News

On 19 May, the Cambridge Interfaith Programme hosted a special Inter‑Religious Research (IRR) seminar offering a critical reading of the UK government policy paper Protecting What Matters (PWM). Below is a short summary of the discussion—with the option to download a fuller report at the bottom of this page.Chaired by Dr Iona Hine, the event brough…

A quarter of a century has passed since Michael Grimmitt published the seminal Pedagogies of Religious Education. This influential volume summarised the various approaches to religious education generated in England after the 1988 Education Act, which first made the inclusion of the “world religions” statutory.  Grimmitt noted that all the classica…

Dr Marietta van der Tol reflects on constitutionalism beyond legal texts in shortlisted prize seriesA new blog post by Dr Marietta van der Tol, Assistant Research Professor and Landecker Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, has been featured as part of a symposium showcasing nominees for the ICON•S Book Prize. In her contribution, Constitutiona…

Dr Tobias Müller (CRASSH, Cambridge) is co-author of two new articles, pushing the boundaries of political theory and anthropological practice.Is religion a problem for intersectional theory?In Contemporary Political Theory, Müller and lead author Karolin Tuncel tackle the possibility that religion is a problem for intersectionality. Teasing apart …

This year, we invite alumni to help us pilot three new formats for our engagement. We are trialling these as part of a new Religion in Society strand, inviting intellectual engagement with the lived dynamics of faith in our contemporary world.The following events are all scheduled for Friday 18 September 2026.

Harshvir Singh Grewal, student at the University of Cambridge, and Inderpreet Kaur Pejatta, a Faculty of Divinity and Research Forum alumna report:On Monday 15th June 2026, the Cambridge University Sikh Society, in collaboration with Cambridge Interfaith Programme, hosted a lecture by Satnam Singh exploring the rich and often overlooked history of …

Writing in Anthropology News, Cambridge PhD candidate Tilak Parekh explores the often-hidden religious infrastructures that sustain communities in times of crisis. Focusing on how the Hindu community in Abu Dhabi adapted as conflict between the USA, Israel and Iran escalated, he reveals how informal and improvised spaces—“monks in the basement”—bec…

On 22 April, Cambridge Divinity postgraduates Amen Gashaw and Lukas Kirby co-convened a one-day conference adjacent to the 6th Political Theologies conference (itself convened by Dr Marietta van der Tol). The event was supported by a small grant from the Cambridge Interfaith Research Forum. On the fringes of the main conference, the Cambridge Inter…

From September 2024 through May 2025, CIP postdoc Dr Anastasia Badder spent a day-a-week working with the Faith & Belief Forum, a national NGO. The goal was to identify synergies, test scope for research collaborations, and (when possible) observe current interfaith practice “in the wild”.  A year on and at the dawn of a new collaborative project, …

We are pleased to share the official announcement for a new collaborative project that spans the research–practice divide:Thanks to National Lottery players, the Believe in Climate Action project (BELIEVE) has received £1,452,709.20 over 4.5 years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. Led by the Faith & B…

The Faculty of Divinity invites expressions of interest from recently completed or final stage doctoral students whom the Faculty might support in next year’s (2026–27) round of applications for British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships (3 years), the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (3 years), Marie-Curie Fellowships (2 years) and British Academy…

In an article published this month in Democratic Theory, Dr Tobias Müller challenges a familiar assumption in public debate: that the state can act as a neutral arbiter when dealing with religion in democratic life.Political theorist Müller argues that decisions affecting faith communities are rarely guided by a single, coherent logic. Instead, the…

“Hungarians are openly speaking of ‘regime change’: the complete transformation of their society. The historic election results show that regime change has finally begun. But regime change is not a moment, it is a process, and it will take time to deliver it.”Dr Marietta van der Tol is one of four researchers invited to reflect on the significance …

BBC reporter Nora Fakim has been learning about UK celebrations of Mimouna, a uniquely Moroccan Jewish celebration marking the end of Passover. Her report includes a short interview with Dr Vanessa Paloma Elbaz—here is a brief taster:Dr Vanessa Paloma Elbaz, a lecturer of oral Moroccan history at Cambridge University whose family is originally from…

A multi-year research project on God, language, and diversity is beginning to report back. Journalist Annelise Jolley interviewed researchers including Napoleon Katsos & Daniel Weiss (Cambridge) and project lead Joanna Leidenhag (Leeds) in an article published by the Templeton Foundation.Here are a few tasters from Jolley’s engaging essay: Leidenha…