Religious Studies Courses in London and Online
Discover beliefs and traditions from across the globe. Explore iconography, sacred texts and rituals. Examine the history of different world religions and discuss contemporary issues around faith and belief. City Lit offers a wide range of short weekend courses in Religious Studies, from general introductions to close-up focus on specific issues, religious objects and texts.
Our classes are taught by experienced, professional tutors with a wide range of specialisms, many of whom also teach at London universities. Tutors also bring their expertise from other academic disciplines, for example history and literature. Please refer to specific course outlines for individual tutor biographies.
With our focus on short, weekend courses in religion and belief, it is easy to fit developing your interests into the busy week.
Browse our range of religion and belief courses in London and online below to choose your perfect option: both complete beginners and returning students are equally welcome at City Lit.
13 courses available
An introduction to JainismThis course is an introduction to Jain philosophy, with a particular emphasis on its relevance to environmentalism.Keeley Street
Sat 17 Oct 2026Ketan VariaFull fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00- Reasoning and God: an introduction to theologyThis course is an introduction to theology - reasoned discourse on the Christian understanding of God, his nature, and his relationship with human beings and the created order.
Keeley Street
Sat 17 Oct 2026Edgar Ter-DanielyanFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Constructing the witch: how women became maleficentThis study day will examine the question of the association of women with magic and witchcraft.
Keeley Street
Sat 31 Oct 2026Ann JeffersFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Interpreting the Bible: key skills and textsDiscover and explore key principles, knowledge and skills for interpreting the Bible, and apply them to select texts from the Old and New Testament.
Keeley Street
Sat 14 Nov 2026Andrew GreyFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - The meaning of light: symbolism and religious objects in Buddhism and the Abrahamic faiths
Join this short V&A museum tour to learn more about the significance of light in the Abrahamic faiths and Buddhism.
Off Site
Sun 15 Nov 2026Marilyn GreeneFull fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Muslims in contemporary times: migration, extremism, identity and culture
For many, Muslims remain an enigma. They seem to live in a bygone age, with beliefs that contradict modern ways of living. In a way, every individual, every culture and every religion is an enigma, not only to outsiders but also to insiders. Often, Muslims are seen as an enigma because of ignorance, exploited by the mass media. Through history, sociology and the arts, this session will aim to help participants unravel the ‘enigma’ through the recognition of diversity, aspirations, joys, concerns and questions in Muslim contexts.
Online
Sat 30 Jan 2027Farid PanjwaniFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Assisted dying: religion, ethics and the law
Explore key ethical concepts through religious and philosophical approaches to assisted dying. With a focus on Christianity, the course also introduces ideas from world religions and non-religious approaches.
Keeley Street
Sat 20 Feb 2027Andrew GreyFull fee £39.00 Senior fee £31.00 Concession £25.00 - Satan and the Devil: a cultural eye view through text, image and tradition
The figure of Satan/Devil has pervaded many centuries of the cultural imagination of the Western world. The course will examine the literary and iconographic sources for this enduring phenomena and will ask why ideas about the devil have continued to both frighten and fascinate and why its long-lasting association with sexuality and deceit continues to make it an attractive theme in contemporary culture.
Keeley Street
Sat 13 Mar 2027Ann JeffersFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - The art of burialExplore the V&A’s collections and discover amazing objects associated with burial practices in world faiths from ancient Chinese and Buddhist burial practices, to more recent objects associated with Christianity and Islam,
NB: This course will take place at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington.Off Site
Sun 14 Mar 2027Marilyn GreeneFull fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - The Quakers: an introductionQuaker 'discernment' is used by big business for consensus decision-making, while Quakers are often invited to areas of conflict as mediators and peace-builders. This introduction to Quakers tries to explain why.
Keeley Street
Sat 20 Mar 2027Bruce JohnsonFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Witchcraft in the modern world: 1900 to the presentFrom Wicca to the Satanic Panic, and from The Wizard of Oz to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this course looks at why the modern world now has so many competing ideas about what witchcraft is.
Keeley Street
Sat 20 Mar 2027Ethan Doyle-WhiteFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Infernal visions: mapping the medieval apocalypseCompare and contrast the afterlife beliefs of the five major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Explore how these ideas developed and influenced each other.
Online
Tue 20 Apr 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £239.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £155.00 - An introduction to Indian comparative religionsThe course is an introduction to Indian Religions. Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism all have common aspects, but also some fundamental differences in philosophy.
Keeley Street
Sat 24 Jul 2027Ketan VariaFull fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00
Can't see a course you want?
Add this category to your waiting list to set up alerts and we will update you when new courses are released online.