Show Me
Banner by Lexi Eikelboom
The Religion and Theology research program brings together deep historical and systematic expertise in Christian theologies with wide multi-disciplinary attention to the role of theology in our contemporary world.
Our researchers are experts in Catholic theologies ecumenically conceived, and explore themes and ideas through the history of that tradition to inform its present and future, or explore the ideas of particular theologians. Many of us are interested in the epistemologies of theology: what are the ways in which we (un)know God (sometimes termed 'fundamental theology' or 'philosophical theology'). Some of our research themes are theological: the nature of scripture, Christ's person, conceptions of salvation, how divine transcendence and immanence relate, the divine ideas, how theological traditions work, how negative and positive theologies intertwine, suffering and evil, hope, the nature of prayer, the role of paradox and mystery. Some of the theologians we specialise in include figures such as: Augustine, Maximus the Confessor, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Meister Eckhart, Nicholas of Cusa, Karl Barth, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Karl Rahner, Thomas Torrance, Romano Guardini, Henri de Lubac, Erich Przywara, Josef Pieper, Teresa of Kolkata. Others approach the appearance of the theological within broader lenses such as: difference, rhythm, form, art, landscape, politics, ecology, or spirituality.
We also sometimes deploy the methodologies of sociology, anthropology, ethnography, social theory, history, affect, critical theory, politics and ethics, to consider the role of religion and faith (or its absence) in the contemporary world. Some of the key themes we are interested in here include: difference and opposition, environmental justice, religion and gender, suffering and evil, religion and race, varieties of atheism, religion and sexuality amongst many others.
Our global and multidisciplinary team of scholars are experts in the fields of religion, theology, history, and literature.
Find out about our Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Theology and Religious Studies.
Image by Lexi Eikelboom
This project forms part of the Widening Horizons in Philosophical Theology initiative, generously funded by the Templeton Religion Trust. This project aims to glean insights from the continental tradition of philosophy, with a view toward enriching theological thought.
With funding from the Templeton Religion Trust, this project explores the possibility that secular art can encourage spiritual understanding.
Drawing on original and classic sources, this international project explores understandings of catholicity, taking as its starting point the ressourcement theologians of the early and mid-twentieth century.
The purpose of the 'Redeeming Autonomy' programme is to make a strategic intervention in the academic and cultural debate around the concept of 'autonomy'. 'Autonomy' is, like it or not, a central concept in current cultural, political, legal, and ethical debates.
A major focus of research in this program is the extent to which different strands of early Christianity aimed to define themselves in relation to Jewish and Greco-Roman religious, philosophical, rhetorical, social, and cultural heritages.
View programThe purpose of this program is to understand and reframe history through dynamic reinterpretations of the medieval and early modern past and to examine the modern world's self-conscious rejections of religious Byzantine and medieval pasts.
View programACU’s Node of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions approaches emotions studies from the perspective of religion, philosophy, history, health humanities and literature from antiquity to today.
View program
C/- 115 Victoria Pde
Fitzroy, VIC, 3065.