Ruth Gledhill's weblog: An end to 'godliness' at Oxford
September 19, 2007

As we report today, Sir Colin Lucas' review of the seven permanent private halls at Oxford is about to be published in the university's Gazette. And it is not good news in the long run for religion at Oxford, least of all for evangelical Christianity. Whatever the strength of the Global South on the world Anglican stage, the review signals that England's intellectual elite are firmly on the side of the Archbishop of Canterbury, or at least Rowan Williams as he was when he was Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford. We've obtained a copy of the review. Its most important recommendations are that Wycliffe and St Stephen's are to lose their school-leaver undergraduates, which the review admits will have a 'critical' effect on the student body in the theology faculty but which also has huge symbolic significance as well. All seven colleges - two Anglican, one Baptist and four Roman Catholic - are to have their licences reviewed and ultimately removed if they do not fall in line with Oxford's tradition of a liberal education. Richard Dawkins and all who wish to see an end to theology at Oxford will be quite satisfied I think. For a hint of how this will end, see the Philosophy blog. This picture shows the Lollards' John Badby being burnt at the stake. Lollardy grew out of the teachings of John Wycliffe.

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