School of Divinity

Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla recently delivered the keynote lecture at the Global Network for Public Theology's Amsterdam Interim Meeting, "Public Theology in a Fractured World: Voices, Visions, and Vulnerabilities" 🧑‍🏫 The lecture was titled "Reclaiming Polarisation: Thinking about Islam and the Left".

Acclaimed playwright, actor and screenwriter David Ireland comes to #NCFestival with Donald Smith on 7 Nov at 3:30pm, talking about faith, doubt, masculinity, and dark comedy across his work on stage and screen. In association with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival 🎟️👇 edin.ac/3W3xtPR

We welcome two highly respected medical professionals, Mhairi Collie and Gavin Francis, to #NCFestival to talk about how their writing explores the resilience of our bodies and minds. Chaired by Jeremy Carrette the event is sponsored by the Centre for Theology and Public Issues 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4zBs40I

Nada Shawa joins us at #NCFestival to speak to Joshua Ralston about her book, ‘Indigenous Soul: Gaza and Me’. Born in Gaza, she has spent much of her life in Scotland working in refugee support and human rights campaigning, alongside performing at international festivals 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4dMZX6r

Enter the enchanted world of King Arthur with poet and theologian Malcolm Guite! Discover ‘Galahad and the Grail’, the first in his four-volume Merlin’s Isle series, and enjoy a sneak peek at volume two. Guite joins Jolyon Mitchell on 7 November at 11am. Limited tickets remain 🎟️👇 edin.ac/47QYit8

Karine Polwart joins us on 6 November at 7:30pm to talk about ‘Windblown’, her tribute to a 200-year-old Sabal palm through storytelling and music. She’ll be interviewed by @rkrystalli.bsky.social and, with pianist Dave Milligan, will perform a couple of songs. Book now 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4B5rOsn

Join us for refreshments in our historic Rainy Hall at this year's New College Festival of Books and Belief 🍂📚 We're hosting two drinks receptions on 6 November at 6:30pm & 7 November at 6pm. Come along and browse our pop-up bookshop run by, Golden Hare Books! Book now 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4ziCcfC

What kind of AI future are we actually building, and who gets to decide? Come and hear leading AI ethicist Eleanor Drage in conversation with Marion Thain, director of the Edinburgh Futures Institute, about Drage’s new book, ‘What If We Got AI Right?’ Book your tickets now 🎟️👇 edin.ac/47sfUeB

Professor Helen Bond appeared on History Hit 💥's 'The Ancients' podcast where she spoke on the topic 'The Gospels: Are They Historical?' 🎙️ Listen on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from 🎧👇 edin.ac/4y8DmbP

We're excited to welcome award-winning poet & essayist Alycia Pirmohamed back to #NCFestival to discuss ‘Shorelines’ (Canongate, 2026), her Nan Shepherd Prize-winning debut. In conversation with David Farrier, Pirmohamed will explore landscape, belonging, migration & memory 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4xVDkEc

Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla featured on Musawah's YouTube channel where he spoke about 'Muslim Masculinities and the Islamic Tradition' 🗣️ Watch the full conversation on their YouTube channel now 🎥👇 edin.ac/3VsTEyE

Join us Friday 6 November, 1–2pm at #NCFestival for a discussion with Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah on ‘Breaking Binaries’ (2026), exploring gender, identity, interfaith dialogue and moving beyond either/or thinking. Chaired by Hannah Holtschneider. Book your tickets now 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4z7wRqB

This year's New College Festival of Books & Belief starts on Friday 6 November at 11am with Francesca Stavrakopoulou talking with Helen Bond about her prizewinning and fascinating book, 'God: An Anatomy' (Picador, 2021), recently serialised on Radio 4. Don't miss out, book now 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4hk8vnz

Next week we host the Cunningham Lectures with Rev'd Dr Jooseop Keum 🗓️ Don't miss your chance to join us on 5, 7 and 8 October for this lecture series titled “What Does It Mean to Be Human? Slavery, Artificial Intelligence, Creation, and Mission”. Register now 🎟️👇 edin.ac/3VFEfuP

