Religious Studies Department

This course develops four competencies of a successful global citizen: what you need to know to interact with a client/customer/patient/neighbour who is of a different religion; what you need to know when travelling; what you need to know to do graduate studies; and what followers of this religion need to know. We study Indigenous religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and alternative religions. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 103, RELS 110, RELS 111, or RELS 112. Three credits. Offered every year.

A basic introduction to the concepts, thinkers, theories, and methods essential for understanding religion. Offers a broad toolkit of terms and approaches that will come in handy for anyone interested in the relationships both historical and contemporary between religion and society, religion and culture, religion and art, religion and power, religion and philosophy, religion and science, religion and violence, religion and language, and religion and human flourishing. Three credits. Offered every year.

The aim of this course is to familiarize student with the basic structural features of classical Greek. In addition to grammar and vocabulary, the class will read simple texts from classical Greek philosophy and literature as well as from the New Testament. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 113, CLAS 120 or CLAS198 (2023-2024). Cross-listed as CLAS 121. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

The aim of this course is to familiarize student with the basic structural features of classical Greek. In addition to grammar and vocabulary, the class will read simple texts from classical Greek philosophy and literature as well as from the New Testament. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 114, CLAS 120 or CLAS 199 (2022-2023). Cross-listed as CLAS 122. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course is designed to provide the foundations for promoting ethical competence among health care professionals as informed by diverse religious and cultural traditions. Students will be introduced to the ethical principles and values underlying debates brough about by advancements in medical technologies. Special emphasis will be placed on the whole person care demonstrated by exemplary health care providers in health care settings. Three credits. Offered every year.

This class focuses on yoga, a pan-Indic and now global phenomenon. Using yoga as a case study, we will explore theoretical and methodological issues in the study of religion and themes such as the relationship between philosophy and religion, the functions of doctrine, and the nature of scripture. Students will also be introduced to key moments in the history of yoga’s philosophical development on the Indian subcontinent. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 205 or RELS 297 (2024-2025). Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course examines the impact of the Bible on film, and introduces major biblical themes in films with, and films without, explicit religious content. Students will learn how biblical knowledge can enrich our understanding of modern culture and important human issues, such as creation, redemption, election, messiah-ship, charisma, and tradition. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course is an introduction to the use of supernatural imagery and themes in current tales of superheroes. How are supernatural beings and forces incorporated into the stories? How do superheroes function as divine beings? In which ways are the messages presented by DC and Marvel derived from those of world religions? In which ways do they serve as substitutes for religion? Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 216 or RELS 298 (2020-2022). Three credits. Offered every year.

An introduction to religious ethics, this course examines ethical approaches from various religious traditions, including Indigenous, Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim, to such issues as social justice, ecology, pluralism, healthcare, and non-violence. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 218 or RELS 294 (2024-2025). Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course examines the religious practices and beliefs of the ancient Celtic peoples that we can glean from archaeology, classical sources, place-name evidence, and the mythology in medieval Irish and Welsh narrative tradition. Other topics include syncretism, adaptation of pagan festivals into Christian holidays, the persistence of elements of paganism into the Christian era, and neo-paganism today. Cross-listed as CELT 220. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

Much contemporary fantasy draws upon ancient and medieval myths about beasts and monsters of various sorts. In this course, we will consider the religious origins of the fantastic, and how it continues to resonate in our contemporary world. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 222, RELS 292(2018-19) or RELS 298(2017-18). Three credits. Offered every year.

A study of cults in the context of 20th-century North American society, beginning with defining cults in relation to sects and churches. Topics include neo-paganism; Hare Krishna; the theosophical tradition; the Unification Church; tragic endings to cults such as the Branch Davidians and Heaven’s Gate; why people join cults; and the religio-cultural significance of cults today. Three credits. Offered every year.

This course is an exploration of the development of Christianity amongst the Celtic peoples, with a particular focus on medieval Irish and Welsh literature, including hagiography, voyage tales and visions of Heaven and Hell. Other topics include monasticism, peregrinatio, the Hiberno-Scottish mission to the continent, conflict with Roman Catholicism, material culture and the modern use of the term “Celtic Christianity”. Cross-listed as CELT 230. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course offers a comparative examination of social and ritual practices, religious beliefs, and emotional responses surrounding death in various cultural contexts. Students will explore diverse perspectives on death, addressing questions such as the meaning of death, the concept of a good death, rituals and practices related to death, and the afterlife. Through critical analysis and self-reflection, students will gain a deeper understanding of death’s significance in different cultures and traditions. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 230 or RELS 298 (2024-2025). Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course introduces the paths to enlightenment identified by members of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions of India and Tibet. We will introduce the philosophy, mythology and ritual traditions of both Hinduism and Buddhism. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course covers narrative and artistic depictions of Greco-Roman Gods, demi-gods, and heroes, both in Hellenistic and early Roman periods, and in their contemporary reception in fiction and film. We will also cover how myths and grand narratives function in the service of and in tension with power, politics, gender, ritual, and culture. Cross-listed with CLAS 241.Three credits. Offered every year.

