Theology and Religious Studies

Director of Studies: Reverend Dr  B C Randall 

Number of students admitted each year: 2

Faculty of Divinity Website

Why study Theology at Christ’s College?

The Director of Studies in Theology and Religious Studies is the Revd Dr Bernard Randall. His research interests focus on the development of Christian doctrine and Anglican Eucharistic theology, particularly relating to the role of the priest.  He is also interested in Orthodox and Feminist theologies. Bernard teaches some papers for Christ’s students and arranges for supervisors in all other aspects of the Theology and Religious Studies degree. His job is to make sure students get the best possible teaching from across the University, regardless of what papers they choose.

Theology and Religious Studies at Cambridge gives the option to range across a wide selection of fields or to focus on one area: philosophy and psychology of religion, other world faiths, Biblical studies or Christian doctrine. Whatever you choose, you can expect to be warmly encouraged whilst at Christ's.

Your Director of Studies is a full time member of the academic staff of Christ’s and he is readily available for consultation on all academic matters and will ensure that your academic progress is encouraged and maintained. Bernard will do all he can to give you the personal attention you need to ensure a successful and rewarding time studying at Christ's. He will help you to push the boundaries of your thinking and never settle for too-easy answers.

Because Theology is a small subject in terms of numbers admitted each year, there is also ample opportunity for ‘subject-socials’ including drinks parties and an annual Theologians’ dinner.

The central location of Christ's also means you have quick and easy access to both lectures at the Divinity Faculty building, and the supervisions and extra-curricular lectures and seminars that take place here and at other Colleges.

Famous Christ’s Theologians

Christ’s has had a long history of scholars engaging in honest and critical theological debate.  William Paley, who was a Fellow of Christ’s, formulated a version of the ‘teleological’ argument for God’s existence and was the author of Natural Theology.  Charles Darwin, one of our most famous alumni, engaged in theological debate with the work of Paley, but later came to reject the ‘design’ argument, in favour of natural selection.  

In the mid twentieth century, a former Master of Christ’s, Charles Raven, who was Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Cambridge, engaged in the ‘science and religion’ debate, by delivering the Gifford Lectures in 1951-52, which he later published as Natural Religion and Christian Theology.  Many leading thinkers in the world of 20th Century theology have studied here and continue to have a relationship with this small and intimate community. 

Most prominent amongst our current alumni is the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who studied Theology at Christ’s, matriculating in 1968.  He is currently one of our Honorary Fellows.  Other Christ’s alumni who are prominent figures in the world of Theology include Professor Christopher Rowland, who is a fellow of The Queen’s College, Oxford; Dr John Day who is Professor of Old Testament Studies in Oxford and Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall; The Revd Robin Griffith-Jones, who is The Master of the Temple, London and The Revd Dr Michael Thompson who is Vice-Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge.

Why study Theology at Cambridge ?

The Lady Margaret Professorship in Divinity is the oldest chair in Cambridge University (founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort who founded Christ's in 1505)and this shows the antiquity of the subject and its centrality to academia. Theology (formerly known as Divinity) has always been studied at Cambridge and, along with mathematics, was for many centuries essential to any undergraduate's education. There are twenty-two lecturers and professors and the Faculty of Divinity is recognized internationally as a world leader in research and teaching.

Theology continues to flourish and develop in new and exciting ways. Founded for the study of Christianity, the Faculty today is much more diverse, attracting leading scholars and teachers in Judaism, Indian religions and Islam as well as in Christian biblical and doctrinal studies.

Theology is not a purely vocational degree for those seeking ordination, rather it is highly valued as a wide-ranging Humanities degree, offering a  unique opportunity to develop a range of academic and intellectual skills, to explore questions at the heart of human existence, and to understand forces which have shaped the world we live, and continue to do so . Students have gone on from reading Theology to careers in the Media, Publishing, Accountancy and Law, to name but a few. We are looking for applicants with questioning minds, with the ability to argue and discuss ideas and with an appreciation of the important role that theological ideas and religious belief continue to have in the world today.  Personal religious belief is not a consideration for the study of Theology and many who do so are atheists or agnostics, as well as followers of a faith.

General information for studying Theology at Cambridge

Every undergraduate at Cambridge must be a member of one of the twenty-nine Colleges for undergraduates of the University. The course content, lectures and examinations are the responsibility of the University's Faculty of Theology and are the same for every undergraduate reading Theology at Cambridge regardless of their college. Lectures are given in the Faculty of Divinity on the Sidgwick Site, approximately 10-15 minutes walk from Christ's.

