The study of religions

This chapter discusses the study of religions. The first section attempts to define the term ‘religion’, and shows that specific definitions of religion clearly express the inclinations of their propagators. The patterns of religion are examined, followed by a discussion of the various anthropological approaches. The phenomenological approach and social theories of religion are studied, along with reasons and religious belief. The problem of religious diversity is discussed in the latter portion of the chapter.

Theology in the twentieth century

This chapter discusses theology in the twentieth century, which was largely dominated by a set of issues that were generated ultimately by the diffusion of the critical approach to the Bible. The survey presented in the chapter determines that the ‘dogmatic’ or ‘systematic’ theology in England and Wales has both benefitted and suffered from its slightly tangential relation to mainstream academic theology.

The Reformation

This chapter discusses the Reformation and introduces Leopold von Ranke, who started several scholarly endeavours years before the British Academy was founded. Theology during the Reformation and several Reformation studies are examined in the chapter. It also takes note of several theological and social–cultural approaches that are used all throughout.

The medieval church

This chapter discusses the contributions that were made by former Fellows of the Academy to the study of the medieval church. It states that the history of the medieval church is inseparable from the general history of the Middle Ages, since the church shaped society and society shaped the church. The chapter determines that no hard and fast distinction can always be made between the works by ecclesiastical historians during the twentieth century, and the contributions made to general history by other historians.

The Old Testament

This chapter discusses and presents a survey of the Old Testament, beginning with the Hebrew text of the Old Testament and its ancient versions. It examines the rise of traditional biblical criticism and considers a study of the Hebrew language and its cognate Semitic languages. Finally, a survey of various topics and their historical perspectives is provided, along with some recent developments. The main focus of the chapter is to describe the dominant position of the mid-twentieth century.

The long eighteenth century

This chapter discusses the eighteenth-century Church of England. It examines the changes in how people thought about the place of religion in eighteenth-century Britain by first looking at the histories of the eighteenth-century Church of England. The chapter studies the changing views of the Enlightenment's relationship to religious thought and practice in Britain. It ends with a discussion of the newer fields of study that have emerged, most especially during the latter part of the twentieth century.

Philosophy of religion in the twentieth century

This chapter discusses the philosophy of religion during the twentieth century. The influence of Immanuel Kant and David Hume on the discussion of theological and religious issues by philosophers is examined in the first section. The dual role of philosophy and the main forms of interaction between philosophy and theology are discussed in the next section. The chapter also examines three main themes: the nature and significance of religious experience, the attempts in the twentieth century to deal with some of the links between religion and reason, and the interaction between religious and moral beliefs.

British patristic scholarship in the twentieth century

This chapter discusses British patristic scholarship during the twentieth century. After the Reformation, patristic study was considered an important aspect of British theological scholarship. During this period the Church of England played a dominant role in the life of the universities, while the patristics played an important role in that church's definition. The chapter is restricted mostly to British patristic scholarship and references the work of other scholars. It concludes that British patristic study today has to be seen as one contributory stream, situated within a single international community of patristic scholars.

Early Judaism

This chapter discusses the work that has been done on Judaism from 200 BCE to c.500 CE. It determines that the current study of early Judaism focuses more on its explanation and has more awareness of the possible extent of variety. The chapter shows that classical scholars have played a major role in placing the Jewish evidence properly into the context of the Greek and Roman world.

The New Testament

This chapter provides a review of New Testament work since 1902, looking mostly at the movements in British scholarship, but considering their continental European and North American background. It examines the manifold setting of New Testament study during the century, which is followed by comments that arose successively from three periods: 1902–32, 1932–77, and 1977–2002. The interaction of the two principal sides of New Testament study – the theological and the philological – are also discussed.