RELIGIOUS STUDIES AND THEOLOGY
From ancient mystery cults to knowledge of God
Religious Studies and Theology is an opportunity to grapple with some of the biggest questions about the divine. Is there a solution to the problem of evil? How have scholars across the world read the Book of Job? How can we study indigenous religions respectfully? We also specialise in rare and niche topics like Himalayan religions and religious syncretism, so whatever your interest, it’s very likely we can help you out!
Meet Your Tutor
As part of her academic research, Dr. Jane Orton has done fieldwork and published in academic journals on major religions: Buddhism, Bön and indigenous religions in the Himalayas and Islam, Hinduism and Munda religion in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh. This means that your tutorials will be full of fascinating examples and case studies from across the world!
Jane’s research Masters’ at Oxford University focused on Tibetan Buddhist narratives as well as other religions in the Himalayas. Philosophy (in which she has a PhD) is a big part of Religious Studies and Theology and Jane also has over fifteen years’ experience in tutoring this. She also has university level exam marking experience and has designed and taught courses at the University of Edinburgh.
Click the link to read about Jane’s fieldwork in the Himalayas and the Sundarbans of Bangladesh! Contact us to find out more or click to download our Tuition Guide and Pricing Options!
“My one-to-ones with Jane have been incredibly helpful in organising my thoughts into detailed and developed arguments. Jane is great at clarifying, discussing and giving you confidence in your work...Whatever topic I've come to Jane with, she has aided me greatly.”
- Lucja
“A natural teacher, Jane effortlessly keeps our lessons interesting and fun while remaining on course - highly recommended.”
- Oliver
Jane says:
“One of my favourite things to do is to work with adults who have a ‘passion project’ – whether that’s a series of tutorials to gain knowledge of a topic and develop your own views, supporting you in writing a book or helping you to develop a unique independent research project. I’ve put together a number of ‘skeleton courses’ that we can follow to give you a good overview, but these can be adapted depending on what you’re looking for. We can also do sessions where we discuss works of philosophy or research papers, analyse historical documents or other primary sources, or add in extra material. I specialise in taking an adaptable, organic approach led by your interests and tailored to your needs - no ‘one size fits all’ strategies but real, human interaction.”
Browse our Religious Studies and Theology Courses
These courses are templates of possible routes of study and can be combined, adapted, or designed from scratch to suit your interests and goals. Dr. Orton will work with you to design a course of private tutorials tailored to your needs, ability and schedule – whether you are undertaking your own research for an independent project, writing a book or simply have a personal interest. Click the link to find out what it’s like to work with her.
If you are writing a book or making a documentary and need some support, or you are working on an independent project or research investigation, we also offer support for independent researchers. Jane will be your research ‘teammate’ - someone to bounce ideas around with, discuss academic research, plan book chapters or simply give a series of informal tutorials directed towards your interests: real, human interaction and support to keep you moving towards your goal. Click the link to read more about her approach.
Philosophy of Religion
Big questions such as the nature and attributes of God, his timelessness and his benevolence will be tackled in this course. We shall begin by examining the philosophical groundwork of religious studies: Aristotelian empiricism and Plato’s rationalism, before going on to explore Aristotle’s Prime Mover and Plato’s arguments for the immortality and nature of the soul. We shall study proofs of the existence of God: the cosmological argument, Paley’s Watchmaker Argument, the anthropic principle, the Ontological arguments – and their refutations – by St. Anselm, Descartes, Leibniz and Kant. We shall also examine philosophical problems such as Eternity, Free Will, the paradox of omnipotence and the problem of evil.
This course is ideal for those who wish to confront some of the biggest and most difficult questions philosophy has to offer, those who wish to explore their own beliefs and those who wish to understand the religious positions of others. Options for tailoring the course include the incorporation of extra material from courses on Ancient Philosophy, Religious Language and Argument or Christian, Buddhist or Hindu theology. Your personal tutor has three research degrees in philosophy including religious philosophy, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Religious Ethics
Religious thought has made an enormous contribution to ethical discussion. Whether or not you have any religious affiliation, this course will enrich the way you think about ethical issues. We shall begin by examining Aquinas’s writings on conscience and studying the distinctions between theonomous, heteronomous and autonomous Christian ethics, before going on to explore Catholic natural law theory, divine command theory, consequentialist ethics and situation ethics. Themes of religion and social justice will be explored, with an emphasis on Christian liberation theology, Muslim ideas of sadaqah and zakat, and the Buddhist idea of karuna. We shall also discuss religious arguments surrounding civil disobedience, through the Christian work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and examine Muslim writings on the permissibility of civil disobedience.
Options for tailoring the course include the incorporation of material on biblical femininity or applied ethics. Examine the ways in which religious ethical approaches deal with issues in business and medicine, explore Buddhist and Christian views of the environment, and debate John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. We also recommend looking at our online Religious Studies courses on Christianity and Buddhism or our Ethics course for more options. Your tutor has three research degrees in philosophy, including religious philosophy, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Religious Language and Argument
Whether you wish to challenge your own beliefs or engage others in discussion about some of life’s biggest questions, you will need to be acquainted with the language and arguments used in religious dialogue. We shall explore the use of analogy and symbol, apophatic and cataphatic language, logical positivism, the verification principle and falsification theory. You will examine your ideas from every angle, test and refine them as you study the arguments of great thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine and Wittgenstein.
