Welcome to the Divinity Divulged podcast! The first podcast series from the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. In each episode we’ll be taking a look at one of the fascinating research projects happening within the Faculty through conversations with the researcher and an expert guest working in their field. With dialogue aimed at all of those studying or exploring religious studies across all levels, you can find details on how this episode relates to A Level and Scottish Highers Specifications as well as a glossary below.

For this episode we are joined by Susie Triffit, PhD student in the Faculty of Divinity here in Cambridge, to talk through Susie’s ethnographic fieldwork within a Christian church group in Bradford as she looks to explore the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on British Evangelical evangelism and worship. Offering us their expertise this time around is Professor Joseph Webster, Professor of the Anthropology of Religion also in the Faculty of Divinity.

Here, Susie talks us through violence and class barriers, battles between good and evil, and, naturally, Bible stories recreated through wrestling.

We dearly hope you enjoy!

Researcher: Susie Triffit

Expert Guest: Professor Joseph Webster

Host: Dr Joseph Powell

Glossary –

Anthropology/Theology Dialogue – An emerging area of scholarship which seeks to connect the methodologies, forms of knowledge and analysis between anthropology and theology with each other.

Autoethnography – A ethnographic method in which the researcher connects their own experiences to their research topic/subject.

Ethnography – An anthropological research method often involving immersive fieldwork that seeks to understand human cultures from the perspective of research participants.

Theodicy – An argument which attempts to explain the presence of evil in a world created/governed by an all loving God.

A Level Specifications –

AQA

2B Christianity:

Sources of wisdom and authority

Expressions of religious identity

The dialogue between Christianity and philosophy

Christianity, migration and religious pluralism

Pearson Edexcel

2 The nature and influence of religious experience

The nature of religious experience

3 Problems of evil and suffering

Theodicies and solutions to the problem of suffering

OCR

Philosophy of religion

The challenge for religious belief of the problem of evil

Developments in religious thought

Sources of religious wisdom and authority

Practices which shape and express religious identity, and how these vary within a tradition

Ley themes related to the relationship between religion and society

Scottish Highers Specifications

SQA

Christianity

Beliefs

Beliefs about God

Nature of human beings: free will; sin; stewards

Beliefs about Jesus

Judgement; Heaven and Hell

Practices

Living according to the Gospels

Christian action; the Christian community