Religious Studies Courses

RLST 100 - Introduction to Religious Studies
An introduction to the academic study of religion; a survey of the thought and practices of major world religions; the impact of religion on society and culture.

RLST 181 - Classical Chinese for Religious Studies
This course provides an introduction to the Classical Chinese, used for readings of the texts of Confucianism, Taoism or Chinese Buddhism. Classical Chinese is also used for reading ancient scholarship in China dealing with the above areas.

RLST 184 - Introductory Sanskrit for Religious Studies
This course is an introduction to the classical Sanskrit languages. Emphasis will be on grammar, syntax, and elementary translation practice. This course is useful for students in South Asian religion (Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism) and culture.

RLST 188 - Introductory Coptic for Religious Studies
An introduction to Sahidic Coptic for reading knowledge. This course will be useful for students wishing to do detailed work in ancient Christian Gnosticism, and in late antique Egyptian Christianity.

RLST 201 - Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons
This class explores cross-cultural practices, representations, and beliefs concerning various kinds of monsters, ghosts, and demons. Focus will be on what these different entities have in common (as well as where they differ), with a view to sketching out shared human perspectives on the monstrous, the fearful, and the uncanny. *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 201 or RLST 290AS.*

RLST 202 - Approaches to the Study of Religion
This course explores some of the more influential modern theories about why human beings - across different cultures and in different historical periods - have practiced religion and believed in supernatural entities. The class will focus on explanations for the origin and existence of religion that have developed in the social sciences and humanities from the 19th century to the present, and will examine their strengths and weaknesses. Students will learn the basics of social, cultural, cognitive, and psychological approaches to religion. No specific background knowledge of individual religious traditions is required. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 202 or RLST 300.*

RLST 203 - Hinduisms
This course situates 'Hinduism' in the context of the culture of South Asia and examines texts, beliefs and ritual practices of various traditions which fall under the 'Hindu' rubric. The perspective is historical and social. This course also explores the impact of colonialism upon contemporary religious practice in India. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 207 - Buddhism
The course will provide a basic introduction to Buddhism, dealing with its origin, development, doctrines, and practices. Special emphasis will be given to developments in interpretation of the founder's teachings. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 209 - Japanese Religions
The course provides an overview of the major religious traditions of Japan from earliest times to the modern era: Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity and the New Religions. Topics to be explored include religion and the state, Buddhist-Shinto interaction, "this worldly" material benefits, pilgrimage and popular culture. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 211 - East Asian Religions
An introduction to the essentials of the East Asian religious traditions. The course will deal with basic beliefs and practices of Confucianism, Daoism, and Chinese Buddhism, with the emphasis on their influence on the formation of such East Asian cultures as those of China, Korea, and Japan. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 215 - Religions of Greece and Rome
This course will examine the various religious practices encountered in the Archaic and Classical periods of Greece, the Hellenistic period in the Mediterranean world, and the religious practices of the Roman Empire. The religions will be studied primarily in connection with the categories of myth, symbol, and ritual. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 219 - Judaism
A survey of the principles of Judaism, their historical development, and their impact on the Jewish way of life. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 227 - Jesus the Christ
This course examines the centrality of Jesus the Christ for Christian practice and belief. Topics covered include the background to early belief in Jesus, his presentation in Christian scriptures, the development of Christian claims about him, as well as past and contemporary representations of him in ritual, theology and/or art. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 228 - Christianity
An introduction to the foundations of Christianity dealing with topics such as the centrality of the story of Jesus, its roots in Judaism, its sources of authority, characteristic practices, historical and theological development, major denominational families. Some contemporary issues may also be briefly outlined. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 230 - Religion, Spirituality and Health: Belief, Practices, Impacts and Implications
An exploration of beliefs and practices regarding health, disease, healing and mortality in a variety of religious traditions, and how these affect individual and community health. Includes an examination of empirical studies of religion and health outcomes and concludes with the implications for health care policy and practice. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 230 or RLST 290BB.*

