We are delighted to announce that the 2026 Ferguson lecturer is Prof. Maureen Junker-Kenny (Trinity College, Dublin). Further information: lincolntheologicalinstitute.com/ferguson-lec...

Our Rylands Prof Peter Oakes argues that questions arising from the textual sources of the early Christ movement can only be adequately answered when they are embedded in the lived reality of people in the first century as part of the ECCLESIAE Project. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo3M...

Congratulations to Seoyoung Kim who has been appointed Lecturer in Applied Theology and Ministry Placements Programme Lead at the Belfast School of Theology. Seoyoung recently completed a PhD in our department in ecotheology.

We are delighted to announce that the 2026 Bogdanow Lectures in Holocaust Studies will be delivered on 16 & 17 February by Professor Susannah Heschel, the Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor and chair of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College. www.manchesterjewishstudies.org/bogdanow2026

Introducing our new student-led Religious Studies Society! Follow them on Instagram - rs_uom or drop an email at [email protected].

New Publication by Peter Oakes: ‘Did Paul Write for Asterix? The Extent of Celtic Ethnicity in Galatia and the Audience of Galatians’, in The First Urban Churches 8: Galatia and Lycaonia, ed. James R. Harrison and L.L. Welborn (2025), 91-112. cart.sbl-site.org/books/064223...

Over the four evenings of 27-30 October, our HRF Stephen Barton gave the Didsbury Lectures 2025 at the Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, on the theme, ‘The conversion of the emotions in early Christianity’. Watch them here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBw1...

Look out for us at SBL/AAR in Boston! @siobhanjolley.bsky.social, Holly Morse, Scott Midson, and Kengoro Goto are all presenting papers or speaking on panels & our friends at the Manchester Wesley Research Centre are hosting a session.

Such a treat to have @katieturnerphd.com at @uomreligion.bsky.social today for our Ehrhardt Seminar sharing her brilliant research.

27 November: Manchester Jewish Museum is hosting a panel on Jewish suffragettes and Jewish women’s experiences. The event is presented in collaboration with the Pankhurst Museum and will feature our Honorary Research Fellow and recent PhD grad, Sherry Ashworth. www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com

Next Monday our R&T research seminar welcomes Meghan Rose Donnelly talking on 'The Convent in the Community: How secular Use of Sacred Space Contributes to Catholic Nuns’ Pursuit of the Good in Eastern Indonesia'. 3pm, Samuel Alexander A116 & online.

Scott Midson has been interviewed on Radio 4's 'Sunday' programme with Robert Beckford about the future of TRS degrees on 2nd November. The segment starts about 11:30, with Scott on from about 16:00. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Tonight – Manchester Cathedral will host a launch for Dominic Budhi-Thornton's book 'Public Theology in the Post Secular Age - Lessons Learned from Manchester Cathedral'. Dom's book is based on his PhD research that he completed in our department.

Dr Andrew Mein (The Queen’s Foundation) is presenting at our Biblical Studies research seminar today. The paper "Mapping Biblical Reception: Questions, Answers, Stories" will be given at 3pm, Samuel Alexander Building A116 (& online).

The 2025 Didsbury Lectures will be delivered by our hon research fellow, Dr Stephen C. Barton. The theme is 'The Conversion of the Emotions in Early Christianity'. His case studies will be: anger, grief, and joy. October 27th - 30th, 2025, 7:00 PM, NTC Chapel. nazarene.ac.uk/didsbury-lec...

Daniel R. Langton has published Darwin in the Jewish Imagination: Jews' Engagement with Evolution Theory (Oxford University Press, 2025). This book offers the first major study of Jewish responses to Darwinian evolution, one of the most transformative and contested ideas of the industrial age.

R&T research seminar TOMORROW: Erica Baffelli (UoM) '"A place to belong, a place that needs you, a place you can go home to": (Negative) Emotions and Belonging in Minority Buddhist Communities in Japan'. 3–5pm in Samuel Alexander A116 and online.

Grant Macaskill, Manson Lecture 2025.

Tomorrow! Grant Macaskill, Manson Lecture, 4pm.

📣 Job Klaxon 📢: Coptic in Manchester Research Associate

Brilliant start to our departmental research seminars of the academic year with Maryanne Saunders from the National Gallery/KCL speaking on "'Whose line is it anyway?' Considering matrilineality in Christian art'.

MUP and @thejohnrylands.bsky.social are thrilled to announce that Bulletin of the John Rylands Library is now fully #OpenAccess🔓 Throughout October, the Bulletin's Editorial Board are highlighting journal issues or articles of particular importance on the MUP blog.

