The Faculty of Arts and Humanities has been awarded a highly regarded Athena Swan Silver Award, becoming only the second faculty of its kind in the UK to receive this distinction. This milestone acknowledges the significant progress made in advancing gender equality across all departments and highlights a firm commitment to continued improvement through to 2030.

We welcome Professor Grant Macaskill to our University as our new Lightfoot Professor of Divinity. He will join our leading Department of Theology and Religion in September.

A service rich in symbolism, Leo XIV’s inauguration mass this Sunday (18 May) will mark the start of what is likely to be a highly consequential papacy. Dr William Crozier, Duns Scotus Assistant Professor in Franciscan Studies, in our Department of Theology and Religion/Centre for Catholic Studies, tells us more.

Following the appointment of Pope Leo XIV, our Theology and Religion experts have been commenting on the new Pope and head of the Catholic Church.

The Centre for Catholic Studies has opened a call for papers and workshop proposals for the third International Franciscan Studies Conference.

As a University community we are deeply saddened by the passing of Pope Francis. During Pope Francis’ papacy, researchers from our Department of Theology and Religion have followed his work closely and participated in his initiatives to help shape the future of the Catholic Church.

Dr Liam Temple, Assistant Professor in our Department of Theology and Religion, reflects on Pope Francis’ tenure.

Professor Michael Snape from our department of Theology and Religion explores the history, symbolism, and contemporary significance of the Royal Maundy Service, which King Charles III will continue this Thursday at Durham Cathedral.

The Centre for Death and Life Studies organises a two-day conference on 'closure' on Wed 9 and Thu 10 April 2025.

A team of researchers in the Department of Theology and Religion has been successful in securing a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant for a project entitled "Religious History and Catholic Archives: Towards an Interdisciplinary Approach", with a major international two-day workshop and archival showcase to take place at Durham in September 2025.

Assistant Professor in the History of Catholicism Liam Temple reviews the first autobiography written by a sitting pope.

Constantly in the public eye, Pope Francis is instantly recognisable across the globe, and his likeness adorns t-shirts, mugs, calendars, bookmarks, medals and jewellery, among other things. Too conservative for some, not conservative enough for others, he is the face of the modern Catholic Church.