Past Conferences

2026

The 2026 conference took place at The Hayes, Alfreton, Derbyshire from 13-15 April 2026, on the theme of Theology and Failure. The plenary speakers were Vincent Lloyd, Marika Rose, and Giles Waller. Robert Beckford as outgoing SST President delivered his presidential address. There was also a plenary panel delivered by Sally Foster-Fulton, Bob Kikuyu, and Frances Clemson of Christian Aid. In addition to many short papers and themed seminar papers, the conference featured workshops exploring the theme of failure in music, dance, and reflective walking.

2025

The 2025 annual SST conference was held at the University of Warwick from April 7-9 2025. Its theme was Flesh and Blood Theologies. Plenary papers were given by Gifford Rhamie, Dianne M. Stewart, Margaret D. Kamitsuka, and David Grumett. There were a large number of short papers and seminar papers as well as presentations in alternative formats such as dance and music performances. Workshops also took place on themes including migration and advocacy (with Laura Nyahuye and Maokwo Arts), slavery and reparations (with Robert Beckford), singing for wellbeing (with Alexander Douglas), and embodied hope (with partners from Christian Aid).

2024

Society for the Study of Theology’s seventy-second annual conference, which took place at the University of Warwick from the 8th to the 11th of April 2024, was on the theme of Prayer. The conference featured plenary papers from Alana Vincent, Carlton Turner, Lauren Winner, and Stephen Holmes. There was also a plenary panel discussion chaired and facilitated by Ash Cocksworth, on everyday practices around prayer, with Karen Kilby, Lauren Winner, and Al McFadyen.

2023

The 2023 SST conference, themed Theology and Power, took place from April 17–20, 2023, at the University of Warwick in a hybrid format. Discussions explored the theological implications of power dynamics within the church, academy, and society. Keynote speakers included David Fergusson, Lisa Oakley, Dulcie Dixon McKenzie, Kelly Brown Douglas, and Mike Higton, with panels addressing topics such as “World Christianity and Epistemic Justice.” Short papers and seminar streams covered diverse topics, including divine power, ecclesial authority, and socio-political theology.

2022

The 70th annual SST conference took place from March 28–31, 2022, at the University of Warwick, with a hybrid format offering both online and in-person participation. The theme, The End of the World, addressed eschatological questions and their relevance to contemporary issues like climate change, political crises, and theological reflection on hope and finality. Plenary speakers included David Clough, Michelle Fletcher, Judith Wolfe, Paul Nimmo, and Estrelda Alexander. A plenary panel, chaired by Anthony Reddie, explored “Theology, Race, Freedom, and Epistemic Justice.” Special receptions celebrated the Society’s 70th anniversary and highlighted the contributions of Global Majority Heritage scholars.

2021

The 69th annual SST conference took place online from April 12–14, 2021, on the theme Theology at the Borders. Plenary speakers included Susannah Cornwall, John Bradbury, Casey Strine, Joshua Ralston, and former SST President Rachel Muers. Panels addressed Anthony Reddie’s Theologising Brexit and decolonising the theology curriculum. Short papers and streams covered topics such as Christology, Sacramentality, Theological Ethics, and Theology and the Arts. New initiatives included specific bursaries for BAME delegates and a mentoring scheme for newcomers.

2020

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 conference was cancelled. It had been scheduled at the University of Nottingham on the theme of “Theology at the Borders.” The planned conference, including keynote speakers and plenary panels, was postponed to 2021 at the University of Warwick.

2019

The 2019 conference, held at the University of Warwick, received a warm welcome in Coventry from +Christopher Cocksworth. It was the largest SST conference to date, with 227 delegates attending. The theme, “Theology & Grace,” featured plenary papers by Kathryn Tanner, Jenny Daggers, Emilie M. Townes, Philip Ziegler, and Tom Wright, alongside high-quality short papers. Seminar streams included diverse topics, with the first Black Theology seminar, convened by Dulcie McKenzie, set to return in 2020. A plenary panel, led by Karen Kilby with Linn Tonstad, Andrew Prevot, and Martin Westerholm, explored the limits of systematic theology regarding race and sexuality. The inaugural meeting of independent scholars also took place and was set to become a regular feature.

2018

The 2018 conference, held again at the University of Nottingham, saw 218 attendees and a variety of short papers on the theme “Theology, Culture, and Unbelief.” A new seminar paper stream on Theology and Popular Culture was introduced, enriching the discussions. Plenary papers were presented by Karen Kilby who gave her presidential address, ‘Belief, Unbelief and Mystery’; J. Kameron Carter, ‘Black Malpractice’; Miroslav Volf, ‘What Will Save the World? Caring for the World We Cannot Save’; Julian Baggini, ‘Immanent Atheist Religiosity at Babette’s Feast’; and Jon Coutts, who stepped in at the last minute with a keynote on ‘Hail, Caesar! A Jesus Film for Cultured Disbelievers’. Keynote papers were responded to by postgraduate students: Katie Cross, Declan Kelly, Jack O’Grady, and Emily Kempson. Robert Beckford, Carol Tomlin, Chris Shannahan, and William Ackah participated in a plenary panel focused on Beckford’s book Documentary as Exorcism.

