Heythrop Institute: Religion and Society
The Heythrop Institute: Religion & Society is part of Heythrop College, which specialises in Philosophy and Theology as a college of the University of London. The Institute operates within the Pastoral & Social Studies Department.
The Institute was first established in 2003, under the title of the Institute for Religion, Ethics and Public Life. It was re-launched in 2010 with an expanded remit. It is a centre for critical reflection on contemporary issues and is both a resource and a stimulus for formulating Christian responses to the many complex questions that arise today.
Members of the Institute comprise teachers in the college, visiting fellows and research associates. They specialise in systematic and pastoral/practical theology, spirituality and social ethics, political philosophy and economics, social theory and sociology of religion.
The Institute’s Aims
The primary aims of the Institute are:
• Research and development and the dissemination of sound knowledge on the relationship of religion and society
• Providing research opportunities and resources for churches, faith communities, civil society organisations and the wider society
Operating Sections of the Institute
The Institute’s work is currently organized under five sections:
1. Religion, Ethics & Public Life
Continuing the programme of work on issues at the interface of religion, ethics and public life developed in the Institute since 2003
2. Action Research: Church & Society (ARCS)
Research under way in the Pastoral & Social Studies Department since 2006 on the mission and social action of church groups and agencies
3. Contemporary Ethical issues (HIV/AIDS and other current challenges)
The theological and mortal challenges of HIV/AIDS work under way since 2008
4. Religious/Faith-based Organisations
A new project in 2010-11 on how to represent faith-based organisation in today’s society
5. REMUS (Religion, Mimesis & Society)
REMUS is a cluster of research and scholarly projects associated with the work of René Girard and Mimetic Theory
The Institute seeks to develop partnerships for research and other work with similar agencies in universities and churches. It participates in the Scribani network of European Jesuit institutions working in the social field. ARCS is a collaborative project with the Oxford Centre for Ecclesiology and Practical Theology (OxCEPT) at Ripon College Cuddesdon. The Institute is cooperating with the Von Hügel Institute at St Edmund’s College Cambridge on a major international conference in 2012 on themes of ‘Renewing Catholic Social Teaching’ and the ‘Big Society’.
We welcome approaches from interested groups and individuals.
Please see our Contact details.
