Faith leaders' concern over demise of theological courses
Former archbishop of Canterbury Rev Dr Rowan Williams has joined 75 leading United Kingdom academics, faith leaders and public figures in signing an open letter co-ordinated by Theos, a Christian think tank, warning that theology and religious studies in Britain are among the hardest hit by university course closures.
The letter highlights that soon only 21 higher-education institutions in England and Wales will offer theology degrees, compared with 90 offering history, 80 offering music and 101 offering sociology.
Hannah Rich, senior researcher at Theos, said: "We’re seeing theology and religious studies hit hardest by cuts when institutions are under financial pressure. But these are subjects vital to our society, intellectually, ethically and culturally."
Among recent closures is Spurgeon College, a 170-year-old Christian institution in south London that taught theology to about 200 students. It announced in July that all courses are shutting down due to "significant financial challenges, driven by declining student numbers and an increasingly complex and difficult financial landscape".
Spurgeon College is named after 19th century evangelical cleric the Rev Dr Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Baptist preacher Spurgeon remains to this day highly influential among Christians of various denominations; to some of whom he is known as the 'Prince of Preachers'.
The letter from British academics and faith leaders warns this trend may lead to theology becoming the "preserve of the elite", as course closures create educational "cold spots" across the UK.
The impact is already being felt in schools.
Hannah Rich said: "More than 50 per cent of religious education (RE) lessons are now taught by teachers without a specialism in the subject.
"Fewer theology graduates means fewer qualified RE (religious education) teachers and that affects the entire education system.
"In an increasingly polarised world, theology provides space for interfaith dialogue and understanding. Without it, we risk losing the ability to build bridges across belief systems."
Signatories, including actor English television drama actor James Norton, faith leaders of various denominations and academics call on universities and the Westminster government to prioritise and safeguard religious theology education.
Union theological college in south Belfast falls within the remit of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; Trinity College in Dublin administers theological courses for the Church of Ireland, and Maynooth college is the main Roman Catholic theological institution in Ireland.
l Having preached to 4,000 people in a football stadium in Malawi’s northern city of Mzuzu last Saturday to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the first Christian mission there, Irish Presbyterian Moderator, the Rev Dr Trevor Gribben has returned home after an informative nine-day visit to the African country.
During that time, Dr Gribben deepened the Church’s ties with Church of Central Africa Presbyterian and its synod of Livingstonia in the north and Blantyre synod in the south of the country, where he met their leadership teams.