savings, ethics in the corporate culture, social inequality, principles for an economic ethic today, the moral limits of markets, and more. Write a dissertation on economics and responsible business practices today!

Analyse for yourself whether too few businesses are religiously literate today – whether at headquarters or working in small communities. Millions of people around the world profess a religion and are influenced in day-to-day decision making by their faith. A Theology and Religion degree could help you become a business leaders of the future with a difference; a business leader with a basic understanding of major world faiths.

Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter is committed to equipping young business leaders of the future to understand the power of religion, its significant force across the world, how major religions are internally diverse and culturally embedded, and why improved religious literacy is good for business.

Reflections on the AAR/SBL Conference 2017

In October 2017, several academics from the University of Exeter Theology and Religion Department attended the American Academy of Religion Conference in Boston. Three report on their experiences of the conference.

Professor David Horrell

A busy conference and an overnight flight, followed by the train back to Exeter, leaves me feeling a bit tired, but it was, as always, a very worthwhile and enjoyable time. I presented a paper on J.B. Lightfoot’s reading of 1 Peter, in a session with other speakers (Jeanette Hagen, Todd Still, and Tom Wright), and we had an interesting discussion about Lightfoot as biblical scholar, and the similarities and differences with the discipline and context of today. One of the conference highlights for me (and for many others) was a session on “hair in the Greco-Roman world” – in which Helen Bond, Professor at Edinburgh, had her hair done in the elite Roman style by a scholar and hairstylist, alongside various papers – including one by Troy Martin, from St Xavier University in Chicago, arguing that the date of 1 Peter can be ascertained from the author’s reference to hair-styling (1 Pet 3.3): he argued for sometime after 79 CE, and probably between 79 and 81. My meeting also included chairing an editorial board meeting, meeting with a few PhD students, and also with a publisher, to discuss my next two book projects. And Boston was a good place to be, too!

Dr Louise Lawrence

I have just returned from the annual American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature Conference (AAR&SBL) in Boston, US. I was on a panel with Dale Martin (Yale) and Dominika Kurek-Chomycz (Chester) in the Luke-Acts and Embodiment Session. Stephen Moore (Duke) incisively (and critically) responded to all three of our contributions. My paper was entitled ‘Coming to her Senses? The Embodiments of a Demon-Possessed Woman in Acts 16’.  I sought to probe sensory dimensions of embodiment in relation to the presentation of the Pythian slave-girl –  who is variously referred to as a ‘belly-talker’ or ‘ventriloquist’ by commentators. I used recent work on sound, embodiment and the female voice which has contended that voice is not just codified by semantic content, but also its sonorous, non-verbal, embodied features to try and bring this character to life.  Classicists and ancient historians have similarly noted how the ancient discipline of physiognomy determined whether people would be judged sane or insane, male or female, honest, marriageable, moribund etc. on account of the embodied sounds they made.  Continuing the embodiment theme I also attended a really useful session on God’s Body: Jewish, Christian and Pagan Images of God in Antiquity.
A real highlight for me though has to be the ‘Consultation on the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the Profession’. This was an exploratory session with a view to forming an advisory board on this theme. The presenters powerfully spoke of their experiences of chronic illness, pain, disability and the ‘ableism’ they perceived as inherent in the SBL conference. Some of the suggestions from speakers included very practical advice including video-guides of the conference space, quiet rooms with dipped lighting and softened acoustics, provisions for personal care if needed, and more accessible publications – book synopses for slow readers, or those who ‘read’ in mixed media (Braille; sign etc.). All participants spoke of the need to cultivate a ‘sense of belonging’ for those with disabilities in an academic conference such as SBL, and also the exhaustion of having to continuously advocate in an academy which often seems to be totally oblivious to embodied (and I would add en-minded) diversity. This is a really important initiative and I really hope it can make headway in making SBL a more inclusive space for those with disabilities.
On a team-Exeter note (!) I caught up with Francesca – which was fantastic. Aside from giving papers, she was also acting as an ‘SBAllie‘  – ‘a presence or resource to support people experiencing harassment of any kind’ at the conference. This role was indicated by the SBAllie badge she wore. This too is a really important initiative. Many people have experienced feeling out of place, excluded or troubled for one reason or another at conferences like SBL, so to have self-identified ‘allies’ who people can talk to confidentially about such issues is a really welcome initiative.
Finally, I attended the editorial board meeting of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament whilst in Boston. I was also honoured to be confirmed as the editor-elect of this journal. I will be taking over as editor from next summer. This is both an exciting and daunting prospect!
The countdown now begins to AAR&SBL 2018 –  in Denver Colorado  . . .