RLST 241 - Islam
An introduction to the foundations of Islam, including the life of the prophet Muhammad, the Qur'an, beliefs and practices, and the development of fundamental Islamic ideas and institutions. Emphasis will be placed on the contemporary faith of Muslims as they deal with these primary themes. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 245 - Bible: Old Testament/Tanakh
A survey of the various books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament or Tanakh) from historical, literary, and theological perspectives. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 248 - The Beginnings of Christianity
This course explores the earliest evidence for Christianity: the writings that eventually made up the Christian “New Testament.” We will reconstruct how first and second century writers transmitted and creatively shaped the figure of Jesus, and how Paul and other figures played a central role in role in this process. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 267 - Religion in Canada
This course is a survey of significant religious traditions in Canada, their intellectual background, development of their faith and practice, and their interaction with the Canadian context. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 268 - Cults or New Religious Movements
This course examines beliefs and practices of some emerging new religions including New Age, Wicca, Neo-paganism, Scientology, Unification Church, UFO groups, Solar Temple, Transcendental Meditation and Soka Gakai. The emphasis will be upon the historical roots and teachings of new religions, and issues related to their popularity and interpretation. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 268 or RLST 390AX.*

RLST 273 - Issues in Religion and Science
This course will examine the interface between religion and the natural and social sciences, beginning with a historical, methodological and philosophical overview. Current issues such as genetic engineering, population control, evolutionary theory, environmentalism, technology and values, and the ethics of scientific experimentation will be studied. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 275 - Women in World Religions
This course surveys the role and religious experiences of women in various world religions. Lecture material will cover the accumulated traditional teachings on women and the feminine in each religion, with attention to specific historical developments. Contemporary scholars and issues will be highlighted with an emphasis on feminist methodologies. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100 or WGST 100.***

RLST 284 - Intermediate Sanskrit for Religious Studies
Emphasis will be on advanced grammar and translation practice in Sanskrit language. This course will engage students in reading selected excerpts from the Mahabharata, Hitopadesa and the Puranas. This course is useful for students in South Asian studies in religion, history, classics, and linguistics. ***Prerequisite: RLST 184, or permission of the Department Head.***

RLST 290AD - Modern Christian Social Thought
The History of Christian Social Teaching from the mid Nineteenth Century to the present. Special references will be given to the several individuals and events in the Catholic, Anglican and Protestant Churches which contributed to the development of modern Christian Social Thought in Europe and Canada. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 290AD or HIST 290AB.*

RLST 290AJ - Fundamentalism
A study of “fundamentalism” including its definition and social impact. Beginning with Christian Fundamentalism (& Evangelicalism) in the USA, similar movements in other religions and countries are covered. Subtopics include the interpretation of scripture and religious law, gender and race relations, and the relationship of religion to political power. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 290AJ or RLST 490CG.*

RLST 290AK - Reading the Qur'an in English
An introduction to reading the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book, in English translation; exploration of the Qur'an's main themes, literary structures, origins, and varieties of interpretation. No prior knowledge of the Qur'an or of Islam is required. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290AL - Monks and Merchants: Religious Exchange along the Silk Road
The" Silk Road" was an important tie for the international trade from Changan (China) to the west; and at that same time, it was more than a route for business, the areas along this important route were the place where East met West, and the places where various religious traditions interacted and syncretised. For this course, with the cultural and historical background, we are going to exam how religions, such as Buddhism, Daoism, Manicheanism, Christianity, Islam, and local beliefs and so forth, how they influenced each other and the significance of the religious syncretism. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290AM - Death & Dying
This course will explore the ways in which selected Eastern and Western religious traditions understand and negotiate death as a major life-cycle transition. Topics will include preparation for dying, funerary practices and memorial rites, nonphysical reality and the afterlife, as well as cultural variations in the expression of bereavement; varieties of interpretation. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290AN - Indigenous Systems of Belief and Practice
The focus of this course is the varied ways of knowing and being of indigenous peoples through the exploration of themes such as: holistic world views, diversity, spatial and biographical understandings of land, kinship, environmental knowledge, the function of narratives, cosmology and the impact of colonization and decolonization. Special attention will be given to indigenous peoples of North America. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290AP - Sex & Sexualities in Religion
Religious teachings on sexual practices, desires and orientations have regulated social norms and notions of morality. Examining a number of religious traditions, historical moments and current religious, feminist and queer movements, this course invites students to discern tropes and potentiality within the larger discourse of personal agency and social power. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 290AP, RLST 390BL, or WGST 490AC.*

RLST 290AR - Intermediate Classical Chinese
This course is set up for the students who completed beginner's level (RLST 181). The main focuses are: more characters, more grammar and more passages selected from the Classical Chinese texts (from Chinese and philosophical contexts) and more exercise for translation (Classical Chinese into modern Chinese and into English).

