Religion

Religion: Introduction

Faculty Affiliation

Arts and Science

Degree Programs

Religion

MA and PhD

Collaborative Specializations

The following collaborative specializations are available to students in participating degree programs as listed below:

Overview

The Department for the Study of Religion offers Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy programs in the study of religion and facilitates research and publication on religion. The department consolidates the vast curricular and faculty resources that are distributed throughout the many departments and colleges of the University and enables its students to use any resource in the University which serves the study of religion.

The department conceives the academic study of religion in interdisciplinary terms and embraces humanistic, historical, and social scientific approaches and methods. Programs of study are constructed individually to fit the specific needs and interests of each student.

Contact and Address

Web: www.religion.utoronto.ca
Email: religion.grad@utoronto.ca
Telephone: (416) 978-3057
Fax: (416) 978-1610

Department for the Study of Religion
University of Toronto
Room 305, 170 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5R 2M8
Canada

Religion: Graduate Faculty

Full Members

Airhart, Phyllis - BA, MA, PhD
Allen, Andrea - PhD
Bendlin, Andreas - PhD
Bergen, Doris - MA, PhD
Black, Deborah - BA, MA, PhD
Blouin, Katherine - BA, MA, PhD, PhD
Boddy, Janice - BA, MA, PhD
Bohaker, Heidi - BA, BEd, MA, DPhil
Borrows, John - LLB, LLM, MA, LLD
Bryant, Joseph - BA, MA, PhD
Chrubasik, Boris - MA, PhD
Clarke, Kamari - BA, MA, MPH, LLM, PhD
Coleman, Simon - BA, PhD
Daswani, Girish - BSc, BSc, MS, PhD
Dhand, Arti - BA, MA, PhD
DiCenso, James - BA, MA, PhD
Emmrich, Christoph - PhD
Emon, Anver - LLB, BA, LLM, MA, PhD, SJD, CRC
Fadel, Mohammad - BA, JD, PhD
Fox, Harry - BSc, BA, MS, MA, PhD
Fraser, Chris - PhD
Garrett, Frances - BA, MA, PhD
Gibbs, Robert - BA, MA, PhD
Goetschel, Willi - PhD
Green, Kenneth - BA, MA, PhD
Hanneder, Jurgen - PhD
Harrak, Amir - MA, LTh, PhD
Harris, Jennifer - BA, MA, PhD
Hewitt, Marsha - BA, MA, PhD
Hill, Susan - PhD
Jain, Kajri - PhD
Junior, Nyasha - MDiv, PhD
Kana'an, Ruba - MPH, MPH, DPhil
Kasturi, Malavika - DPhil
Khan, Abrahim - BS, BD, MA, PhD
Kingwell, Mark - BA, MA, MPH, DFA, PhD
Klassen, Pamela - BA, MA, PhD (Chair and Graduate Chair)
Kloppenborg, John - BA, MA, PhD
Lambek, Michael - BA, MA, PhD
Locklin, Reid - AB, MTh, PhD
Marshall, John - BA, MA, PhD
Marshall, Ruth - BA, MA, DPhil
Metso, Sarianna - MA, PhD
Mittermaier, Amira - MA, PhD
Moumtaz, Nada - PhD (Acting Director of Graduate Studies)
Mullin, Amy - BA, PhD
Napolitano, Valentina - BSc, MPH, PhD
Newman, Judith - PhD
O'Neill, Kevin - BA, MA, PhD
Raman, Srilata - BA, MPH, PhD
Rao, Ajay - PhD
Razzaque, Arafat - BA, MTh, AM, PhD
Rosenthal, Michael - PhD
Ross, Jill - BA, MA, PhD
Ruffle, Karen - PhD
Saleh, Walid - BA, MA, PhD
Scharper, Stephen - BA, MA, PhD
Schipper, Jeremy - MDiv, PhD
Scott, J. Barton - BA, MA, PhD (Director of Graduate Studies)
Seidman, Naomi - PhD
Shachar, Ayelet - LLB, BA, LLM, SJD
Shantz, Colleen - BA, MDiv, PhD
Sharma, Jayeeta - BA, MPH, MA, PhD
Smith, Kyle - BA, MA, PhD
Subtelny, Maria - BA, PhD
Swenson, Edward - BA, MA, PhD
Tavakoli-Targhi, Mohamad - BA, MA, PhD
Terpstra, Nicholas - BA, MA, PhD
Turner, Dale - PhD
Virani, Shafique - PhD