Dr David Tollerton

Later this week I’m travelling to Boston, the home of the American Revolution, to talk about ‘British Values’. This isn’t some belated attempt to return the United States to Her Majesty’s rule, but rather to contribute to a wider discussion about religion, history, and education. The term ‘British values’, first coined amidst counter-radicalisation policy, has in recent years become ubiquitous in UK educational contexts, and in my paper I’ll be addressing how this development interacts with issues of religious diversity, national identity-construction, and perceptions of history. Hearing responses to my ideas from a specifically international audience is something I’m especially looking forward to.

Professor David Horrell is Professor of New Testament Studies and the Director of the Centre for Biblical Studies. Dr Louise Lawrence is Senior Lecturer in New Testament studies. Dr David Tollerton is a lecturer in Jewish Studies and Contemporary Biblical Cultures and the Director of Postgraduate Research for the Theology and Religion department.

Also attending the conference from our department were Dr Brandon Gallaher (Lecturer of Systematic and Comparative Theology), Dr Daniel Pedersen (Postdoctoral Research Fellow), Prof Francesca Stavrakopoulou (Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion), and Prof Christopher Southgate (Associate Professor of the University of Exeter).

In anticipation of the AAR/SBL Conference 2017

Over the next few days, several of our department shall be attending the American Academy of Religion Conference in Boston. Three give their anticipations for the conference:

Professor David Horrell:

I am more or less prepared to head off to the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion, a gathering of around 10,000 scholars in Bible and religion that this year takes place in Boston, Massachusetts. The heart of the conference is of course the presentation and discussion of papers, and mine is, thankfully, pretty much ready. But apart from the paper sessions, the conference is an opportunity to attend various editorial board meetings, and to meet with publishers, international (distance) PhD students, and colleagues from around the world working in similar areas. And, I confess, two highlights for me are to share a hotel room with a good mate from PhD days, 25 years ago in Cambridge, and to gather for dinner with a few colleagues who have become good friends over the years.

Professor Christopher Southgate:

As usual I shall be attending the American Academy of Religion’s annual meeting in Boston in mid-November. This is held jointly with the Society of Biblical Literature and is an unparalleled opportunity for networking with scholars of religion from all over the world. Job interviews are held there, and there is much courting of the editors from the big publishing houses. This year there is a pre-meeting of the International Society for Science and Religion where some vital contemporary themes in biology will be discussed, in particular the ever-increasing understanding of the importance of cooperation and symbiosis in evolving systems, and the new technology of gene editing known as CRISPR. The ISSR pre-meeting is a really good place to get up to speed with these developments and discuss their implications.

After the pre-meeting the full postmodern smorgasbord of AAR opens up. There are plenaries – in Atlanta in 2015 I had the privilege of hearing ex-President Jimmy Carter, remarkably sharp and lucid at 91 – but more typically delegates are part of their own little micro-communities, each with their own ‘canon’ and ‘hierarchy’. My own typical drop-in spots are the Science, Technology and Religion Group where I am on the Steering Group, and the Religion and Ecology group. But it’s fun to see what other groups are up to – the people who know Schleiermacher backwards, the people whose canon begins and ends with Tillich. Because it is a co-conference with the SBL one can also immerse oneself in Second Corinthians, or come to that the application of texts of many religions to all sorts of politically correct causes. The papers are typically short and often delivered by young scholars seeking to make their way in the field. One drops in and out, and tries not to spend too long in the vast book hall…

I have the honour of chairing the last session of the Science, Technology and Religion Group on the future of the field, and will be fascinated to see where a very diverse constituency thinks it should go.