RLST 290AV - The Prophet Muhammad
This course deals with the life-events of the Prophet as seen in Muslim writings: the Sira and the Tradition. Some films/documentaries will be viewed about this towering figure in Islam. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290AX - Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X: Religion and Violence
Martin Luther King Jr. adopted non-violent methods for achieving justice and freedom for Black Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. But Malcolm X, a founder of the Black Power movement, said that only violence could bring changes to the structures of racism and hate embedded in American culture. Who was right? ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290BA - Religion and Gender, Sex and Sexualities in Historical and Contemporary South Asia
Religion contributes to the construction and understanding of gender and sex/ualities. This course examines how this happens in both historical and contemporary South Asia, for example, how Hinduism informs gender and sex/ualities in India, Islam the same in Bangladesh and Pakistan, or Buddhism in Sri Lanka. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 290BA or WGST 280AO.*

RLST 290BC - Korean Religions and Popular Culture
This course explores religions and popular culture in globalized Korea. Contemporary Korea shows a dynamic growth of secular cultures and religious traditions that has a transnational impact. Key topics of this course include Tonghak (Eastern Learning), Buddhism, Christianity, folk beliefs and Hallyu (the Korean Wave) that feature Korean music, films, TV dramas and literature. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 303 - Deities: India
This course focuses on the role of gods, goddesses and other creatures in South Asian religion. Emphasis will be on the interrelationship of notions of the divine, colonialism, post-colonialism and the gender dimensions of religious practice. Theories of myth and ritual as they apply to religious tenets will be explored. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 311 - Confucianism in East Asia
This course is an introduction to the basic ideas of Confucianism including its background and development; its concepts of the world, ethical values of its philosophy and its religious beliefs and practices. The impact of Confucianism on the East Asian societies in ancient and modern times is also covered. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 322 - Origins of Modern Antisemitism and the Holocaust
The religious and cultural roots of antisemitism and its manifestations in Western civilization: the rise of racist and political antisemitism in Europe; seminal issues in the history of the Holocaust; an analysis of the various political and cultural responses to the events of this period. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 322 or HIST 390AU.*

RLST 334 - Catholicism
This course examines Catholicism as a collection of churches and as a tradition within Christianity. Topics covered include: origins, history and current transformations of Catholicism; characteristic emphases on sacramentality, mediation and community and how these shape the Catholic world view, its institutions, practices, beliefs, attitudes toward other groups, contemporary challenges. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 341 - Islam in the Modern World
This course explores the Muslim encounter with the modern age. It examines the traditional religious stance of the Islamic community, and the significant movements and influences that have affected it. It studies specific problems faced and decisions taken, and analyzes adaptations and tensions in Islamic faith and life resulting from the encounter. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 348 - The Synoptic Gospels
The course will focus on a study of the New Testament gospels and their sources, particularly the so-called "synoptic tradition"- the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke as well as their sources, both written and oral. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 351 - The Life and Letters of Paul
This course will focus on a study of the New Testament writings by and about Paul, including the "undisputed" Pauline letters (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon), the letters whose authorship is more questionable, and the narratives about Paul in Acts of the Apostles. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 352 - The Birth of the Church
The main emphasis will be on a study of the later New Testament writings: those which show the first signs of the church defining itself as an institution. These writings include especially Luke-Acts, the later pseudo-Pauline letters (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus), the so-called "general epistles," and the Apocalypse (Revelation). ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 363 - Storytelling in Asian Religions
This course will provide a survey of the stories told by Buddhists, Hindus, Confucianists, Daoists and the followers of Shinto in Japan. The aim of this course is to develop a deeper understanding of the religion and cultures of Asia and to explore the beliefs in popular religion. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 363 or RLST 390AT.*

