Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion

News || Dr Lyndon Drake, Research Fellow in AI at the Ian Ramsey Centre, University of Oxford, is interviewed by The Times on the ‘Oxford Oath for AI Professionals’ and ethical responsibility in AI development.

Read the full interview: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/technology-uk/article/ai-hippocratic-oath-university-oxford-368j2ndf2

Professor Mark Harris, Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion and Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre, is featured in a University of Oxford ‘Pulse’ profile exploring his journey from experimental physics to theology and his work at the intersection of science, religion and the humanities.

The interview traces his career from the discovery of spin ice to his current work leading the ‘Quantum Worldviews Project’, which brings together scholars from theology, philosophy, history, education and the social sciences to explore what quantum mechanics might mean for our understanding of reality, identity and purpose.

Professor Harris also discusses why the familiar idea of science and religion as opposing forces is too simplistic, and how the ‘quantum humanities’ could offer new ways of thinking about the meaning and implications of quantum mechanics.

Read the full University of Oxford Pulse profile: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/pulse/society-culture/mark-harris

BBC Radio 4 - Moral Maze, Is empathy ever a weakness? Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories.

News || Dr Maria Power speaks to the Associated Press on PM Andy Burnham, Catholic social teaching and public life

Dr Maria Power, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Las Casas Institute for Social Justice, spoke to the Associated Press about Catholic social teaching and the role that Catholic faith and formation can play in shaping approaches to public life.

Speaking following Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister, Dr Power explained the principles and scope of Catholic social teaching and reflected on how a Catholic upbringing can continue to influence a person’s outlook, even when that influence is more unconscious than conscious.

The Associated Press video report was carried by TVB News.

Watch the report here: https://news.tvb.com/tc/1184194-IncomingUKPrimeMinisterAndyBurnhamconfirmsCabinetmembers

News || Professor Paul L. Gavrilyuk appointed inaugural Michael Huffington Chair of Eastern Orthodox Christianity

The Faculty of Theology and Religion, together with Merton College, is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Paul L. Gavrilyuk as the inaugural Michael Huffington Chair of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Established through a generous gift from The Honourable Michael Huffington, the new statutory professorship will strengthen Oxford’s teaching, research and public engagement in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, while renewing the University’s historic strengths in Orthodox Studies.

Read the news here: https://www.theology.ox.ac.uk/article/professor-paul-l.-gavrilyuk-appointed-inaugural-michael-huffington-chair-of-eastern-orthodox

[ Eastern Orthodox Christianity, University of Oxford, Theology and Religion, Announcement, Michael Huffington ]

News || Ian Ramsey Centre receives major gift to advance AI and theology research

The Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at the Faculty of Theology and Religion has received a major gift from the McDonald Agape Foundation to support its growing programme of research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and theology.

The gift will fund doctoral scholarships in AI and theology, strengthening the Faculty’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of scholars while expanding research into the opportunities and challenges AI presents for theology and theological education.

Read the news here: https://www.theology.ox.ac.uk/article/ian-ramsey-centre-receives-major-gift-to-advance-ai-and-theology-research

[ Artificial Intelligence, University of Oxford, Ian Ramsey Centre, Theology and Religion ]

News || Ian Ramsey Centre awarded the 2026 Ayala Prize

The Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at the Faculty of Theology and Religion, has been awarded the 2026 Ayala Prize by the Hana and Francisco José Ayala Center in Science, Technology and Religion at Universidad Pontificia Comillas.

The Prize recognises the Centre’s longstanding commitment to rigorous, interdisciplinary dialogue between science, philosophy and theology, and its global contribution to research at the intersection of science and religion.

Read the news here: https://www.theology.ox.ac.uk/article/ian-ramsey-centre-awarded-the-2026-ayala-prize

[ Science and Religion, University of Oxford , Theology and Religion, Universidad Pontificia Comillas , Ayala Prize , Study at Oxford ]?

News || Professor Andrew Davison delivers inaugural lecture on The Creed in Music

Professor Andrew Davison, Regius Professor of Divinity, recently delivered his inaugural lecture, ‘The Creed in Music: A Thousand Years of Setting Christian Theology to Music’, exploring how composers across a millennium have expressed Christian theology through musical settings of the Creed.

Interwoven with live performances by the Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford , the lecture brought together theology, music, and history in a landmark event at the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, celebrating the enduring relationship between faith, scholarship, and the arts.

Read the news here: https://www.theology.ox.ac.uk/article/professor-andrew-davison-delivers-inaugural-lecture-on-the-creed-in-music

📸 Snapshots from the McDonald Centre’s Annual Conference, ‘Reimagining Humanism: Religious Humanisms as Frameworks for Building a Common Life in a Fractured World’

Held earlier this month at Christ Church, Oxford, the conference brought together leading scholars from Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions to examine religious humanism beyond its association with Western secular thought, highlighting the distinctive theological traditions that have long shaped understandings of the human person, the common good, and shared public life.

Thank you to our speakers and participants for three days of rich discussion and interdisciplinary exchange.