This course is ideal for those who have taken the course in philosophy of religion or those who wish to explore the limits of religious arguments. Options for tailoring include the incorporation of material from philosophy of science, religious philosophy and theology courses. We also recommend looking at our interdisciplinary course How to Win an Argument for more options. Your personal tutor has three research degrees in philosophy, including religious philosophy, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Christian Theology
Examine apparent contradictions between the Old and New Testaments, views held by different denominations of Christianity, Biblical literalism, Christology, Christian ethics and Christian views on death, resurrection and the afterlife. You will also have the opportunity to study Christian Feminism and liberation theology and explore Christian views on the knowledge of God's existence. We begin by exploring the writing of the bible and Christianity in the Roman Empire, covering Christian perspectives from the time of Christ through Augustine, Aquinas and Karl Barth’s opposition to the Nazis. This course will also tackle modern-day issues facing Christianity, such as inter-faith dialogue and the concept of the Church of England as spiritual NHS.
This course is ideal for those who wish to understand one of the world’s oldest and most influential religions. Options for tailoring the course include the incorporation of extra material on early British saints and the Reformation, or from our other online Religious Studies courses on the philosophy of religion and comparative material from other faiths such as Buddhism. Your tutor has three research degrees in philosophy (including religious philosophy) and related disciplines, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Roman Catholicism
Catholicism is a vast, intricate and diverse religion, and this course introduces its thought as set out by Rome and its development in Latin America, Africa and Asia. This course will give you an understanding of the structure of the Catholic Church as well as the elements of Catholic worship: The Seven Sacraments, liturgy and devotion will be studied, with a special emphasis on the Cult of the Saints. Important features of the Catholic worldview will be explored, such as the importance of faith and its relation to reason, Catholic arguments for the existence of God, the nature of God, Jesus and the afterlife. Study Christology, the Apostles and the New Testament and the ways that these were viewed by the Catholic Church throughout history, particularly at the Councils of Chalcedon, Nicea and Trent. You will explore the Inquisition; Gothic Cathedrals, Dante’s Catholic Symbolism and the Catholicism of the Baroque and the Counter-Reformation. We will also examine Catholic ethics, building on St Augustine’s account of original sin and Aquinas’ writing on conscience. We shall discuss divine command theory, natural law and liberation theology as well as sexual ethics and the family and other areas of applied Catholic ethics.
This course is ideal for those who wish to understand one of the world’s most influential and well-known religions. Options for tailoring the course include the incorporation of extra material on the Art of the Counter-Reformation, or of material from our other online Religious Studies courses on the philosophy of religion or comparative material from other faiths. Your tutor has three research degrees in philosophy (including religious philosophy) and related disciplines, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Buddhism
Buddhism is one of the world’s most fascinating religions, and this course will introduce you to its history, varieties and thought. We begin by examining the historical background to Buddhism and the life of the Buddha before going on to study some of the religion’s fundamental principles. You will gain an understanding of the three ‘marks’ of impermanence, suffering and emptiness and their relationship to the Middle Way of the Buddha, before going on to discuss the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. We will also examine Buddhist methods and goals of meditation, and the Three Jewels of Buddhism. Explore Samsāra (the wheel of life) and the concepts of Karma and Nirvana, as well as the different ways that these have been viewed by Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists. Finally, you will have the opportunity to learn about the development of Buddhism, and its variations across the world.
Options for tailoring this course include the study of Buddhism’s influence on the world, including Altai Animism, Tibetan medicine and Western esotericism. We recommend looking at our Tibetan and Himalayan Studies course for more options. There is also a fieldwork option, in which you can conduct your own research. Your personal tutor has a research degree from Oxford University in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, and eleven years of fieldwork experience in the Himalayas. She has worked with some of the world’s leading anthropologists, presenting her research at conferences all over the world. She also has further degrees in philosophy (including religious philosophy) and related disciplines, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Religion of the Himalayas
The Himalayas are home to some of the world’s most interesting and influential religions. This course begins by exploring Indian Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, the indigenous Bön religion of Tibet, and Hinduism, before going on to discover some of the lesser known religions of these remote areas. We shall explore the Bhutia and Lepcha of Sikkim and the Donyi Polo of Arunachal Pradesh, before examining Islam in Ladakh and Kashmir and the Christianity that is practised in some areas. Finally, we shall discuss the issue of religious conversion in the Himalayas, a fascinating yet controversial phenomenon currently affecting the region.
Options for tailoring this course include the study of Himalayan religion’s influence on the world, including Altai Animism, Tibetan medicine and Western esotericism. The course also works well in conjunction with our Tibetan and Himalayan Studies and Himalayan Folklore courses. There is also a fieldwork option, in which you can conduct your own research. Your tutor has a research degree from Oxford University in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, and eleven years of fieldwork experience in the Himalayas. She has worked with some of the world’s leading anthropologists, presenting her research at conferences all over the world. She is ideally equipped to advise on project design for those wishing to undertake fieldwork. Take a look at our blog and research pages to find out more about Himalayan religion and folklore!
Ancient Greek Religion
The Olympian Gods and Heroes have achieved an iconic status in Western culture, and you will get to know them intimately in this course. Uncover the secrets of mystery cults, oracles, sanctuaries and Greek religious rituals and festivals and admire ancient temples. You will study the works of Homer and Hesiod and explore the themes of power, priests and priestesses, miasma and impiety.
Options for tailoring include the incorporation of material on the links between religion and philosophy in Ancient Greece, as well as the inclusion of material on how Greek gods have been represented in the history of art. We recommend looking at our course on the Renaissance and our Ancient Philosophy course for more options. Your tutor has an interdisciplinary background, spanning Classics, Anthropology, Ancient Philosophy, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.