 

Dr David Tollerton:

Later this week I’m travelling to Boston, the home of the American Revolution, to talk about ‘British Values’. This isn’t some belated attempt to return the United States to Her Majesty’s rule, but rather to contribute to a wider discussion about religion, history, and education. The term ‘British values’, first coined amidst counter-radicalisation policy, has in recent years become ubiquitous in UK educational contexts, and in my paper I’ll be addressing how this development interacts with issues of religious diversity, national identity-construction, and perceptions of history. Hearing responses to my ideas from a specifically international audience is something I’m especially looking forward to.

Professor David Horrell is Professor of New Testament Studies and the Director of the Centre for Biblical Studies. Professor Christopher Southgate is Associate Professor of the University of Exeter. Dr David Tollerton is a lecturer in Jewish Studies and Contemporary Biblical Cultures and the Director of Postgraduate Research for the Theology and Religion department.

Also attending the conference from our department are Dr Louise Lawrence (Senior Lecturer in New Testament studies), Dr Brandon Gallaher (Lecturer of Systematic and Comparative Theology), Dr Daniel Pedersen (Postdoctoral Research Fellow) and Prof Francesca Stavrakopoulou (Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion).

A reflection on the 2017 Santa Clara lecture on Gendered Theologies and the Common Good

Dr Susannah Cornwall offers her reflections on her opportunity to deliver the 2017 Santa Clara lecture on Gendered Theologies and the Common Good.

Credit: Dr Susannah Cornwall

In October I visited Santa Clara University in San Jose, California (about an hour south of San Francisco) to deliver the Santa Clara lecture on Gendered Theologies and the Common Good. This was part of the 2016-18 Bannan Institute on the Common Good, hosted by the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education at Santa Clara.

Credit: Paige Mueller and Chuck Barry

I usually love travelling to give papers and meet other researchers as part of my job, but I had a certain amount of trepidation this time, because I was aware that 13,000 people had signed a petition calling on Santa Clara to rescind their invitation to me on the grounds that I was not a suitable person to be hosted by and speak at a Catholic university. However, I received wonderful hospitality and a warm welcome in Santa Clara, even if the experience of being escorted by a bodyguard and having everyone security-checked before they entered the lecture was somewhat surreal.

Credit: Paige Mueller and Chuck Barry

Questions surrounding gender identity are freighted in Roman Catholic circles at the moment, particularly in the US, and Pope Francis has spoken of his reservations about the “gender agenda” and the way in which it might diminish the theological significance of distinct and divinely-ordained maleness and femaleness. It was great to address a mixed audience including clergy from several dioceses, trans activists, academics, students and others to begin to think through the ways in which gender transition might, for some people, be understood as a way into healing and vocation, not a deviation from them.

Credit: Paige Mueller and Chuck Barry

I also had the privilege of visiting and speaking at several undergraduate classes whilst at Santa Clara. Most undergraduate degrees in the US last four years, and students initially take a portfolio of classes across a range of subject areas before choosing a Major in which to specialize. I was a guest speaker for classes in Gender, Race and National Identity in Twentieth-Century Europe (a History course); Sexuality and Spirituality in Latinx and Chicanx Literature and Theologies (a Religious Studies course); and LGBTQ Studies: Global Perspectives (an English course) – all of which were also cross-coded with Women’s and Gender Studies. It was great to see the diverse teaching and learning methods there, and to meet such engaged and motivated students.

Credit: Paige Mueller and Chuck Barry

In terms of research dialogues, I had meetings with faculty members from Religious Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, and with the organizing collective for the Gender Justice and the Common Good research institute. They had in common their desire to root their research and teaching in real-world challenges, including how to understand the mission of a Catholic university today (which, for the Ignatian Center, includes witnessing to social justice in the heart of Silicon Valley).

I’ve very grateful to everyone who made the visit possible, particularly Theresa Ladrigan-Whelpley and Susan Chun at the Ignatian Center, and to all those I met and spoke to, from the University, the Diocese of San Jose, and beyond.

To watch the main lecture given by Dr Cornwall, click here.

Dr Susannah Cornwall is a lecturer in the University of Exeter Theology and Religion Department

2017-18 Research Seminars

Here are details of our dept research seminar series for the 2017-18 academic year. There are lots of great speakers and wonderful topics. We’re really looking forward to them!

All seminars (*aside from 29 Sept) are held on Tuesdays in Amory 105, 2.00-3.30pm (1.30pm for drinks).

