Criminology and Religion Theology & Spirituality
Criminology and religion, theology and spirituality is a combination that examines the social dimensions of two of the most persistent features of human life: crime and faith. Criminology investigates why crime occurs, who is affected by it, and how societies respond through law, policing, punishment and prevention. Religion, theology and spirituality studies how human beings have understood the sacred, constructed moral frameworks, built communities of meaning and negotiated questions of ultimate value across cultures and historical periods.
The combination is more than the sum of its parts: it opens questions about the religious dimensions of justice and punishment, the role of faith communities in crime prevention and rehabilitation, and how different spiritual traditions understand harm, guilt and restoration.
At Liverpool Hope University you will study across three years of full-time study in a city whose two iconic cathedrals, oldest mosque in England and diverse communities of faith make it an unusually vivid setting for this kind of study. You will explore the wisdom, practices and histories of major world religions alongside the social scientific study of crime and justice, developing an understanding of how faith and culture intersect with questions of deviance, social order and moral judgement. The programme includes a sandwich year in professional practice and a year abroad, giving you extended professional and international experience alongside your academic work.
Graduates from this combination are well suited to careers in prison chaplaincy, restorative justice, community development, youth work, social care, charities and faith-based organisations working in criminal justice or welfare. The combination of criminological and theological perspectives is also relevant in policy research, interfaith dialogue, education and journalism. Many graduates pursue postgraduate study in criminology, theology, social work or applied ethics, or enter professional training in chaplaincy, counselling or the religious ministry.