Keen for more? Join us for a pre-festival book club event on 22 October, 4:30pm led by @katieosha.bsky.social for Luke Kennard's 'The Book of Jonah' 📖🍂 No prior reading necessary! Register now 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4rCI8g6

We are delighted for our #NCFestival guest, Luke Kennard, who has had his recent novel ‘Black Bag’ shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2026! He will discuss the novel alongside ‘The Book of Jonah’, in conversation with Samuel Tongue. Get your tickets for 6 November, 2:30-3:30pm 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4xUT22j

We've had an absolute blast during Welcome Week 🤩 It's been wonderful to meet all of our new students and see them acclimating into the school alongside our returning students! What's been your favourite part of the week? 🤔

It's Welcome Week! It's been great to see all of our new postgraduate students in the building today for their welcome sessions 😊 We already can't wait to see all of our undergraduates tomorrow 👀

We're delighted to announce a new project at the School of Divinity funded by the John Templeton Foundation Trust; 'Developing Meaning and Purpose' 📰 📚 Read the full story about this project, led by Professor Gordon Lynch, on our website 👇 edin.ac/4j1hfjs

Did you catch Dr Linden Bicket on the radio? 🎙️🎧 She featured on 'Sunday Morning with Cathy MacDonald' alongside Dr Rebekah Lamb-Varela, where they spoke about their The Royal Society of Edinburgh funded project, 'Catholic Women Writers from Scotland and beyond'. Listen now 👇 edin.ac/4x94RS5

The New College Festival programme launched one week ago and we're really excited with the response! Who are you looking forward to seeing this year? 💭 Tickets are available to book via our Eventbrite. Don't miss out and secure yours now 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4ziCcfC

September is looking busy for us with three exciting events taking place! Join us at: 8 September – A Polyphonic Response 11 September – Albert the Great on Becoming Fully Human 23 September – New College CMD Day for Ministers and Worship Leaders Find out more and book tickets 🎟️👇 edin.ac/46R1Me5

We're delighted to see that Haanya Ijaz, a student at the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) won the ESSSAT Student Research Prize 2026 🏆 She won this prize from her course essay that she completed under the supervision of Dr Shoaib Malik. Find out more 📰👇 edin.ac/4gn54KW

Bookings are live! We're delighted to announce that our sixth New College Festival of Books and Belief will be held from 6-7 November 2026 📚🍂 Don't miss your chance to join us and book your tickets now 🎟️👇 edin.ac/4ziCcfC

We had an amazing night celebrating our graduation reception! 🥳🎓 It was a pleasure to welcome our graduates, their friends, and family to Rainy Hall and the Quad for an evening of lively celebrations and unforgettable memories 🥹

What a fantastic evening we had ✨ Celebrating together in the Rainy Hall with our graduating students and their friends and family was extraordinary 🥹❤️ Thank you for spending your time with us!

We're just two hours away from our Graduation Ceremony and we can't wait to see so many of you there 🤩 Can't make the ceremony? Follow along with the University's Graduation livestream online. Live broadcasts start approximately ten minutes before the ceremony 🎥👇 edin.ac/4uUI6jQ

Our Graduation Day is finally here 🎓🎉 We can't to see you all make that special walk across the McEwan Hall stage later today. We're so proud of all of you! Celebrate with us by tagging us in your graduation photos and we might share a few on our accounts 👀📸

The final Day 3 of #YaleEdin2026 began with a Nairobi panel, then paper panels, and a concluding session reflecting on the conference and planning for #YaleEdin2027!

Have a read of reflections on Yale-Edinburgh 2026 written by Centre PhD student Kpanie Addy, SJ. ☺️ #YaleEdin2026 www.cswc.div.ed.ac.uk/2026/06/refl...

We had a full Day 2 of #YaleEdin2026, which started with a CUHK plenary panel, parallel paper panels, a “Meet the Publishers” panel, and a sing-a-long led by Professor Jean Kidula and Professor Kyama Mugambi! 🎶🎵

It has been wonderful welcoming delegates to Day 1 of #YaleEdin2026 . We were also pleased to end the night with a #DuffLecture from the ethnomusicologist Professor Jean Kidula.

