David Edward Jenkins (born 1925) is best known as the Bishop of Durham, a post he held from 1984 until 1994. Born in Bromley, Kent, Jenkins had been a lecturer in theology at the University of Oxford and had worked for the World Council of Churches and the William Temple Foundation before his controversial appointment. He had written numerous books on Christian theology, and had been Professor at the University of Leeds from 1979 until 1984.

The controversy over his selection as Bishop of Durham centred on his alleged unconventional beliefs and his misquoted statement that the Resurrection was "not just a conjuring trick with bones". In the year of his consecration as bishop, York Minster was struck by lightning, resulting in a disastrous fire which was seen by some as a sign of divine displeasure.