Rowan Williams

Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Interfaith Studies (2013-2014)

The Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Interfaith Studies brings eminent leaders and thinkers from the world’s major religions to the University of Oxford to reflect on the place of faith in society. The Visiting Professorship in Interfaith Studies has been made possible by the generous support of Gil Shiva and Xavier Guerrand-Hermes and is hosted by Trinity College, Oxford.

Rowan Williams is the former Archbishop of Canterbury.

Rowan Williams’ Humanitas Visiting Professorship centred on the relationship between Faith and Power.

Beginning with a lecture on Faith, Force, and Authority: does religious belief change our understanding of how power works in society?, Williams made a firm argument against using religion to validate the exertion of force and violence. He gave a critical dismantling of contemporary uses of religion to justify control, showing how such action profoundly misunderstands the nature of divine power in all three Abrahamic faiths.

Williams was then joined ‘In Conversation’ with Channel 4’s Jon Snow, talking about how Williams’ reflections on faith and power might inform discussions around faith-based schools, the relationship between faith and the law, the impact of faith on politics, the place of faith in war, and what role within our society public religious leaders might offer.

In his final lecture, Faith and Human Flourishing: religious belief and ideals of maturity, Williams asserted that the way in which we talk about God clarifies how we talk about ourselves. In his concluding remarks, he asked ‘what does our humanity look like?’ – a question he believes people of faith do not ask themselves often enough.