Students apply to read Theology at Clare for various reasons. What they have in common is an interest in the religious dimension of human life, and the desire to study it in greater depth. 

Some have a religious faith they want to test and deepen, but this is by no means universal or necessary amongst Theology students. The Tripos is called ‘Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion’ because it is intended to appeal to those interested in Jewish, Islamic or Christian Theology, as well as those who are interested in comparative religion or the philosophy of religion.

There is also a possibility to study in cross-disciplinary fields, looking, for example, at the interaction between Theology and Literature, Psychology, and Science. Some students want to use a theological degree as a basis for teaching or ministry. Others have no particular career in mind, but are looking for an intellectually demanding course which will address issues they consider to be of fundamental importance.

Watch this video with Mark Smith, Dean and Director of Studies, to find out more about Theology and Philosophy of Religion at Clare and at Cambridge.

Revd Dr Mark Smith's advice for prospective applicants: Reading how theology has been creatively expressed in novels - e.g. in CS Lewis’ Narnia books for children, or in his Space Trilogy, which was written for adults. What are the opportunities and tensions opened up by this kind of re-imagining of theological truths? Reading up on how theology might contribute to something ‘in the news’. For instance, the questions of whether there’s aliens on other worlds (recently the topic of various USA/NASA investigations) raises all kinds of theological questions - would these aliens be regarded as (intelligent) ‘animals’, or as possessing a soul? Are they made in the image of God? Do they need redeeming? If so, how? Many of these questions have been reflected on in the recently published CUP book by Andrew Davison, Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine. Reading a specific religious text in detail, thinking about historical context, literary themes, distinctive theology. For instance, looking at the four Gospels in the New Testament - how do they agree and differ in telling the story of Jesus? This has been helpfully explored in Burridge, Four Gospels, One Jesus.