*Friday 29 September: Ashon T. Crawley (University of Virginia), ‘Just a Closer Walk With Thee: Kenneth Morris’s Sonic Imagination’ (2.30-4.30pm, Streatham Court D)

10 October: Tom Hunt (Newman University), ‘The Influence of the Algerian War (1954-1962) on the Study of Late Antique Christianity’

24 October: Michael Burdett (University of Oxford), ‘The Last Judgement and the Desire for Someone Who Faces Us’

7 November: Louise Lawrence (University of Exeter), ‘Bible and Bedlam: Madness and New Testament Interpretation’

21 November: Jonathan Hill (University of Exeter), ‘In Defence of Inactivity: Boredom and Serenity in Heaven’

5 December: Francesca Stavrakopoulou (University of Exeter), ‘The Troublesome Corpse’

16 January: Jessica Keady (Trinity Saint David), ‘Purity and Performance: The Construction of the Male in the Dead Sea Scrolls’

30 January: Daniel Pedersen (University of Exeter), ‘An Account of “What Actually Happened”: On the Necessity of a Historical Account of the Origins of Sin’

13 February: Catrin Williams (Trinity Saint David), ‘Persuasion through Allusion: Evocations of “Shepherd(s)” and their Rhetorical Impact in John 10’

27 February: Jon Morgan (University of Exeter), ‘An Aid that Fits: Genesis 2 and the Anthropological Machinery of Sex Robots’

13 March: Gordon Lynch (University of Kent), ‘Faith, Child Rescue and Child Abuse: Re-visiting Catholic Child Migration Schemes to Australia, 1946-1956’

27 March: Megan Warner (University of Exeter), ‘On Trauma and Bible and on Bible and Trauma’

1 May: Susannah Cornwall (University of Exeter), ‘Virtue, Welfare and Health: Modelling a Spiritual Care Framework for NHS Gender Clinics in England’

15 May: Susan Gillingham (University of Oxford), ‘Writing a Reception History Commentary: Aims, Methods and Resources’

29 May: Paul Fiddes (University of Oxford), ‘Wisdom and the World in Christian Theology?’

Reflections from three PhD alumni

Karen O’Donnell

I completed my PhD in Theology & Religion at Exeter University in April 2016. My research focused on the impact of trauma on theological discourse. When I reflect back on my time at Exeter I wish I hadn’t been in such a rush to finish my research! I found the department to be such a friendly and collegiate place. I really enjoyed getting to know all the various members of staff and students and I know my time there prepared me very well for life after the PhD. The opportunities I had for sharing and developing my research alongside the teaching I did whilst studying was so helpful in broadening my experience beyond just the PhD.

Before I finished myO%27Donnell doctoral studies, I had already been appointed as a Research Fellow at Durham University. I took up this appointment less than a month after my viva! My role here at Durham is based in CODEC which is a research centre for digital theology. I’ve spent the last year researching whether you can (or should!) train to be a vicar (mostly) online. I think the answer is yes but that it requires some shifts in our theological thinking about digital spaces. I’ve been researching the nature of our corporeality in digital spaces in order to challenge the idea that when we go ‘online’ we become disembodied. This research will be published as a journal article later this year. Earlier this year I signed a contract with SCM Press to publish a version of my doctoral thesis as a monograph, so I’ll be spending the upcoming summer editing that and getting it ready for publication.

This post has given me opportunity to present my research internationally and to meet fascinating people doing really interesting work from around the world. Whilst it is primarily a research position, I have also had the opportunity to teach here at Durham and in various other contexts. In the coming months I’m excited about developing my work in digital theology more deeply. My research is moving into considering sacramentality in digital spaces—a really juicy topic! I know my time at Exeter prepared me so well for the joys and the difficulties of academic life—I can’t think of a better place to have taken my first steps into this world.