This course introduces students to the emergence of the Islamic tradition with the aim of understanding a) its place in the Near Eastern religious and geo-political context; b) its reception by contemporaries, especially Christians of the 7th-9th centuries; and c) the teachings of its seminal texts, especially the Qur’an. Particular attention is given to those sections of the Qur’an that reflect the Jewish and Christian theological environment within which the text emerged. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 254 or RELS 370. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

In this course, students explore the four earliest records of Jesus’ life, the canonical gospels. They learn how academics approach the quest for the historical Jesus, and use methods of literary and historical analysis to interpret recurring themes of the gospels, such as the kingdom of God, parables about socio-economic inequity, attitudes towards the Roman empire, and the ubiquitous presence of angels and demons. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course focuses on a popular genre of texts called “apocalypse,” produced in the early development of Judaism and Christianity. Apocalypses deal with the end of the world. We explore the development of the worldview called apocalypticism and the ancient literature associated with it, from both inside and outside the Bible. Students compare what they’ve learned about ancient apocalypses to contemporary apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic ideas, from zombies to climate change. Three credits. Offered every year.

This course examines the foundational texts of both Judaism and Christianity, notably the prophetic, historical, and wisdom literature included in the Old Testament. Each biblical book will be placed in its historical, theological, and literary context, by situating it in the relevant archeological data, historical background, and contemporary scholarship. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 312 or RELS 253. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course investigates women’s participation in early Christian groups from the time of Jesus to the 5th century. Ancient Jewish, Christian, and Roman Women’s experiences will be explored through texts, inscriptions, and material artefacts like mosaics. Students will learn to analyze New Testament and other ancient writings through an intersectional feminist lens and examine such issues as gendered violence, women’s leadership, and early Christian constructions of masculinity. Cross-listed as WMGS 325. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

In this course students trace the biblical origins of ideas that have inspired global leaders to engage issues of social justice in the world. The activists typically include Moses Coady, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Oscar Romero, Charlotte Keys, SueZann Bosler, Helen Prejean, Jim Zwerg, Jim Corbett, John Dear, Shane Claiborne, Daniel Berrigan, Roy Bourgeois, Robin Harper, William Wilberforce, Desmond Tutu, Tommy Douglas, Dorothy Day, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

Contrary to an old belief, in our time religion is increasingly associated with violence rather than peace. This course explains why this is the case and whether there is an inherently violent element in religion that has passed unnoticed until now. The investigation takes us through Greek, Roman, Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions to find the religious underpinnings to concepts of sacrifice, scapegoating, lynching, and global violence. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 333 or RELS 335. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

An examination of the impact of religion on politics and politics on religion. Students will consider the relationship between religion and politics in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, India and Pakistan, Eastern Europe and North America. Case studies will demonstrate interactions between the state and Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism, as well as the influence of religion on citizenship, education, the party system, and social issues. Credit will be granted for only one of RELS 336, RELS 295, or PSCI 295. Cross-listed as PSCI 336. Three credits. Not offered 2025-2026.

This course will focus on the spirituality of the formative years in the development of Christian thought, beginning with the legalization of Christianity in 313 CE and ending with the Reformation. Students will see how some of the most searching and intelligent men and women in both the Western and Eastern churches have wrestled with the question of how it is possible to know God. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

Students gain an understanding of the diversity of Islam and Muslims in Canada. The course examines how Muslims negotiate their religious identities in Canadian civic society. Students engage critically with different theoretical models shaping conceptions of identity and consider their relevance to public policy debates. The course uses Muslim and non-Muslim authors representing diverse points of view that have an impact on questions of immigration, multiculturalism, and religious pluralism. Cross-listed as SOCI 374. Offered in online format. Three credits.

A history of Christianity during the Reformation period. The course pays close attention to the transformation during this time of new Christian groups into the Anglican, Presbyterian, Mennonite, Baptists and Lutheran churches. Topics include Luther and Calvin, critical events, prominent Protestant women, and new creeds. Cross-listed as HIST 363. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Magic and Witchcraft in Premodern Europe. This course introduces students to the history and sources of magic around the Mediterranean and in Europe from Antiquity through the Early Modern period, ca.500 BCE – ca.1700 CE, and to scholarly debates on the differences between magic and science, philosophy, and religion in premodern cultures. We will focus on magical beliefs and practices in Medieval Christian Europe, including charms, necromancy, demonic magic, heresy, and the rise of the witch trials. Cross-listed as HIST 395. Three credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Sex and the Celibate Saint. An introduction to how asceticism, erotic desire, performed and alternative genders, ambition, monasticism, mission, colonialism, benefaction and pilgrimage contributed to the formation of Christianity in its first four centuries, in ways that continue to explain Christian identities since. Three credits.

Each student works under the supervision of a chosen professor who guides the selection of a thesis topic, use of resources, methodological component, quality of analysis and execution, and literary calibre of the student’s work. Required for all honours students. Six credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Medieval Gender and Christianity. Christian beliefs and practices in the Middle Ages shaped, and were shaped by, the gender and sexual identities, and sexual practices or abstinence, of believers. This course is a senior seminar for advanced students in History and Religious Studies to investigate the role of gender and sexuality in medieval Christian theology, sacraments, hagiography, monasticism, and crusading. Special attention will be given to female mystics from Hildegard of Bingen to Joan of Arc. Cross-listed as HIST 498. Three credits.