News

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…

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…

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…

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…

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, …

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…

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…

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 …

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…

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…

“The choices made today in education will define the citizens of tomorrow and our collective moral future.”—Maryam Bham for RE:Online“Teaching religious education pluralistically is more radical and exciting than setting one or other parameters on each other’s beliefs in order to approach them educationally.”—Daniel Moulin, The ConversationIn July …

The head monk of Neasden Temple tied a sacred thread round King Charles' wrist. Cambridge PhD-student Tilak Parekh has been reflecting on the significance of Wednesday's royal visit.In an opinion piece for the Religion News Service, Tilak explains:"With its intricately carved limestone and gleaming marble, the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir is widely rec…

Our Knowledge Hub work engages with partners in policy and practice. One successful collaboration is reporting back, assisted by CIP Programme Manager Dr Iona Hine.The following is from a press release, published by the Faith & Belief Policy Collective on Friday 10 October:New report seeks improved space for faith in New Towns strategyResearchers f…

Professor Esra Özyürek has written an opinion piece for the Austrian German-language newspaper, Der Standard.Drawing on her fieldwork among German Muslims (published in Subcontractors of Guilt, 2023), Özyürek explains how Germany’s focus on Muslims in the prevention of anti-Semitism shifts the problem onto a minority. The lessons of the Holocaust b…

We are pleased to share the call for papers for Political Theologies 2026:Political theologies of constitutions, the rule of law, and the common good23-24 April 2026, University of CambridgeThe constitution functions not only as a legal framework but also as a symbolic and practical foundation for societal life. This brings to the fore the role of …