RLST 372 - Myth, Symbol and Ritual
This course is an introduction to the critical study of the categories of myth, symbol and ritual. To do this we will examine different theoretical approaches and engage myth, symbol and ritual as they emerge in a variety of cultural locations. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 373 - Gender: Theories and Practices
This course begins by examining gender/sex theories (feminist, masculinity and queer studies) arising from a variety of academic locations. Thereafter, we analyze gender/sex ideologies shaped by and in religio-cultural practices across a spectrum of historical locations (e.g., ancient Greece, early modern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East). ***Prerequisite: RLST 100 or WGST 100.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 373 or WGST 372.*

RLST 378 - Gender in Ancient Christianity
The course will explore the elaboration of images of "masculinity" and "femininity", "male" and "female", focusing on the relationship of these discursive entities to ancient Christian practices, goals, and notions of salvation, with a view to recovering how such constructs were used to fabricate a distinctive "Christian" identity. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390AM - Women in Islam
This course will examine the diverse experiences of Muslim women, with specific reference to scripture, historical contexts and selected contemporary concerns. Emphasis will be placed on the debates between traditionalists and modernists and liberals, fundamentalists and feminists. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390AW - Japanese Religions II
The course provides an indepth overview of the major religious traditions of Japan from earliest times to the modern era: Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity and the New Religions. Topics to be explored include religion and the state, Buddhist-Shinto syncretism, ¿this-worldly¿ material benefits, pilgrimage and popular culture. Lectures will often be accompanied by slide-show presentations illustrating the rich visual culture of Japanese religion. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390AY - Yoga: Teachers, Texts, Techniques
This course is a basic introduction to the study of yoga. Students will familiarize themselves with the foundational teachers, texts, and practices of the yoga tradition. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390AZ - Zionism and the Middle East
Explores the roots of Zionism and age-old longing of Jewish people to return to land of Israel. Examines thought of Theodor Herzl the founder of modern Zionism in 18thC and the ideologies of other Zionisms. Religious and political aspects of Zionisms will be analyzed in context of current Israeli-Palestinian crisis. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390AZ or RLST 490BX.*

RLST 390BD - Religion and Animals
This course is an intra-historical and cross-cultural examination of non-human animals and their signification, use, and value within differing systems of belief and practice. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, animals in ritual, animals in folktale and myth, in the cosmos, as messengers, tricksters, and helpers, animals as deities and demons, and relations between non-human animals and human animals. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BJ - Religious Syncretism and Cultural Exchange on the Silk Road
This is an advanced course for the study of religions on the Silk Road. The main focus is on the development of some religious traditions in this area: Buddhism, Confucianism, Manichaenism, some local belifs and so forth - the conflict and syncretism among them from 1st to the 10th century. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BK - Advanced Women and Religion
This class will examine the traditional roles of women in selected religions in order to map the parallel concerns, issues and actions of current feminist responses. Historical as well as contemporary resources will be examined. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BL - Advanced Sex and Sexualities in Religion
The student will examine the spectrum of ideological positions regarding sex and sexuality within selected religions in order to map distinctive and comparable patterns from theoretical positions within queer and feminist theory. Extended analysis of scriptural passages reproduced through social ritual will engage questions of text and body. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390BL, RLST 290AP, WGST 280AK, or WGST 490AC.*

RLST 390BM - Introduction to Koine Greek
Introduction to the Koine Greek of the New Testament. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390BM or RLST 906AD.*

RLST 390BP - Advanced Classical Chinese
This course is designed for the students who have studied RLST 181 and RLST 290AR. The course will focus on the improvement of reading and understanding of religious, philosophical and literature texts in Classical Chinese. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BR - Interreligious Dialogue and Faith-Based Activism
Students will examine interreligious dialogue for two reasons: to learn the historical and theological teachings about the religious Other from within numerous religious traditions, and to ask if it is advantageous to engage with those involved in the growing interfaith movement towards resolving social justice issues. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BS - Advanced Coptic Reading
This class continues RLST 188 and RLST 288 with advanced reading selections from the Sahidic New Testament, the Desert Fathers, and Shenoute. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BT - The History of Popular Religion in the Middle Ages (300-1400)
This course will examine, from an historical perspective, the religious beliefs and practices of medieval Europeans. The emphasis will be on Christian beliefs, but those of other religions will be considered too. Topics include: heresy; the fate of the dead; skepticism; saints; signs and miracles; good and evil spirits; holidays. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390BT or HIST 368.*

