1 May 2026
Job opportunities: Faculty of Divinity seeks to support new & future postdocs
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…
24 Apr 2026
Democracy, religion, and state projects: new research challenges faith & policy assumptions
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…
21 Apr 2026
Changing times: Bringing expertise in law and religion to international politics
“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 …
20 Apr 2026
Research in the news: Celebrating the end of Passover Moroccan-style
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…
2 Apr 2026
Speaking of God: reporting on metaphor, midrash and neurodiversity
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…
26 Mar 2026
Event report: One Earth, Many Verses
On 18 March 2026, the Faculty of Divinity hosted One Earth, Many Verses, an interfaith panel dialogue organised by Research Forum members Riya Kartha (Faculty of Education) and Geneva Blackmer (Faculty of Divinity). Chaired by CIP’s Academic Director, Professor Esra Özyürek, the panel brought together Professor Jason Goulah (DePaul University), pos…
25 Mar 2026
Event report: Half-Jew—Full Life, an unlikely biography
Who was Pips to you? That was the opening question as Prof Esra Özyürek and Dr Georgette Bennett discussed Half-Jew–Full Life, a compelling new biography of Gary “Pips” Phillips. Bennett read a passage relaying Pips’ first-hand experience of (what became known as) Kristallnacht, before explaining that Pips had been her third-cousin-in-law and (foll…
10 Mar 2026
Call for papers: Religious freedom?—The 2026 Student Symposium
Announcing the 2026 Student Symposium & an Online ColloquiumSince 2023, CIP has hosted an annual symposium, designed by and for Cambridge students to discuss religion-related thought and research at any level and across different disciplines. For 2026, the convenors are Geneva Blackmer (Divinity), Hannah Peterson (Sociology) and Songzan Xu (Divinit…
25 Feb 2026
Call for papers: Palestine as a symbol
An Entangled Otherings workshop, 18 & 19 June 2026, CambridgeOver the last four years, Entangled Otherings workshops have explored the relations between antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism (eg 2024, 2025). During this time, these relations have become more complex in public discourse, in policy, and in the rise of violent attacks on minorities, m…
5 Feb 2026
Maimonides from Scratch? Manchester exhibition opening 11 Feb
A new exhibition is opening at Manchester Jewish Museum this month, exploring the legacy of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, aka Maimonides. Maimonides from Scratch began as an interdisciplinary effort to explore Jewish and Muslim presence and place in Manchester and Marseille through creative practices. The team come from backgrounds in art, anthropology, …
30 Jan 2026
Enriching Cambridge studies: skills and seeing
Alongside original research and collaborative working, the Cambridge Interfaith Programme also provides enrichment opportunities for Cambridge students. The January schedule has included a couple of notable examples, with more getting underway:From emergencies to investmentThe CIP Skills series began in 2024. On 21 January 2026, we ran an intensive…
15 Jan 2026
Moonsighters Academy is underway
We are pleased to be working with the Institute of Astronomy (Cambridge) and the University of Leeds to deliver an innovative training programme for Muslims seeking a better understanding of the history, theory and practice of moonsighting. Last week, 38 recruits travelled to the University of Leeds for two days’ immersive training, inspired by Cam…
20 Nov 2025
New research: Time, gods, eclecticism, & pedagogy
From AI and climate action to religious education and teacher training, we’ve new research to share, courtesy of Cambridge Interfaith Research Forum.Read on for summaries of new articles on diverging accounts of time in the climate movement, the importance of eclecticism in religious education, the perils and promise of reflexive writing, and (see …
13 Nov 2025
Faith, policy & futures in Inter Faith Week 2025
A year ago, we released a podcast series on the theme of Interfaith Futures. As UK Inter Faith Week swung back around and following up on May's Bursting the Bubble report, we sent a group of Cambridge students along to the national launch event in London. Divinity postgraduate Floris Bosscher wrote up what happened. Then on Monday CIP Programme Man…
6 Nov 2025
Upcoming: Inter Faith Week and beyond
Inter Faith Week 2025 is kicking off with a sense of festivity, as government representatives, faith leaders, and a plethora of interested parties gather in central London today. The theme is Community: Together we serve.We'll be bringing reflections on the launch event and the significance of Inter Faith Week in the eyes of some Cambridge students…