Elizabeth Burns is Reader in Philosophy of Religion at the University of London, and Programme Director for the University of London Online Bachelor of Divinity at the University of London Worldwide which is hosted by King’s College London. She has a BD from King’s College London and a PhD in Philosophy of Religion from Queens’ College Cambridge. She taught Philosophy of Religion at Heythrop College, University of London from 2000-2017, and was Director of Taught Programmes at the Cambridge Theological Federation from 2016-2018. 

Research Interests

Elizabeth Burns specialises in the Philosophy of Religion and is particularly interested in the ontological argument, the problem of evil, divine personhood, prayer, religious naturalism, and the religion of Iris Murdoch.

Selected publications

2022: ‘Murdoch and Christianity’, in The Murdochian Mind, ed. Mark Hopwood and Silvia Panizza (London: Routledge), 382-394.

2021: ‘Evil and divine power: A response to James Sterba’s argument from evil’, Religions 2021, 12(6), 442.

2020: ‘Evil, prayer and transformation’ Open Theology, 6 (1).

2019: ‘How to prove the existence of God: an argument for conjoined panentheism’International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 85 (1), 5-21.

2018: What is this thing called Philosophy of Religion? (London: Routledge).