Centre for Anglican History and Theology

The Centre was launched at the University of Kent, Canterbury, in September 2020. It is an interdisciplinary centre for the study of the Anglican Communion across the world, linking scholars and those interested in Anglican studies in and outside the university. It establishes an academic centre for Anglican studies at the heart of Canterbury, a focal point of Anglican history and theology. The long association of the University of Kent with the Michael Ramsey Chair in Modern Theology reflects the importance of building an intellectual environment to understand the historical and contemporary issues of Anglicanism.

The Centre will take the lead in the study of Anglican history since the sixteenth century, examining politics, church-state relations, theology, mission and the export of Anglicanism overseas.  The Centre also focuses on the place of Anglican Church on social and moral issues, such as women’s rights, same-sex relations, medical ethics, child abuse, climate change and world poverty. It considers reports on social issues from ‘Faith in the City: A Call for Action by Church and Nation’ (1985) to ‘Released for Missions: Growing the Rural Church’ (2015), issues relevant to Kent and its diverse community. We consider aspects of well-being and community in parish life in Kent and explore how this informs the Kent County Council agenda on community well-being.

As the establishment of the Anglican Communion shows, Anglican theology is wider than the Church of England, and from an international vantage point, the Centre seeks to understand the global perspectives of Anglican thinking. It will examine both the development of the Church of England and the diverse networks in Anglicanism across the world, including the examination of historical issues surrounding the formation of Anglicanism in England from the 1550s to c. 1700, the development of missions, the emergence of the Anglican Communion and the contemporary engagements of the Anglican Communion in international politics at the United Nations.

We provide an international platform for outreach and engagement with local partners at Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals, and other centres of Protestant theology in Europe, the USA and beyond.

The Centre is building a research community within Anglican studies for undergraduate, taught postgraduate and PhD students, with reading groups, research seminars, lecture series, conferences, summer schools and workshops, and will create a research engine for securing external grants and scholarships.  We warmly welcome donations to support our various activities.