BA Comparative Religion and Social Anthropology / Course details

Our BA Comparative Religion and Social Anthropology course explores how religion is inextricably bound up with ways of being human.

Religion is here to stay, and there is a critical need to understand how and why it forms a central part of human cultures.

You will explore themes such as ritual, myth, sacred space and iconography as critical features of human societies, both past and present.

You will study topics such as Judaism, the problem of evil, the Bible, social theory, power, and ethnography.

Your first year of study will cover research methods and key issues in Religion and Anthropology.

You will go on to focus on issues related to religion as culture, such as the role played by gender, politics and narrative representation, as well as the developing relationship between anthropology and religion.

In your final year, you will get the opportunity to focus further on specific themes and issues, including writing an independently researched dissertation on a topic of your own choice. 

This course produces graduates who have a clear capacity to analyse and understand the many complex roles played by religion in human societies. 

These are skills of high value in today's globalised world.

• provide a multidisciplinary curriculum informed by the research and scholarly activities of the teaching staff;
• stimulate curiosity about a variety of religious cultures, their histories and the present condition;
• enable you to analyse and evaluate a range of political, social and cultural practices using methodologies drawn from the disciplines of Religious Studies and Social Anthropology;
• develop your critical understanding of religion, theology and the various approaches to studying this discipline through a diverse range of learning, teaching and assessment methods;
• equip you with the skills necessary to interpret primary and secondary sources related to an in-depth study of texts, religious practices and traditions;
• provide, when required, appropriate language instruction;
• equip you for a variety of careers through subject specific knowledge, active engagement in your own learning and the development of analytical and other transferable skills.

Placement year option

Apply your subject-specific knowledge in a real-world context through a placement year in your third year of study. This will enable you to enhance your employment prospects, clarify your career goals and build your external networks.

Learn in a multi-faith city

You will have the opportunity to engage with living religious traditions in a contemporary context in one of the most religiously-diverse and dynamic cities in the UK.

Study abroad

Apply to spend one semester studying abroad during the second year of your degree.

Connect with like-minded students

Join one of our student societies to further explore your interests, such as the Religions and Theology Society, an inclusive community that plans academic and social activities from first year through to postgraduate level.

These methods include:

• lectures;
• seminars;
• one-to-one meetings;
• small group tutorials;
• research workshops.

A number of units may offer 'outward facing' assessment, in which students work with mentors to produce resources that can be used outside of an academic context, such as blogs and guides.

• written coursework (eg essays, literature reviews and a 12,000-word dissertation);
• examinations;
• e-learning activities;
• group projects/presentations.

Our most distinctive research resource is the John Rylands Research Institute and Library - an internationally renowned resource which holds one of the finest collections of rare books, manuscripts and archives in the world.

As well as an excellent general collection of books on Religions and Theology and related areas, the Rylands houses many collections of world importance.

You will find a substantial collection of papyri, such as the oldest manuscript fragment of a New Testament book, alongside several major archives, including the Methodist archive, with many original documents.

At Manchester you can also study ethnographic film and video as you'll have access to the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology and optional course units in art history and visual studies.

Find out more about our Facilities .