Birmingham, United Kingdom

Theology and Religion

Table of contents

Theology and Religion at University of Birmingham

Language: English Studies in English
Subject area: humanities
University website: www.birmingham.ac.uk
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Definitions and quotes

Religion
There is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. It may be defined as a cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, world views, texts, sanctified places, prophesies, ethics, or organizations, that claims to relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements.
Theology
Theology is the critical study of the nature of the divine. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries.
Religion
For the majority of English people there are only two religions, Roman Catholic, which is wrong, and the rest, which don't matter.
Duff Cooper, Old Men Forget (1953). London: Rupert Hart-Davis, p. 128.
Religion
I am much indebted to the good christian people of the country for their constant prayers and consolations; and to no one of them, more than to yourself. The purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must prevail, though we erring mortals may fail to accurately perceive them in advance. We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war long before this; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise. We shall yet acknowledge His wisdom and our own error therein. Meanwhile we must work earnestly in the best light He gives us, trusting that so working still conduces to the great ends He ordains. Surely He intends some great good to follow this mighty convulsion, which no mortal could make, and no mortal could stay.
Abraham Lincoln's Letter to Eliza Gurney (4 September 1864); quoted in Roy P. Basler, ed., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, vol. 7 (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1953), p. 535.
Theology
Theology recognizes the contingency of human existence only to derive it from a necessary being, that is, to remove it. Theology makes use of philosophical wonder only for the purpose of motivating an affirmation which ends it. Philosophy, on the other hand, arouses us to what is problematic in our own existence and in that of the world, to such a point that we shall never be cured of searching for a solution.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty, In Praise of Philosophy (Chicago: 1963), p. 44.
The transition to a low carbon economy by 2050 will involve irreversible step-changes in the cultural, economic and natural domains, with qualitatively different socio-economic configurations before and after. COMPLEX will develop new modelling tools for managing step-change dynamics by working across a wide range of spatio-temporal scales, and integrating the knowledge of many stakeholder communities, for example in respect of land-use change driven by carbon-related technologies.
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