‘Theology and Religious Studies’ has become, in the UK, a catch-all phrase for the academic study of religion. Several universities have a ‘Department of Theology and Religious Studies’ (Kings College London, Nottingham, Leeds, Chester, Glasgow, and several others), advocacy for the field is carried out by a body called ‘Theology and Religious Studies UK’ (TRS UK, formerly the Association of University Departments of Theology and Religious Studies, or AUDTRS), and in 2000 representatives of British university departments of divinity, theology, religion, religious studies, biblical studies and various combinations of those terms met under the auspices of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and agreed on a ‘benchmarking statement’ for the field using the phrase ‘Theology and Religious Studies’ as their heading
