Skip navigation

Religion & conflict: the war of ideas


This is a Religion and theology Subject Spotlight with Dr Katherine Brown from University of Birmingham. An interactive, cinematic course taster experience to allow students to gain insights into what it's like to study Religion and theology.

Take this Subject Spotlight to...

Join Dr Katherine Brown as she explores Religion & Conflict: The War of Ideas, with a particular focus on what role religion plays in enabling conflict, messages of peace in such conflict and identifying the counter arguments that are so often overlooked when considering religion and conflict.

About University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham was established in 1825 and was the first Russell Group university to receive a royal charter. As a member of the coveted Russell Group, the University of Birmingham is a prestigious university and considered a top representative of British education. As would be expected from such a high ranking institution, the university has produced many notable alumni including two UK prime ministers - Neville Chamberlain and Stanley Baldwin.

Meet the academics

Dr Katherine Brown

Dr Katherine Brown is a reader at The University of Birmingham in Religion & Global Security. Over the past decade she has been researching the role of gender and religion in relation to Islamic extremism, and has an interest in gender-mainstreaming counter terrorism. Katherine’s current work focuses on gender, religion and resilience in global governance efforts in relation to terrorism. This is part of her larger project, Humanities for Resilience, which is funded by the AHRC, that looks at how marginalised communities can be better resilient to the challenges they face, such as terrorism. She is the author of Gender, Religion and Extremism: finding women in anti-radicalisation (Oxford University Press, 2020), and has been an expert witness in court cases involving the radicalisation of women and children in the UK.

In every Subject Spotlight you'll find

On-demand interactive video content

Sign up, log in, and access a wide range of potentially life-changing Subject Spotlight experiences that will help you make informed decisions about your university future.

Remarkable & relatable academics

Learn from some of the UK's finest and most decorated academics as they give you a genuine, insightful, and engaging experience of studying their courses at their universities.

Interactive quizzes and activities

Have a go at fascinating interactive quizzes and activities, then get meaningful and intuitive feedback from the academics to see how you've done.

Content to enhance students university applications

Hear direct from the academics what's expected of you in your university application, and the things you can do to improve your chances of getting on the course you most desire!

Certificate of completion

You'll receive a certificate of completion to evidence your learning - why not add this to your CV and university applications to show your dedication to your future pathway!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Subject Spotlight?

Subject Spotlights fuse education and entertainment to bring you the new way of researching your university options.

Entirely free and available on-demand, you can choose to engage with the content in the way that best suits you - whether that's in bite-sized chunks or in binge-sessions!

Why should I check out Subject Spotlights?

Get a real, representative impression of what pursuing a subject at university is actually like, so that you can make the right decision for you.

Stand out from the competition by completing a Subject Spotlight to gain the most relevant references and evidence for your personal statement.

Who is this Spotlight for?

This subject spotlight is made for students aged 16 and above, that are considering applying to University, particularly to study the subject in the title, or similar areas.

How should I talk about completing a Subject Spotlight on my UCAS application?

Completing a Subject Spotlight shows the university you're applying to that you've taken time outside of school to engage with relevant content.

The easiest way to include it would be to briefly mention one or two things you learned from it and how/why those learnings have furthered your desire to study the subject. We don't want to prescribe an answer because it's your personal statement but this is a good starting point!