Religion, Philosophy & Ethics

Religion, philosophy, and ethics is a combination of three disciplines that have been in deep conversation with one another throughout human intellectual history. Religion provides the content: the beliefs, practices, texts, and experiences through which human communities have sought to understand the sacred, moral life, death, and the cosmos. Philosophy provides the rigorous analytical tools to examine those beliefs critically, asking what can be known, what grounds moral judgements, and what the nature of reality is.

Ethics sits at the centre of both, addressing the practical and theoretical questions about how we should live, what is right and wrong, and what makes a good society.

At King's College London, this three-year programme explores how important questions at the heart of philosophy and religion have been considered through the ages and across different cultures. You will think about fundamental questions, including the nature of good and evil, human freedom and liberty, the fear of death, and ethico-political concepts such as authenticity, conformity, and oppression, developing both the philosophical rigour to examine these questions precisely and the theological and religious literacy to understand how different traditions have addressed them. The combination develops the analytical, argumentative, and communication skills that are among the most transferable in higher education.

Graduates from religion, philosophy, and ethics programmes go on to careers in education, journalism, ethics consultancy, the civil service, law, healthcare (particularly in chaplaincy and medical ethics), interfaith relations, charitable and humanitarian work, research, and a broad range of roles where critical thinking and the ability to engage with complex ethical and cultural questions are valued. Further study at postgraduate level in philosophy, ethics, theology, or law is a common path for those who wish to develop specialist expertise or pursue academic careers.