Foundations: Issues Facing the Church Today
Issues Facing the Church Today is an online unit taken over 15 weeks, using Cliff College's online learning platform.
The church, like any other community, faces a broad range of issues in the contemporary world. In this unit, Foundations: Issues Facing the Church Today, students are introduced to basic approaches to Christian ethics and public theology. These approaches are used to explore a number of key issues that dominate the church’s discourse, including power and its abuse, race, relationships and sexuality, health and wellbeing, and climate sustainability. Students will reflect on how these can be approached and addressed in mission and ministry today.
This unit is taught in ten sessions over ten weeks, with a further five weeks to prepare and submit your assessment. More detail of the unit structure is available under 'Dates and cost'.
This unit will be available in April 2026 and is taught in ten sessions over ten weeks, with a further five weeks to prepare and submit your assessment. The first and last sessions are live seminars which you will need to attend either online or onsite at Cliff College; the dates for these seminars will be available in late 2025.
The other eight sessions are designed for independent study and are made up of video content, reading, written tasks and other creative activities to help consolidate your learning. These can be done at any time in the week that suits you. We recommend that you allow two hours of learning for each session, plus time for reading and assessment preparation. The assessment will usually include writing an essay or creative article, recording a short presentation and completing some online exercises.
Throughout the unit you will have opportunities through scheduled online meetings to check in with Cliff College staff, discuss your learning and experience of the unit, seek guidance on assessments and ask any questions you have.
This unit costs £360, including access to all teaching materials and tutorial support throughout your time of study.
Applications for this unit will open in summer 2025. If you have any questions about the unit or would like to speak to someone before applying, please contact enquiries@cliffcollege.ac.uk.
Entry requirements
A Level 3 qualification (such as an A Level) or equivalent.
It is recognised that standard procedures for assessing applications may not always provide an accurate understanding of an applicant's suitability. In such cases where a Level 3 qualification is not held, qualification it is still possible to apply, and these applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, in line with our non-standard entry process.
English language proficiency
Applicants whose first language is not English shall have achieved an overall IELTS score of 6.0 or equivalent in an equivalent recognised test. This must have been achieved no longer than two years before the date of enrolment on the unit.