 

Bethany Sollereder

In aSollereder rather odd move, I went from my PhD in theology to working at the Materials Department at Oxford University. In a slightly confusing job, I work for the materials department where I consult for the Templeton World Charity Foundation. It has been a job full of cool opportunities: conferences around the world, meeting and helping fabulous researchers who are doing cutting edge work in science and religion, and being able to promote interesting lines of theological scholarship, including the “Practical Theodicy” project being run by Prof. Christopher Southgate. The job has non-stop travel (since January, I’ve been to Canada, the Bahamas, New Zealand, New York, Athens, and more locally Edinburgh and Canterbury) and sometimes the travel has been through unusual means. I never knew I would learn to co-pilot a single engine plane, for example. I also started tutoring for the faculty of Theology and Religion about a year and a half ago, so life has been a nice mix of scholarship, travel, and teaching.

However, it is now time to move on, and in September I will take up at two year research position in Theology here in Oxford, as one of the 12 globally-placed St Andrews Fellows in Science and Religion. I will be trying to develop a “compassionate theodicy”—attempting to reorient the purpose of theodicy away from the dispassionate intellectual exercise that now exists, which is a set of arguments lobbed between Christian philosophers and their sceptical atheist or agnostic counterparts, and see if theodicy can be moved towards something that could help Christian believers who are struggling with faith in times of suffering.

Reflecting back on my time in Exeter, I continue to be amazed by the quality of my supervision. It was an extremely warm and caring environment, and I never felt “lost” in the system. Rather, there was a sense of rich collegiality between the faculty and the students, aided by events like regular morning trips for coffee. My supervisor, Chris Southgate, was fabulously generous with his time and even rewrote two courses that we taught together, just so that they would incorporate my interests (“More Bible! More history!”). The PhD was hard work—desperately difficult at times—but Exeter was a great place to do it. Looking back, there is no other programme in the world I would have gone for instead.

 

Robert Meditz

I have never written a book before, and did not know what to expect, and did not know whether a publisher would be interested in my dissertation on Paul Tillich and Judaism, which carried the title Dialectic of the Holy: Paul Tillich’s Idea of Judaism within the History of Religion. One thing that worked in my favor is that I gave a short paper on one of the core arguments fromMeditz my dissertation at a small Tillich conference in Oxford in July of 2014, the day before I graduated from Exeter. My paper was selected to be in the conference proceedings, to be published by DeGruyter (my book came out before the conference proceedings!). So I was on the “radar screen” of DeGruyter.

 

I submitted a book proposal in January of 2015, and received a contract within about 30 days, and was asked to submit revisions by September of 2015. They were flexible in extending that deadline by about 30 days, and the substantive form of the manuscript was completed by year end 2015. It got quiet for a while after that, and by the spring of 2016 I was reading galley proofs, and after about four rounds of proofreading, I gave permission to print the final copy in July of 2016. The book was published in September of 2016, about one month later than the estimate in the original contract. I had to construct my own index, and I’m glad I put the time into that. My book is very “conceptual,” so there was a lot of cross-referring back and forth between some terms. The most difficult part of the proofreading was converting the UK format on the use of single and double quotes to the U.S. format – ugh! But it all worked out nicely in the end. I thought DeGruyter was great, and I am very pleased to have published with them.

An excavation of Mount Zion

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Since 2013 I have been involved with an incredible archaeological project just outside of the Old City walls of Jerusalem. I found out about the dig during my MA Jewish Studies at KCL where I was being taught a module on the Bible and Archaeology by Prof. Joan Taylor. Joan had previously worked with Dr Shimon Gibson on other projects and he, as the dig director, was launching a new expedition on Mount Zion, Jerusalem. That summer I spent two weeks digging out a dark, wet, first century CE cistern and found the first complete vessel, a cooking pot, of the dig season. It may have been brought down there when people fled from the Romans during the destruction of Jerusalem and cooked underground whilst in hiding. I think that was the moment I fell in love with archaeology. Nobody else had seen or touched this item for thousands of years until I found it.

The site is located on the slope outside the Old City walls but was within the ancient walls during the Roman period. In the Byzantine period the site would have been at the southern end of the Cardo Maximus as can be seen on the Madaba map. In the Early Islamic period Mount Zion was used for domestic houses, but the Crusaders and Ayyubids built fortifications across the mount including a gate tower, the remains of which are in this excavation. The site is just outside of the Zion Gate and is a continuation of excavations that commenced in the 1970s by Magen Broshi. In previous seasons the remains of a wealthy first century domestic building containing a mikveh, three ovens, a cistern and a bathtub were found. In the deepest area that has been excavated a large mosaic and partially constructed archway was found from the Byzantine period.

