Revd Dr David Efird: an academic tribute JOSHUA COCKAYNE School of Divinity, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JU, UK e-mail: jlc22@st-andrews.ac.uk DAVID WORSLEY Department of Philosophy, University of York, York, North Yorkshire, YO10 5DD, UK e-mail: david.worsley@york.ac.uk The Revd Dr David Efird passed away at the beginning of . He was . David was a much-loved teacher and a leading figure in philosophy of religion in the UK. He was also the co-editor of this journal between  and . Early work Before arriving in the United Kingdom to study philosophy, David received degrees from Duke University and Princeton Theological Seminary. After complet- ing his Master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh, he moved to Oxford to work on his DPhil with Professor Timothy Williamson. David’s thesis argued against the seemingly intuitive idea that there are contingent existents, claiming instead that everything that exists does so necessarily.  David’s expertise in modal metaphysics saw him attract a number of job offers, before accepting a lectureship at the University of York, where he remained until his death. While David’s last years were characterized by a focus on philosophy of religion, it was in metaphysics that he first built his reputation. Most notable among David’s early work at York were a number of co-authored papers written with a colleague, Tom Stoneham, on the topic of metaphysical nihilism.  These papers explored the contrary claim to that defended in his doctoral work on modality, namely, that it is possible that there could have been nothing. This collaborative endeavour set the tone for much of David’s career in research. Stoneham recalls: ‘This abiding commitment to priority of human relationships, and engaging with people around him, extended to his research . . . Looking over his publications list it is striking that in fifteen years of productive research, he only ever published five single-authored pieces and had  different co-authors.’  Religious Studies (2021) 57,1–9 © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/S0034412520000426  https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412520000426 Published online by Cambridge University Press