The Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies is a forum for discourse and presentation of papers by scholars who have a particular interest in the study of religion. Canon Brian Mountford MBE, former Vicar of University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford , and Fellow of St Hilda's College at the University of Oxford, will host the July 2025 session.

In a global situation where religion is culturally and politically predominant for many, yet marginalised and diminishing for others, and where spirituality is frequently disengaged from institutional religion, the Symposium regularly explores the place of religion in contemporary society: the nature of belief, the place of ritual, the place of family, the significance of community, the balance between Faith (belief, doctrine, and creed) and Practice (ritual, sociology, ethics, politics).

You are invited to make a presentation and lead a discussion on an aspect of religious studies, or you may wish to participate as a non-presenting observer. Your presentation must adhere to an abstract of about 150 words approved by the Programme Committee of the Symposium.

Click Here to Submit an Abstract Proposal