This colloquium was a joint initiative of Oxford’s ‘Centre for Global History‘ and the Cult of Saints project.  The aim of the meeting was to examine and discuss differences as well as similarities between the Christian and Muslim traditions of ‘sainthood’ (though the word ‘saint’ is difficult, because of its powerful Christian associations), and also to explore variant attitudes within each of the two religions.  Though extremists within both Islam and Christianity (whether Wahhabi Muslims or austere Protestants) have sought to banish saints to the realm of superstition, the belief that some people have privileged access to divine power, which can even extend beyond their mortal deaths, remains widespread.  There are, however, also significant differences within religious traditions: for instance, the heritability of sanctity has been, and remains, much more a feature of sanctity within Islam than within Christianity; while Christianity, through the experience of early persecution, evolved a strong belief that suffering could grant spiritual power, which is largely absent from Islam.

A copy of the programme is available Christian and Muslim Saints programme 12 Nov 2015.