Douglas James Davies, is a Welsh Anglican theologian, anthropologist, religious leader and academic, specialising in the history, theology, and sociology of death. He is Professor in the Study of Religion at the University of Durham. His fields of expertise also include anthropology, the study of religion, the rituals and beliefs surrounding funerary rites and cremation around the globe, Mormonism and Mormon studies. His research interests cover identity and belief, and Anglican leadership.

St John's College is one of the two recognised colleges of Durham University. The college was established in 1909 as a Church of England theological college and become a full constituent college of the university in 1919. The college consists of John's Hall for students studying on any university course and Cranmer Hall, an Anglican theological college in the open evangelical tradition. All Durham students reading for theology are automatically members of St John's. Started as a men's college, it was the first Church of England theological college to train men and women together and the first Durham college to become coeducational.