1175644_10153232171590442_988159164_nThe following year I was invited back to the team as a staff member, an Assistant to an Area Supervisor working on a different area of the site. It was disappointing that I could not return to my previous area, as it had become too deep to work in safely but it was thrilling to have been noticed and given a staff position. The 2014 season was very different to my first experience. Firstly as staff I had to stay for all four weeks of the dig season and secondly, I did not find anything near as exciting as the complete cooking vessel. But that’s archaeology for you. In 2015 and 2016 I returned as Assistant to a new Area Supervisor. However, in 2016 I was given for the first time my own little area which I was completely in charge of. Some may say it was beginners luck, but my team uncovered an ostracon, a pearl and a murex shell amongst other finds that really brought back that thrill I experienced in my first season in the muddy cistern. We also hosted a community day where families came and dug with us one weekend, the child of the site director, Dr Rafi Lewis, found our first gold coin  and it has Nero’s head on it. Our metal detecting guys were not happy!

More information about the coin can be found here: http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/gold-nero-coin-jerusalem/.

I felt privileged to be asked to present my research twice in association with this project. In 2015 I gave a presentation to all the dig volunteers and staff on archaeology and Israelite sacrifice. It was the first time I’d presented my research that wasn’t just to other postgraduates, instead it was a mixture of professional archaeologists and non-academic volunteers. It was a great experience though and everyone was really interested in what I had said. The following year I was invited to speak on the University of the Holy Land’s Graduate Research Seminar Series in association with the Albright Institute. It was to take place at Hebrew University and I presented on the use of food and alcohol in Israelite Household Religion. The questions I received afterwards were challenging but greatly appreciated and many people came up to me afterwards and told me how interesting and informative they found it.

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This summer I am returning to Mount Zion as an Area Supervisor. It will be a lot of responsibility; accurately recording every dig square, find, wall, baulk and drawing maps is imperative for scholars to be able to use this data in the future. Shimon Gibson has also mentioned that he wants me to be involved with the publication of reports particularly related to the animal bones that have been found on the site because of my research on food and sacrifice. This year will be my preparation for a future dig that Dr Gibson hopes to launch in 2019 in the Armenian Gardens within the Old City walls. I hope that I will be able to be involved with his excavations in the future, being a part of the Mount Zion team has been an amazing experience both in terms of the friends I have made over the years and the opportunities it has opened up for me academically. Going on that first dig in 2013 was probably the best decision of my life.

More information about the dig can be found here: https://digmountzion.uncc.edu/ 

Rebekah Welton

A Report on the 22nd Joint Postgraduate Conference on Theology and Religion

On Saturday 6th May, the 22nd Joint Postgraduate Conference on Theology and Religion was held at Exeter for the first time. With a total of 30 research papers presented, the day proved to be a fascinating exploration of the current research undertaken by MA and PhD students in the South West.

The presentations were split in to themes covering all things from ‘Belief and Practice in Antiquity’ to ‘Philosophy, Ethics and Revelation’. This is just some indication of the great diversity of papers explored during the day. The eclectic nature of this conference inspired a feeling of open-mindedness amongst the guests and speakers. This relaxed atmosphere, and the words of encouragement from my fellow postgraduate students, somewhat eased my nerves of presenting a paper for the first time later in the day.

I was curious to learn more about the areas of theology that some speakers had chosen to dedicate three years of their lives to, and yet had never crossed my path of study. I have found throughout my education that many students (including myself at times!) have a ‘but will this be in the exam?’ approach to learning, unwilling to clutter their minds with information that will not increase their final percentage. It was refreshing to be involved in a day where the audience were enthusiastic to widen their view of theology and engage in these new areas of study that are, no doubt, often outside their own chosen sub-discipline.

Following the coffee break, it was time for me to give my first presentation at an academic conference, with a paper entitled ‘Judas Superstar? A reflection on the relationship between Jesus and Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar’. Despite my apprehension as a fresh-faced MA student addressing an audience who, generally, had much more experience of academic conferences, I was relieved that the questions were less intimidating than I had feared!