2017

The 2017 conference, themed “Peace,” took place at the University of Nottingham with 182 attendees. It featured 40 short papers on the main theme, 13 commemorating the Reformation quincentennial, and 24 seminar papers in parallel streams. The Society celebrated its 65th anniversary during the main reception. A plenary discussion addressed “Theology, Class, and the Academy.” Bursaries were awarded to 29 eligible applicants, reducing conference costs by £200 or £100 in most cases. A total of £4950 in bursaries was awarded, with £4574 redeemed. Funding came from conference profits, increased subscriptions, donations, and Society reserves.

2016

Returning to St John’s College, Durham University, with much of the accommodation at St Chad’s College nearby, the conference attracted a record-breaking 235 people. Membership increased to 330. 56 short papers and 24 seminar papers were presented, with over 100 short paper proposals submitted. A plenary discussion took place on the Wednesday afternoon on ‘Whiteness, race and theology’. Around £7000 of bursaries was again awarded.

2015

‘Thinking the Church today’ was the title of the conference held in the Trent Building at the University of Nottingham from 7 to 9 April. A record 225 people participated with membership rising to 300. 54 short papers and 24 seminar papers were presented in parallel streams. Plenary papers were delivered by Lieven Boeve (‘Interrupting revelation, interrupting Church’), Christopher Cocksworth (‘Considering the Church with help from Dan Hardy: talking, walking and loving in the light of Christ’), Trond Skard Dokka (‘Ecclesiology and the first article of faith’), Mary McClintock Fulkerson (‘Ecclesiology and ethnography: creativity, challenge and change’), and Tom Greggs (‘The priesthood of no believer: on the priesthood of Christ and his church’). On the Wednesday afternoon there was a plenary discussion ‘Gender, sex and systematic theology: present realities, future aspirations’. Over £7000 of bursaries were awarded.

2014

This year’s conference, on ‘Speech and silence’, was held at St John’s College, Durham University from 7 to 9 April, with additional accommodation provided at St Chad’s and University Colleges. 195 people attended and at the time of the conference total membership was 280. 43 short papers and 27 seminar papers were presented and there was an art exhibition ‘Sounding silence’ by Matthew Askey. Plenary papers were given by Robert Beckford (‘The Jamaican Patois Bible: language, theology and pedagogy’), George Pattison (‘Kierkegaard’s silencings’), Gerard Loughlin (‘Silent witness: speaking the unseen, in heaven and on earth’), Susannah Ticciati (‘Doctrine in a radically apophatic register’) and Randall Zachman (‘The Word of God is not enough: the role of contemplation and experience in the theology of John Calvin’). The conference included a discussion of the report ‘Gender and Career Progression in Theology and Religious Studies’.

2013

This year’s conference was on ‘Theology and Education’. It took place in the Trent Building at the University of Nottingham from 8 to 10 April and attendance of 210 people matched the record set in 2011. At the time of the conference, total membership of the society stood at 267. 44 short papers were presented and an additional seminar established by the separation of Trinity and Christology. Plenary papers were presented by David Ford (‘Church and academy: working relationships and theological rationales’); Mike Higton (‘A theology of the university’); George Newlands (‘The Spirit and the vertical city’); John Swinton (‘On being a disciple when you’ve forgotten who God is: dementia as time for learning’); and Laurie Zoloth (‘Just between us: theology as an act of ethics’). For the first time, a women’s welcome reception was held. On 10 June a deposit was made to the SST archives at the Brotherton Library Special Collections, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT of materials related to 2008–13.

2012

The topic was ‘The Holy Spirit’ and the conference unusually took place in the same venue for a second year running. Held at York University from 26 to 28 March, it was attended by 170 people. Membership remained roughly constant due to the closure of an old current account that was still receiving some subscriptions. 43 short papers were presented and several seminars were allocated additional slots due to demand. In compensation the number of plenary sessions was reduced to five, with one of these being a panel discussion. At the year end, membership was 254.

2011

Acknowledging the four hundredth anniversary of the King James translation of the Bible, the topic was ‘Holy writ? Authority and reception’. The conference took place on the campus of York University from 11 to 13 April and was attended by 210 people. Although 50 new members joined, total membership fell to 240, owing to the closure of an old current account into which some dormant members had still been paying subscriptions. Student members rose to 50 and international members to 30. 42 short papers were presented, with an extra stream created to increase capacity.

2010

The 2010 conference topic was ‘Theology and the arts’. Held at Manchester University from 12 to 14 April, it attracted a record number of 200 participants with publicity and bookings facilitated by a new online system. More than 50 new members joined the Society, and bursaries were awarded totaling more than £3000. For the first year, a carbon offset payment was made to cover conference travel. 36 short papers were presented with more than 80 proposals received. All six seminars were well-attended, including a new Church, Theology and Ministry seminar aimed especially at people in active ministry. Unfortunately, a volcanic eruption in Iceland closed UK airspace at the end of the conference, disrupting the return travel plans of some international members. There were 260 members by the end of the year.