Associate Members

Barclay, Krista Lynne - DPhil, DPhil
Brittain, Christopher - BA, MDiv, PhD
Bugg, Laura Beth - DTh
Charles, Ronald - BA, MTh, MDiv, PhD
Clarke, Shayne - PhD
Derry, Ken - PhD
Dost, Suleyman - BA, MA, PhD
Freschi, Elisa - PhD
Goldberg, Sol - MA, PhD
Graheli, Alessandro - BA, MA, PhD
Hampton, Alexander - PhD
Irani, Ayesha - BA, MA, MSW, PhD
Kawanami, Hiroko - PhD
Lindsay, Rory - BA, BA, MA, MA, PhD, PhD
Neelis, Jason - PhD
Nijhawan, Michael - PhD
Nizri, Yigal - BFA
Raffaelli, Enrico - PhD
Stadler, Nurit - PhD
Talebi, Shahla - PhD
Turner, Alicia - PhD
Vig, Julie - BA, MA, PhD

Religion: Religion MA

Master of Arts

Program Description

The MA program may be taken on a full-time or part-time basis. The department's Graduate Studies Handbook, available on the web and from the department, provides details on admissions and programs as well as the research and teaching interests of the faculty.

Minimum Admission Requirements

  • Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department for the Study of Religion's additional admission requirements stated below.

  • Normally, an appropriate bachelor's degree with specialization in religion or a cognate discipline from a recognized university, broadly equivalent to the University of Toronto's BA Specialist degree in religion, with at least A– standing in the final year. Students without appropriate preparation may be required to take additional work either before admission or during an extended master's program.

Program Requirements

  • Courses. Students must complete 4.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) including:

    • RLG2000Y Major Research Paper (1.0 FCE).

    • RLG1200H MA Method and Theory Workshop (0.5 FCE).

    • One Gateway Seminar (0.5 FCE).

    • One additional Religion course (0.5 FCE).

    • In some cases, students may be required to take additional courses, some of which may be at the undergraduate level. Students may be required to take more than 4.0 FCEs if their preparation is considered deficient in a subject required for their program.

    • Satisfactory performance requires the completion of all coursework taken for graduate credit with an average grade of at least A–.

  • Language(s). Reading knowledge of at least one language, in addition to English, selected from languages of modern scholarship and/or necessary source languages, as approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Program Length

3 sessions full-time (typical registration sequence: F/W/S);
6 to 8 sessions part-time

Time Limit

3 years full-time;
6 years part-time

Religion: Religion PhD

Doctor of Philosophy

Program Description

From the point of admission onward, doctoral student programs must be matched with the expertise of faculty who help supervise the student's work. The department's Graduate Studies Handbook, available on the web and from the department, provides details on admissions and programs as well as the research and teaching interests of the faculty. The PhD program is taken on a full-time basis.

Minimum Admission Requirements

  • Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department for the Study of Religion's additional admission requirements stated below.

  • Normally, completion of all requirements of the department's MA program, or a comparable program at another university, with an average of at least A– in coursework and with no individual course falling below B.

Program Requirements

  • Courses. Students must complete a minimum of 4.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs), including the following:

    • RLG1000Y Method and Theory in the Study of Religion (1.0 FCE).

    • One Gateway Seminar (0.5 FCE).

    • Two additional Religion courses (1.0 FCE).

