Theology & Religious Studies/Comparative Literature

Theology and Religious Studies combined with Comparative Literature is a pairing that addresses the deepest questions humans ask about meaning, value, and the nature of existence through two of the richest bodies of writing and thought available. Theology and religious studies encompasses the study of religion, the Bible, and theological traditions as they connect to politics, history, philosophy, art, and culture, as well as to personal belief and practice. Comparative literature examines how literary texts from different traditions, languages, and periods reflect and shape human experience, and what they reveal about the societies that produced them.

At the University of Glasgow, this part-time programme allows you to engage with both disciplines at a pace suited to your circumstances. You will study religious texts, theological arguments, and the social and cultural contexts of religious communities alongside literary works from different traditions, developing skills in close reading, interpretive argument, and the comparative analysis of ideas and texts across cultures and historical periods. A year abroad option is available, giving you the opportunity to study in another country and to encounter different literary and religious traditions through direct experience.

The combination develops rare and deeply valuable intellectual skills: the ability to read complex texts with care, to construct and evaluate arguments about meaning and value, and to engage with ideas across disciplinary and cultural boundaries. Graduates go on to careers in education, the church and other religious organisations, publishing, journalism, the arts, heritage, cultural policy, and the charity sector. Many continue to postgraduate study in theology, religious studies, comparative literature, or philosophy, building on the distinctive combination of close reading and interpretive depth the undergraduate programme develops.