2009

The 2009 conference, on the theme ‘Trinitarian theology’, was held at Kontakt der Kontinenten, near Amersfoort in the Netherlands, from 30 March to 2 April. About 105 people attended, including about 15 living in the Netherlands. This lower attendance was due to the location, the exchange rate and the recession. 30 short papers and 15 seminar papers were also presented. At the year end, there were 220 (paying) members.

2008

The 2008 conference, on the theme ‘Theology and politics’, was held at St John’s College, Durham University, from 31 March to 3 April. It was well-attended with around 160 delegates. There were 29 short papers and 16 seminar papers in addition to plenary papers.

2007

The 2007 conference, on the theme ‘Celebration and accountability: theology in the world’, was held at Girton College, Cambridge from 26 to 29 March. We had plenary papers from Oliver Davies (‘The Interrupted Body: Theology in the World’), Graham Hughes (‘Faith’s Materiality, and some implications for Worship and Theology’), Paul Janz (‘Divine Causality, World and Reason’), Ben Quash (‘History’), Hans Ulrich (‘Waiting for the other Word: God’s Advent in human preaching’) and Linda Woodhead (‘Sociology and Theology’). The conference was very well attended, with some 165 delegates registered. We had participants from Australia, Germany, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the USA. We had 55 postgraduates, 61 people attending SST for the first time, and 16 people admitted to membership. There were 30 short papers and 18 seminar papers in addition to the plenary sessions.

2006

The 2006 conference, on the theme ‘Theology and the religions’, was held at Bodington Hall, University of Leeds, from 3 to 6 April. Speakers addressed theological issues in ways that drew on, responded to or took into account the presence of multiple religious and theological traditions. The conference was well-attended, with 180 participants from Germany, Norway, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Russia, South Africa, the Philippines, India, Iran, Libya, Israel/Palestine, Denmark, Lebanon, Belgium, the Netherlands and elsewhere. We had 39 postgraduates, 43 people attending SST for the first time, and 18 people admitted to membership. There were 38 short papers on the conference theme and 16 seminar papers.

2005

The 2005 conference was held jointly with the Irish Theological Association and also supported by the UK Catholic Theological Association. We met in St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra for most of the conference, although the final afternoon and evening were held in Trinity College, Dublin. The theme was ‘Thinking through faith: the places of reason in theology’.

2004

The 2004 conference was held on the St Luke’s Campus at the University of Exeter, 21 years after we were last there for a 1985 conference on providence. The theme was ‘Bible and theology’. There were more short papers than ever before. It was also announced that approximately £800 had been donated by members to the Colin Gunton Memorial Essay Prize Fund, which the Treasurer proposed to match from Society funds.

2003

The conference was held at Henderson Hall, part of the University of Newcastle, from 7 to 10 April. It was attended by about 140 members and non-members.

2002

Our 50th anniversary conference was held in April at Lancaster University. We took ‘God’ as our theme. 130 members and non-members attended. 21 participants gave short papers on the seminar theme, and 14 gave seminar papers. Haddon Willmer gave a 50th anniversary paper on ‘A half-century of theology’, recalling highlights in the intellectual life of the Society. The online philosophy of religion journal, Ars Disputandi was launched at a special reception during the conference. The Philosophy and Theology seminar focused on issues raised for philosophy by developing computer technology and online publishing as a discursive backdrop to this launch.

2000

The 2000 conference was held in St Edmund Hall and the Examination Schools, University of Oxford, from 10 to 13 April, with the theme ‘Forgiveness and truth’. It attracted approximately 130 participants. A further 23 colleagues gave short papers on the conference theme, while 14 delivered seminar papers in one of the five seminar groups running at the conference. John Webster and Colin Gunton made a short presentation of their view of the discipline as new editors of the International Journal of Systematic Theology. The conference proceedings were published by T&T Clark.

1999

The 1999 conference was held in Holland House, Pollock Halls, University of Edinburgh, from 12 to 15 April, with the theme ‘The future as God’s gift: Christian eschatology for the year 2000’. Approximately 150 people took part. A further 14 short papers on the theme of eschatology were given to large gatherings. The conference volume, edited by David Fergusson and Marcel Sarot, was later published by T&T Clark. It included plenary papers and additional material. The Bursary appeal raised £220. In total, bursaries of approximately £1,000 were awarded for the conference. At its AGM, the Society unanimously agreed to raise its subscription to £10 per annum for all members except for postgraduate students, who will continue to pay at the level of £3 per annum.

1998

The 1998 conference was held at Hulme Hall, University of Manchester, from 30 March to 2 April, with the theme ‘God’s life in the Church: the doctrine of the Church’. The conference attracted 130 participants. The bursary appeal raised about £110. Bursaries totalling about £800 were awarded.