Dr James Eglinton has been awarded a grant of $120,000 by the Abraham Kuyper Christian Leadership Fund for the two-year project, “Kuyper’s Encyclopaedia of Sacred Theology: Recovering a Lost Magnum Opus.” Read the full story on our website now 📰👇 edin.ac/43br7hB

In the 'Gifford Seminar', Profs Paula Fredriksen, Helen Bond, & Paul Foster (from @uoedivinity.bsky.social) at @royalsoced.bsky.social explore how a small Jewish movement became a religion that reshaped the ancient world, engaging questions about belief, culture, & power. #Giffords2026 📺⬇️

Dr Shoaib Malik is part of the Abrahamic Theistic Origins Project hosted by Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford. This project explores the question of how the Abrahamic faiths & the evolutionary sciences meet. Want to find out more? Check out the project's introductory video now! 🎥👇 edin.ac/4mXNxfm

Dr Alexander Chow recently delivered the Dr Timothy Lin Memorial Lecture at China Evangelical Seminary 🧑‍🏫 You can watch all nine lectures from his series alongside the roundtable discussion and Q&A session on their YouTube channel now 🎥👇 edin.ac/4w2YAIr

Due to unforseen circumstances, we have unfortunately had to postpone the book launch on 30 March. Once confirmed, the new date and time will be communicated to all registered attendees on Eventbrite and via our social media channels. All existing tickets will be valid for the new date.

We're just a few days away from Professor Arkotong Longkumer's Inaugural Lecture, and there are still a few tickets left! 🎟️ Join us on 25 March at 5:15pm for this exciting lecture, "Ancestors." Secure your spot on Eventbrite today 👇 edin.ac/3MFQNhN

You've been asking, and now it's here! 👀 Make sure to catch the full recording of Professor Gordon Lynch's Inaugural Lecture on our YouTube channel 🎥👇 edin.ac/4bihItE

One Inaugural Lecture finishes and then another begins! This month we're pleased to be hosting Professor Arkotong Longkumer's lecture; 'Ancestors'. Book your tickets to ensure you can join us on 25 March, 5:15pm in the Elizabeth Templeton Lecture Theatre for this special event 🎟️👇 edin.ac/3MFQNhN

We can't wait to be back in Martin Hall for the next New College Festival! 🍂 In the meantime, we took a trip down memory lane with last year's highlights. Check out the full article online now 📖👇 edin.ac/4kFYYXU

We loved having Shannon Vallor at New College Festival to discuss her fascinating new book ‘The AI Mirror’! 📚 Watch the recording of her thought-provoking conversation with Jeremy Carrette on Artificial Intelligence, on our YouTube channel 👇 edin.ac/3NJzWuF

Professor Gordon Lynch's Inaugural Lecture takes place this month 📅 Have you got your tickets? The event is currently sold out but don't worry, you can join the waitlist and be the first to know if any tickets become available 🎟️👇 edin.ac/3YJdS5J

We have two new book events coming up from @religionlit.bsky.social! 📚 In February, we'll take a look at 'Such Fragile Futures: An Artist and a Poet Reflect in a Garden', and in March we'll look at 'Theological Libraries in the UK & Ireland'. Check out our Eventbrite for tickets 👇 edin.ac/3QGHz2Z

Did you miss Dr Bicket's appearance leading the Daily Service on BBC Radio 4? Don't worry because you can listen to the full recording of the episode now on the BBC Sounds website 🎧👇 edin.ac/3ZKuQRn

Dr Linden Bicket will be leading the Daily Service this Monday on BBC Radio 4 🎙️ Make sure to tune in to this service of reflection, worship and music at 9:45am on BBC Radio 4 to hear her focusing on Jesus' presentation in the temple and the meaning of the Candlemas celebration 🎧👇 edin.ac/3ZKuQRn

New College Festival was last year but we can't stop thinking about it 💭🍂 If you miss it just as much as us, why not pass the time until this year's dates by watching last year's recordings on our YouTube channel now 🎥👇 edin.ac/3N6LKqv

Did you see? 👀 Tickets for Professor Gordon Lynch's Inaugural Lecture went live last week! Don't miss your chance to join us on 25 February at 5:15pm in the Martin Hall. Tickets are limited, register your place now 🎟️👇 edin.ac/3YJdS5J