    • Students may be required to take more than 4.0 FCEs if their preparation is considered deficient in a subject required for their program.

    • Satisfactory performance requires the completion of all coursework taken for graduate credit with an average grade of at least A–.

  • Languages. Reading knowledge of at least two languages in addition to English, selected from languages of scholarship and necessary source languages, as approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. Classical and modern forms of the same language are not permitted. The language requirements must be fulfilled before writing the general examinations. Students who complete a language requirement in the department’s MA program with a grade of B+ or higher are exempt from having to repeat this language in the PhD program.

  • Professionalization seminar. Doctoral students must complete SRD4444Y Doctoral Seminar Series — Compulsory Attendance (Credit/No Credit, 0.0 FCE). This seminar consists of a series of workshops which must be completed to fulfil the requirement.

  • General examinations. Upon completion of coursework and language requirements, the student's supervisory committee will set General Examinations to assess the student's readiness for thesis research. There are three components in the General Examinations:

    • A four-hour written examination will cover the student’s broad area or subfield;

    • A four-hour written examination will cover material pertinent to the student's dissertation topic; and

    • A two-hour oral examination on all materials assigned for the General Examinations.

  • A student who fails any portion of the General Examinations may be re-examined once, no later than nine months after the date of the first examination. The General Examinations must be completed before the end of the third year of doctoral study.

  • Thesis proposal. Within three months of successful completion of the General Examinations, the student must submit a thesis proposal for approval by the student's supervisory committee.

  • Thesis. Upon approval of the thesis proposal by the student's supervisory committee, the candidate proceeds to research and write a doctoral thesis which must be defended successfully at a Doctoral Final Oral Examination.

  • Colloquium presentation. Once general examinations are completed, PhD candidates are required to present at least once in the Department for the Study of Religion's colloquium before undertaking their Doctoral Final Oral Examination.

  • Doctoral Final Oral Examination. The supervisory committee must approve the completed thesis before it is submitted for examination.

  • Residence. Students are required to spend at least two Fall and Winter sessions on campus in full-time study, normally in Years 1 and 2.

Program Length

4 years (some students may take longer)

Time Limit

6 years

Religion: Religion MA, PhD Courses

Not all courses are offered every year. Please consult the department's website, which lists the courses the department will offer this year as well as those cross-listed from other departments.