Colleges are responsible for the selection and admission of undergraduates, the provision of social facilities such as accommodation, and ongoing personal and academic support. Every College has a Director of Studies in Theology, part of whose job is to advise undergraduates in their choice of options and to arrange supervisions for them. The Director of Studies arranges for teaching in all areas of the subject with specialists within the Faculty in those areas. Supervisions are tutorial teaching sessions either one to one or in pairs with a specialist in the field. They are one of the major and distinctive parts of a Cambridge education, providing individually tailored help and tuition. They offer a more directed and relevant approach to an undergraduate's own work than is possible at most other universities, where similar material can only be covered involving much larger numbers of students. Each College makes its own arrangements for supervisions.

The Cambridge Tripos in Theology and Religious Studies consists of a one-year Part I in which candidates take five papers out of a selection of eight core papers. The only compulsory elements are one of the language papers and a biblical paper - at present theologians are required to study either Hebrew, Greek, Sanskrit or Arabic for a minimum of one year. Papers are assessed by written examination.

In the second year theologians are working for Part IIA of the Tripos and are required to take four papers, up to two of which can be assessed by long essay. The choice of papers is an open one from a list of sixteen which covers all the major areas of Theology and Religious Studies.

In the third year candidates take Part IIB of the Tripos for which four papers are chosen out of a possible twenty or so. Two or three of the papers are taken from a list of ten core papers which build on areas already studied for Part IIA and are examination based. The other paper(s) taken are from a selection of special subjects and interdisciplinary papers, some assessed by long essay, some by examination; or, alternatively, candidates can offer a dissertation on a subject of their choice.

In Part I students benefit from studying a basic core of subjects, whilst in Parts IIA and IIB students can choose from the full range of subjects on offer and can either specialize in one or two key areas or can enjoy the diversity that the syllabus offers. The Cambridge supervision system is the main method of teaching in Theology and students can expect to be taught either alone or in pairs. All lectures and seminars are given in our new Divinity Faculty building on the Sidgwick Site, which is small and friendly with an excellent library.

Theology and Religious Studies is a varied subject in which one can study philosophy of religion, Christian doctrine, biblical literature of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions, church history, science and religion, psychology and religion, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and so on.  One no longer simply engages in the study of Christianity alone but Theology now includes an exploration of the major faiths of the world, any of which can be studied in a comparative context.

How to Apply

Christ's aim to admit around 2 undergraduates in Theology each year. Details of how to apply can be found on the College website under Admissions. Christ's asks its Theology applicants to supply a sample of written work on a related topic as part of their admissions package.

Interviews are held in early December: applicants will have three interviews. The first is the main academic one with the Reverend Dr Randall (Director of Studies) and another colleague, held in Christ’s itself.  The second is a general interview also held in Christ's with the College's Admissions Director or Senior Tutor. The third is another academic interview in a second College (other than Christ’s), since Theology runs a system of a guaranteed second academic interview in a College chosen at random by the Faculty's Admissions Officer. The Faculty of Divinity runs this scheme in order to maximize the chances of filling places and to rectify the possible imbalance of applicant numbers to various colleges often experienced by a relatively small subject. The academic interview will include questions on the work submitted, might raise points made on the personal statement and will ask general questions in the area of theology and religious studies.  The standard conditional offer is A*AA at A-level or the equivalent for other examination systems: this standard may be varied occasionally to meet individual circumstances, in particular for CSAS applicants.   A strong performance at GCSE and predictions of top grades at A level (or the equivalents) are basic requirements, however. Pre- or post A level students may apply and they may apply for the October after they complete their A levels or a year later. Our aim is to admit the best students regardless of background, race, nationality, gender or religious belief.

The College is keen to encourage students from all kinds of academic background to apply to read Theology and Religious Studies. Whilst an A level in Religious Studies is desirable it is not compulsory, and whilst most of our applicants are doing Arts A levels, this is not solely the case. Some linguistic ability is desirable at least at GCSE level, but also not compulsory. Application forms, information about deadlines and further details can be found on the University and College web sites.

Further Information

If you are able to come to a College Open Day, we will be glad to tell you more about the College and the course in person. There is also an annual Open Day at the Faculty of Divinity held in mid-March. If you are not able to come to Cambridge in person, we will be happy to answer any queries you may have that are not covered in the literature. Please address any such enquiries to the Director of Admissions, Christ's College, Cambridge CB2 3BU, or by e-mail to admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk