The Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, part of the University of Oxford’s Faculty of Theology and Religion, is delighted to announce a generous gift from the
McDonald Agape Foundation in support of its growing programme of research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and theology. The gift will help fund doctoral scholarships in AI and theology, strengthening the Faculty’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of science and religion scholars in one of the most consequential fields of our time.
Awarded to support the programme ‘New Perspectives in Theological Pedagogy in light of Artificial Intelligence’, the gift comes at a moment when the rapid advance of large language models is having substantial impacts on teaching and learning across many disciplines. The research programme reflects a conviction shared by the Foundation and the IRC that theology can contribute constructively to the wise and responsible development of AI to support theological education, through a serious engagement with the science.
The gift will help build the IRC’s expanding body of work in this area. That work already includes the Oxford Collaboration on Theology and Artificial Intelligence (OCTAI), a global, interdisciplinary initiative hosted by the Ian Ramsey Centre, and the BiblioTech Artificial Intelligence Research Initiative (BAIRI) project, a research programme being developed by Dr Lyndon Drake, Research Fellow in AI, who has doctorates in both Artificial Intelligence (York) and Theology (Oxford). By supporting doctoral study in AI and theology, the gift will help grow this research area within the Faculty for the long term and equip a new cohort of scholars to lead it.
Graduate funding is a central priority for the Faculty of Theology and Religion, and philanthropic support of this kind is vital in enabling outstanding doctoral candidates to pursue research in a field where demand for informed, ethically serious scholarship has never been greater. The Foundation’s gift directly advances that priority.
“Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising our world. Teaching and research in the humanities urgently needs to engage with the science. We are thrilled at the generosity of the McDonald Agape Foundation, which is just what we need to support doctoral research in the area.” -
Professor Mark Harris, Andreos Idreos Professor of Science and Religion and Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre
“Advances in AI have presented us with both opportunities and challenges for teaching and learning in Theology & Religion. We are excited to have the ability through this generous gift to undertake research which will directly inform our practice within the Faculty.” -
Dr Lyndon Drake, Research Fellow in AI, Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion
“The Faculty of Theology and Religion continues to be grateful to the McDonald Agape Foundation for its continuing generosity and its careful attention to the Faculty's need. We also congratulate the Ian Ramsey Centre on its skilful and assiduous engagement with the leading issues of the modern world” -
Professor Mark Edwards, Board Chair, Faculty of Theology and Religion
The IRC is deeply grateful for the McDonald Agape Foundation’s continued partnership and for this latest expression of its commitment to world-leading research and teaching at Oxford.
The Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion is based in the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, University of Oxford. To learn more, visit
ianramseycentre.ox.ac.uk.