Religion

Course Code Course Title
RLG1000Y
Method and Theory in the Study of Religion
RLG1002H Philosophy of Religion Gateway Seminar
RLG1003H Islamic Studies Gateway Seminar
RLG1004H Religions of Mediterranean Antiquity Gateway Seminar
RLG1005H Jewish Studies Gateway Seminar
RLG1006H South Asian Religions Gateway Seminar
RLG1200H
The MA Method and Theory Workshop
RLG1501H
Directed Reading
RLG1502H
Directed Reading
RLG2000Y
Major Research Paper
RLG2005H Religion and Posthumanism
RLG2015H
Comparing Religion
RLG2017H
Religion, Secularism, and the Public Sphere
RLG2020H
Early Christianity, Ancient Judaism, Ancient "Magic"
RLG2021H
Mystical Poetics and the Study of Religious Aesthetics
RLG2022H
Religion, Mourning, and Trauma
RLG2025H
Fragments of Redemption: Sigmund Freud and Theodor W. Adorno
RLG2040H Commentary: Theory and Practice
RLG2045H Modern Buddhist Fiction
RLG2060H
Religion and Philosophy in the European Enlightenment
RLG2061H
Why Philosophy Matters to Religious Studies
RLG2062H
Modern Hermeneutics and Religion
RLG2064H
Constructing Religion
RLG2065H Philosophical Texts in Religion
RLG2067H
Philosophical Topics in the Study of Religion
RLG2072H
Kant’s Theory of Religion
RLG2081H Trauma, Healing, and Transformation
RLG2086H
Fieldwork in Religious Studies
RLG3104H Feminist and Womanist Biblical Interpretation
RLG3123H Samson in Text and Tradition
RLG3143H
Hebraica
RLG3190H
Pseudepigraphy in Ancient Mediterranean Religion
RLG3200H
The Politics of Bible Translation
RLG3212H
Martyrdom in Early Christianity
RLG3216H
Christianity in the Ancient Near East
RLG3217H
Social Networks and Elective Cults in Antiquity
RLG3228H
Social History of the Early Jesus Movement
RLG3242H
Christian Asceticism in Late Antiquity
RLG3243H
The Synoptic Problem
RLG3249H
Studies in the Synoptic Gospels
RLG3250H Heresy and Deviance in Early Christianity
RLG3252H The Letter of James and Early Christian Wisdom
RLG3280H Christianities of South Asia
RLG3290H
Words and Worship in Christian Cultures
RLG3401H
Reading Buddhist Texts I
RLG3402H
Reading Buddhist Texts II
RLG3413H
Burmese Religions
RLG3419H
Teaching Buddhism
RLG3454H
Readings in Tibetan Buddhism I
RLG3457H Buddhism and Healing
RLG3460H
Sanskrit Readings
RLG3461H
Sanskrit Readings II
RLG3501H
Special Topics in Islamic Studies
RLG3504H Biblical Narratives in the Qur’an
RLG3516H
Islamic Law and Society
RLG3517H
Shiʿi Studies: The State of the Field
RLG3518H
Foundations in Shi’I Studies
RLG3519H
Islamic Intellectual Traditions
RLG3523H Islamic Origins: Sources, Debates, and Prospects
RLG3527H
The Anthropology of Islam
RLG3528H
Tools of the Craft: Research Fluency in Islamic Studies
RLG3544H
Muslim Material Cultures
RLG3555H The Prophetic Family in Islamic Tradition
RLG3601H
Philo: The First Jewish Philosopher
RLG3610H
Wisdom in Second Temple Judaism
RLG3621H
Modern Jewish Thought
RLG3622H
Maimonides and His Modern Interpreters
RLG3623H The Thought of Leo Strauss
RLG3634H
Worship and Scripture at Qumran
RLG3645H
The Jewish Legal Tradition
RLG3647H
Early Rabbinic Judaism
RLG3701H
Vaishnavism
RLG3702H
Debates in Classical South Asian Religion and History
RLG3704H
Readings in Sanskrit Literature
RLG3705H Becoming Hindu: Ritual Life in Hindu Traditions
RLG3710H
Newar Religion
RLG3717H
Renunciation and Erotica in Sanskrit Poetry
RLG3718H
Sikhs in Early Modern India: Texts and Encounters
RLG3722H Approaching the Literary in South Asian Religions
RLG3744H
Hindu Epics
RLG3763H
Readings in Sanskrit Philosophy
RLG3771H After the Śaiva Age: Regional Śaivism in the Second Millenium
RLG3789H Burmese Buddhist Literature
RLG3823H Buddhism and Indigeneity
RLG3931H
Topics in North American Religions
RLG4001H
Directed Reading: TST Seminar
RLG4004H
Colloquium Presentation
SRD4444Y
Doctoral Seminar Series — Compulsory Attendance (Credit/No Credit)

Joint Courses

Course Code Course Title
JAR1001H Anthropology of Religion Gateway Seminar
JPR2051H
Fanaticism: A Political History
JPR2058H Post-secular Political Thought: Religion, Radicalism, and the Limits of Liberalism

Other Departments

Other departments and collaborative specializations (see programs listed at the beginning of this entry) offer courses that may contribute to graduate programs in the study of religion. Visit the department's website for a current listing of such course offerings from:

  • Anthropology
  • Art History
  • East Asian Studies
  • English
  • Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies
  • Germanic Languages and Literatures
  • History
  • History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
  • Italian Studies
  • Law
  • Medieval Studies
  • Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations
  • Philosophy
  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Toronto School of Theology