Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies

Suggested Topics

Christ Church, Tom Tower

The Symposium is multi-disciplinary and welcomes presentations on any topic that relates to religion. Within the scope of these topics, there are other more nuanced research subjects which may bear investigation. The listing below of ideas and focus areas is not intended to be exhaustive and is not conceived as placing constraints on the substance or type of research that may be presented at the Symposium.

What is religion? What is its nature? How do we define it? What can we agree on? How do different world religions help us understand the answer to these questions?
What is the place of religion in contemporary society? The nature of belief, the place of ritual, the place of family, the significance of community, the balance between Faith (belief, doctrine, and creed) and Practice (ritual, sociology, ethics, politics)
What do we understand by multifaith?
Possibilities of interfaith dialogue – what can be usefully discussed between faiths?
Religion and politics – how does religion affect political life? e.g., USA voting, UK established Church, Israel the Promised Land, Jewish Homeland, Muslim fundamentalist states
How does religion deal with the clash of ideology between a secular state and religious ethics? e.g., sex and marriage, the place of women, religious festivals such as Christmas
How do we enable pluralism and tolerance in societies with clashing ideologies?
What is the future of religion?
Religion and ethics, i.e., do you need God to be good?
The right to die/euthanasia
Legislation on abortion, same-sex marriage and various LGBTQ+ rights issues in conflict with personal or institutional conscience
Is 'Good Stewardship' a useful approach to climate change when global warming has become critical? How do increasingly frequent and destructive natural disasters affect ministry?
Do we believe in ‘acts of God’ in relation to disasters?
Does God act in the world?
The problem of evil, Theodicy
Pastoral theology
Ethical questions in keeping international peace
Religion, Politics, and Public Discourse
Religion, Science, and Climate Change
Conflict of Religions
Gender and Religion
Religion and Psychology
Economics of Religion
Separation of Church and State
Religion and Education
State Funding of Clerical Schools
Religious Tolerance
Religion and Racial Segregation
History of World Christianity
Religion in America
African Religions
Native American Religions
Religious Traditions of Africa and the African Diaspora
Asian Religions
East Asian Religions (Buddhism, Indigenous Traditions)
Indian Religions (Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism)
Islamic Studies
Judaic Studies
Secularism
Atheism
Philosophy of Religion
Ethics
Theology
Teaching Religion