Iwan Russell-Jones

Research Professor of Theology and the Arts
BA (London School of Theology), MTh (University of Aberdeen), DPhil (University of Oxford)

About

Iwan Russell-Jones joined the faculty at Regent College in 2011 and in 2013 became the first incumbent of the newly formed Eugene and Jan Peterson Chair in Theology and the Arts, a position in which he served until 2020.

Iwan’s research degrees were in the area of political theology. At Aberdeen he explored the writings of the Uruguayan Jesuit, Juan Luis Segundo, an exponent of liberation theology. His doctoral thesis at Oxford focused on the relationship between faith and politics in the Leveller movement of the 17th century English Revolution.

He joined the BBC as a producer in 1984, and his 25-year career spanned a wide variety of broadcasting genres and subject matter in both television and radio, from factual documentaries and news and current affairs, to religion, music and education. His films include The Crucified King (2003) and American Prophet (2008), both of which explore the religious dimensions of Martin Luther King Jr.'s leadership of the civil rights movement; two films - The Longest Journey (2002) and Remember the Galahad (2007) - about the Falklands War of 1982 in which Britain engaged in a short but vicious conflict with Argentina over a group of islands in the south Atlantic; and Who Do You Say I Am? (2007), which featured the work of a number of contemporary artists and their different interpretations of the life of Christ.

Iwan was part of the Regent team that produced ReFrame (2014), a 10-part series from the Marketplace Institute aimed at helping Christians connect their faith with the whole of their lives. In 2016 he directed Making Peace with Creation, a film in which Prof. Loren Wilkinson presents his perspective on the massive ecological challenges facing our planet.

For four years in the 1990s, Iwan taught at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, studying the interaction between theology, media, and culture. He remains passionate about exploring and communicating the meaning of the Christian faith for our times.

Iwan and his wife, Amanda, are based in Cardiff and are both lay ministers of the Church in Wales.

 

Areas of Interest

  • Theology and the Arts
  • Cave Paintings
  • Political Theology
  • Jacques Ellul
  • Media and Culture

 

Media & Publications