Our response to the terrible attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue yesterday. manchester-religions-and-theology.blogspot.com/2025/10/inci...

Since we have just edged into October, time to get excited for our next FTN event...

Snapshot of our department's monthly newsletter that has just gone out. Subscribe here: manchester-religions-and-theology.blogspot.com/p/mcembedsig...

An excellent new volume from our very own Wren! research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/w...

On 16th October, all are invited to the 2025 Manson Memorial Lecture where we look forward to Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social, Lightfoot Prof at Durham University, speaking on "Transcending Differences: Revisiting the Pseudepigrapha in the Study of Early Jewish and Christian Theology".

Happy New Academic Year, and a very warm welcome to all new and returning students! Stay tuned for upcoming events...

Recently promoted to Senior Lecturer, Katja Stuerzenhofecker has been awarded accreditation as Recognised Associate Research Supervisor by the UK Council for Graduate Education. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Peter Scott and Finlay Malcolm on a successful application to the UKRI’s Impact Accelerator Account. This funding supports a Diocese of Salford secondment to embed some of the findings from their AHRC project, Religion, Theology and Climate Change (2022-25).

Second-year R&T student Niamh Hardman has recently been accepted onto USPG and the Anglican Communion Youth Network's Emerging Leaders Academy due to her excellent work in children's ministry in Hulme and her position as a trustee for Greater Together Manchester.

Prof. Peter Scott was interviewed for the film “Planetary Humanity: Astrobiology’s Invitation to the Humanities”. The dialogue captured by the film was part of a research project organised by the Centre of Theological Inquiry in Princeton. Watch it here: vimeo.com/1088537021

🎉 New Publication 🎉 HRF Mary E. Mills has published "Transmutational spaces in Isaiah: between picture postcard and void" in Literature and Theology. academic.oup.com/lit...

Erica Baffelli was one of the invited speakers at “Faith on Failure: The 2025 Heythrop Institute Workshop” last week. www.heythropinstitut...

CJS HRF Professor Tony Kushner will present his latest book, 'The Jewish Pedlar: An Untold Criminal History' at Manchester Jewish Museum on 31st July at 6pm. £5 tickets for Under 30s. Book now: www.manchesterjewish...

🎉 New Publication 🎉 Alex Samely has published "Philosophising While Reading Texts Across Cultures" in Doing Metaphysics in a Diverse World: How We Make Sense of Things Across Cultures, edited by Stephen Green and published by Bloomsbury. www.bloomsbury.com/u...

Congratulations to Dr Sarah Parkhouse, who has been appointed Lecturer in Biblical and Early Christian Studies (fixed term). She will complete her British Academy Fellowship and take up her post from 1 Sept 2025.

The department is saddened by the news that Professor John Heywood Thomas, lecturer in Philosophy of Religion from 1957-65, has passed away at the age of 98. Robert Pope has published an obituary in the Guardian. www.theguardian.com/...

I’m at the airport en route to #EABSBL, so it feels like the perfect time to send a copy of my book, Reimaging the Magdalene, on a journey too! 💛 like and 🔁 RT and I’ll draw a winner on the feast of Mary Mag (22/07, heathens) Let’s see where it ends up… #Giveaway

Some thoughts on women retelling the gospel story. theconversation.com/cynthia-eriv...

🎉 New Publication 🎉 George J. Brooke has co-edited a volume "Missing Pieces: Essays in Honour of Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar". The essays honour the work of Eibert Tigchelaar in the ways they build on his incisive insights and exemplary contributions. brill.com/display/ti...

🎉 Congratulations to this year’s prize-winners in Religions & Theology! 🎉 Asha Joseph (first year) receives the Bishop Lee Junior Greek Testament Prize for the best examination result in New Testament Greek.

Congratulations to our Class of 2025, who graduated this week! Whether you just graduated (like Sylvia here) or you’ve been in the @officialuom.bsky.social alumni crew a little longer, we’d love to see your graduation photos this week. Tag us, reply, or DM!

Fantastic read by @siobhanjolley.bsky.social for @theconversation.com 💭 ⭐ @uomsalc.bsky.social @uomhums.bsky.social

📣 Booking is now open for our 2025 meeting, hosted by @uomreligion.bsky.social - online and in person options available now. estore.manchester.ac.uk/conferences-...

Today, we're hosting our Postgraduate Study Day for Religions and Theology, with our partners from Nazarene Theological College, Cliff College and Luther King Centre. This afternoon, we welcome alumnus Dr Munyurangabo Benda from Queens Foundation for a keynote on Black political theology.