The Department of Religion and Philosophy operates as an integrated whole which includes both disciplines of philosophy and religious studies. As the only department in Hong Kong which combines religion with philosophy, our vision is to be an international powerhouse of research in interdisciplinary studies of religion and philosophy. According to QS University Subject Rankings 2019, for Theology, Divinity and Religion our ranking is #51-100 and for Philosophy our ranking is #101-150. According to same ranking in 2021, for Theology, Divinity and Religion our ranking is #100-120 and for Philosophy our ranking remains #101-150. Both of these two rankings show that we are on the right track to achieve our goal.
Since RAE 2014, the Department has implemented more dynamic and research-based policies and practices to support faculty members in their research. The entire research team has been actively involved in research, either in his/her own field of interest or in collaborative research projects. A vibrant research environment is provided. This includes Department colloquia, internal research seminars, international conferences and symposia, and specially tailored workshops for junior staff and research students.
Major research areas of religious studies:
- Christian studies which includes Christian theology, philosophy of Christian religion, history of Chinese Christianity, Christian ethics, and sociology of Christian religion;
- Chinese religions which include Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Chinese folk religions; and
- Cross-cultural religious studies such as missionaries in Chinese history, inter-religious dialogue, and religion and gender.
Major research areas of philosophy:
- Analytic and continental philosophy such as Kantian studies, epistemology and philosophy of language;
- Philosophy of religion, which includes the epistemology of religious experience, Kantian philosophy of religion, and cosmological arguments for and against God;
- Chinese philosophy which includes Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism; and
- Cross-cultural or comparative philosophy such as the political philosophy of Mengzi with Marcus Aurelius, Freedom in Sartre and Daoism, Chinese war ethics with Western just war theory, Kant considered through the Yijing, and Neurogenomics and Buddhism.
Much of our research is multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural. While the Department endorses individual research projects, it values collaborative works with special attention to comparative and cross-cultural studies, which have been further supported by our two research centres, namely, the Centre for Sino-Christian Studies (CSCS) and the Centre for Applied Ethics (CAE). In addition to theoretical exploration, we focus on research into philosophical or religious traditions in their cultural and cross-cultural contexts.