Skip to main content

Staff profiles

Photo of Dr Jonathan Hill

Dr Jonathan Hill

Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Religion

5529

01392 725529

Jonathan Hill joined the Theology and Religion department as Lecturer in Philosophy of Religion in 2013. He was previously a researcher at the University of Oxford, after completing his PhD in Philosophy at the National University of Singapore.

His research in philosophy of religion and analytic theology has focused mainly on the doctrine of incarnation. He co-edited The metaphysics of the incarnation (together with Anna Marmodoro of Oxford University), published by OUP in 2011. He has also worked on the doctrine of heaven, recently completing a monograph, Eternal in the heavens: time, heaven, and resurrection, forthcoming with Wipf & Stock. Finally, he has done some work on extending the methodology of analytic theology to Wiccan belief and practice.

He also has research interests in early modern philosophy, particularly the philosophy of Leibniz and the interactions between Cartesian and sceptical philosophers, especially on the subject of belief (religious and otherwise).

Jonathan is also interested in the history of doctrine, especially in the early church and the Middle Ages. He is the author of Dictionary of theologians: to 1308 (Cambridge: Lutterworth 2010), and an introduction to the history of the early church, The crucible of Christianity (Oxford: Lion 2010, re-issued as Christianity: the first 400 years in 2013).

Research interests

My background is in both philosophy and theology: my master's is in theology and my PhD is in philosophy, and I've followed both paths (and the middle ground between them) in my research since.

My main research area is philosophy of religion and analytic theology (the attempt to apply the methodology of analytic philosophy to religious topics), particularly the doctrines of incarnation and heaven. I have also done some work on applying these methods and concepts to neo-pagan belief and practice, something I hope to continue ion the future.

I also have an interest in theological history, particularly the early church, and also medieval theology. I'm especially interested in bringing together these different approaches, in order to do philosophy of religion from a position of deep understanding of and engagement with the "classical" theologians - and also to do history of theology from a position of philosophical engagement with the thinkers in question. Finally, I have a background in seventeenth-century philosophy. I have published on the philosophy of Leibniz and of a number of sceptical philosophers.

I'm happy to supervise research students working on any of these areas.

External impact and engagement

In addition to my research publications, I've published a number of books aimed at a general readership on church history, the history of theology, and philosophy of religion. Some of these have found their way onto academic courses in various institutions, both religious and secular, which is very gratifying - but their main purpose is to introduce these subjects to interested, non-specialist lay people. One thing I've tried to convey in my popular writing is just why the study of theology and philosophy of religion is so interesting. It's a chance to tell some great stories.

I have given talks on religious history to non-specialist audiences in Treadwell's, an independent bookshop in London.

 Edit profile