As far as academic papers go, I have found this one particularly enjoyable to present as the inclusion of movie clips and rock-ballads naturally accompany my analysis and the sight of audience heads bobbing along to Judas’ solos made me feel more at ease throughout the presentation. It seems the perfect way to have introduced myself to this academic rite of passage.

One paper I found particularly thought- provoking was by Amna Nazir, a PhD student of Law and Theology with cross-institutional supervision from Birmingham City University and the University of Birmingham. She demonstrated the necessity of interdisciplinary study in her paper, ‘The Death Penalty in Islam: A Religious Necessity?’. Having never studied Islam, this is a topic I knew very little about but I was intrigued by the provocative title.

Nazir explored the death penalty in Sharia law and international law and argued that, until there is absolute justice in the courts and governments of these countries, the death penalty cannot be right. Nazir explained that court cases’ reports are often restricted and so it is impossible to know whether countries have properly adhered to both Sharia and international laws. Furthermore, the great variance of its practice across Islamic countries is indicative of the fact there is a lack of consensus even within the faith about when the death penalty is to be evoked.

I found the paper incredibly interesting to listen to and the discussion that followed was just as rich. It became clear that there are a small number of Muslim voices supporting this view and, where westerners attempt to enforce their views against it, their criticism is merely met with distain or suspicion by Islamic countries. Ultimately, if the application of the death penalty in Islam is to change in any way, the impetus must come from within the religion.

It was exciting for me to be involved with such a packed day of research papers and, in my view, the conference aptly demonstrated the active interest present in the theology’s many manifestations. The post-graduate community highlighted their willingness to engage in interdisciplinary study and to recognise the impact religious studies can have in a modern context.

Stephanie Roberts

On Implicit Religion (Salisbury, 19-21 May)

I’m waiting at the bar in Sarum College with classicist and fellow Implicit Religion newbie Jessica Hughes. ‘When I get home my partner will ask what this conference was all about… I’m actually not quite sure what I’m going to say…’

And in truth it’s a conference that defies tidy definition, with eclecticism of methodology and content very much the modus operandi. It’s a small event (all the attendees sit together in large circle) yet one with a deep well of tradition (spanning some forty years). It’s a conference thematically inspired by a single scholar’s work (the late Edward Bailey) yet one that in just a couple of days intersects with sociology, theology, psychology, gender theory, memory studies, and knitting.

So what binds it all together? My own tentative answer is two-fold.

First, there is a recurring ambition to tease out what’s happening at the awkward edges of various phenomena we describe as ‘religious’ or ‘secular’. When is devotion to a practice or an idea to be understood as ‘religious’, and when is it not? What are the power-dynamics and contextual factors at play when we label something ‘religion’?

But the second element is a commitment to an unusual mode of conference organisation, specifically one in which participants are asked to circulate 5-8,000 word papers well in advance, and an expectation that, in person, each presenter then offer merely a few prompts for discussion. This is, in other words, a conference in which preparation and intellectual generosity are key. It’s also one where, at its best, formal hierarchy is put to one side, with input coming from final year undergraduates through to emeritus fellows.

Implicit religionAnd most of the time it works. In what ways do fan cultures ritualise their devotion, and re-imagine their identities? How do women grieve, memorialise, and provide comfort through traditions of textile production? What is it to ‘feel’ the Christmas spirit? Why are so many people ticking ‘Christian’ on censuses while rarely turning up in churches? And (for my own paper) how is state-led Holocaust remembrance borrowing and reconfiguring manifestations of sacrality? These are just a few of the topics that came into view in what was a packed programme of less than 48 hours.

The emphasis is on working things through together, exploring unexpected connections, taking a few risks. The bumpy usually-productive/occasionally-frustrating outcome sits at the far side of the spectrum to the conferences of dress-codes and niche panels.

And at the end of it all I find myself, on the one hand, wary of saying we’ve further nailed down the exact parameters of religion vs. non-religion, yet on the other, no less convinced that there have been and will continue to be so many modes in which to experience the world.

If every conference was like Implicit Religion maybe I’d eventually feel like I was building with jelly. But without intellectual spaces like this the risk is of remaining hubristically oblivious to the brittle fragility of our categories.

David Tollerton