Course unit details:
Philosophy of Religion

Course unit fact file
Unit code PHIL20021
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 5
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Offered by Philosophy
Available as a free choice unit? Yes

Overview

This course provides a detailed introduction and analysis of the central problems and issues in contemporary philosophy of religion.

The questions that we will consider include: Can we prove God's existence by reason alone? Is the evidence of 'fine tuning' conditions in the universe a good reason to believe that God created it? Is it either consistent or plausible to believe that there is a God given the amount of evil in the world? Can we ever be justified in believing that a miracle has occurred? Is religious belief rational if there is no evidence in its favour? What is the relationship between scientific and religious belief?

Aims

The unit aims to:

  • Help you to engage with some of the most central and enduring problems in philosophy of religion;
  • Enhance your power of critical analysis, reasoning and independent thought, and your ability to bring those powers to bear on important philosophical issues;
  • Familiarise you with some of the most interesting and provocative texts in contemporary work on philosophy of religion.

Teaching and learning methods

One two-hour lecture and one one-hour tutorial per week.

Knowledge and understanding

Students should be able to:

  • Identify the principal philosophical problems in contemporary philosophy of religion;
  • Clearly articulate some of the principle theories discussed in philosophy of religion;
  • Understand some of the main arguments and distinctions at issue in the philosophy of religion.

Intellectual skills

Students should be able to:

  • Evaluate some of the key ideas and theories in contemporary philosophy of religion;
  • Relate issues in the philosophy of religion to other areas of philosophical enquiry;
  • Reflect, assess and comment on the strengths and weaknesses of arguments in the philosophy of religion.

Practical skills

Students should be able to:

  • Gather, sift and synthesise material from spoken, electronic and library resources in the preparation of assessments in the philosophy of religion;
  • Present complex ideas and arguments in an accessible written form.

Employability skills

Analytical skills
Oral communication
Problem solving
Research
Written communication

Assessment methods

Essay (2000 words) 33%

Exam (2 hours) 67%

Feedback methods

The School of Social Sciences (SoSS) is committed to providing timely and appropriate feedback to students on their academic progress and achievement, thereby enabling students to reflect on their progress and plan their academic and skills development effectively. Students are reminded that feedback is necessarily responsive: only when a student has done a certain amount of work and approaches us with it at the appropriate time is it possible for us to feed back on the student's work. The main forms of feedback on this course are written feedback responses to assessed essays and exam answers.

We also draw your attention to the variety of generic forms of feedback available to you on this as on all SoSS courses. These include: meeting the lecturer/tutor during their office hours; e-mailing questions to the lecturer/tutor; asking questions from the lecturer (before and after lecture); presenting a question on the discussion board on Canvas; and obtaining feedback from your peers during tutorials.

Recommended reading

Graham Oppy, Michael Scott Reading Philosophy of Religion (Blackwell, 2010).


Detailed supplementary reading lists are provided on Canvas on a topic by topic basis. 

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 20
Tutorials 10
Independent study hours
Independent study 170

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Michael Scott Unit coordinator

Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2027 will be £10,050 per annum. Tuition fees for international students will be £33,100 per annum.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

Learn more about student finance options for UK students.

Learn more about fees and finance for international students.

As an international student you may be eligible for our Global Futures Scholarships . This is open to students starting their studies in September 2026

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