RLST 390BU - Advanced study of Cults or New Religious Movements
This advanced course examines beliefs and practices of select cults and new religious movements of both Eastern and Western origins. Students will acquire some specific knowledge of the central teachings of several new religious movements and also some familiarity with what might constitute such a movement. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BV - The Gnostics: Secret Gospels from the Egyptian Desert
This course will explore the non-canonical ancient Christian writings discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi in Egypt. The focus will be on exploring and analyzing the theology, sources, and literary history of these documents. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BW - Jesus the Christ
This course examines the centrality of Jeus the Christ for Christian practice and belief. Topics covered include the background to early belief in Jesus, his presentation in Christian scriputures, the development of Christian claims about him, as well as past and cotemporary representations of him in ritual, theology and/or art. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course*** *Note: Students can only receive credit for one of RLST 200, RLST 227 or RLST 390BW*

RLST 390BX - Multiculturalism and Religious Literacy
The notion of religious literacy within the constructs of Canadian secularism and multiculturalism is examined historically and with comprehensive conversations regarding models of interreligious dialogue, advocacy and atheism, feminist responses, and covering the most current topics, e.g. accommodation principles, educational responsibilities, the role of Islamophobia, public space and prayer, and more. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BY - The Prophet Muhammad - Advanced
Advanced studies: The course deals with the life events of the Prophet in his context of Seventh Century Arabia as seen in Muslim writings: The Sira (biographical genre) and the Tradition. Some themes and films/documentaries about the Prophet will also be part of the discussion. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390BY or RLST 290AV.*

RLST 390BZ - 19th Century: Religion and Literature (Victorian Gods)
Once known as "the age of faith and doubt" and later as a flashpoint for the rise of the scientific understanding and secularization, the 19th century is under scrutiny by critics who no longer take for granted religion's modern decline. This course examines the robust debates in Victorian culture and literature over religion, modernization, and secularization, as well as the internecine conflicts in Christianity itself. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390BZ or ENGL 336AQ.*

RLST 390CA - Advanced Hinduism(s)
This course situates 'Hinduism' in the context of the culture of South Asia and examines texts, beliefs, and ritual practices of various traditions which fall under the 'Hindu' rubric. The perspective is historical and social. This course also explores the impact of colonialism upon contemporary religious practice in India. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.*** * Note: Students may receive credit for only one of RLST 203 or 390CA.*

RLST 480AI - Adv. Gender: Theories and Practices
This course begins by examining gender/sex theories (feminist, masculinity and queer studies) arising from a variety of academic locations. Thereafter, we analyze gender/sex ideologies shaped by and in religio-cultural practices across a spectrum of historical locations (e.g., ancient Greece, early modern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East). ***Prerequisites: RLST 100 or WGST 100***

RLST 490BK - Heresy
A reconstruction and analysis of ancient Christian factionalism in the second and third centuries, with particular emphasis on charges and counter-charges of "heresy", and the related efforts to define a stable "orthodoxy". The class will focus predominantly on the primary literature from the period. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.***

RLST 490CJ - History of Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) left an indelible mark on the history of the Church and the modern age. This course explores the origin, expansion, suppression and return of the Jesuits, examining their impact on political, religious, socio-cultural and intellectual life in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.*** *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 490CJ, HIST 390AF, CATH 390AB, or RLST 390AL.*

RLST 490CM - Ritual Studies
This advanced reading course investigates ritual and theories of ritual, providing the student with a solid background in ritual studies. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.***

RLST 490CO - Directed Readings in Sex and Sexualities
Course material will evaluate religious and secular discourse on sex, gender, sexualities, and sexual orientations culminating in a major student project. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.***

RLST 490CR - Neo-Confucianism Ideas and Pre-Modern China
This course is set up for the advanced students for their further study of Confucian concepts in pre-modern China. It will focus on the influences of New-Confucianism among the people and in the society: the positive and negative influences. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.***

RLST 490CS - Confucian Thoughts in Modern East Asia
Confucianism is still existing in China, Korea and Japan in its various forms and infuluences people's concepts and everyday life at present. The focus of this course is to give a further study of Confucianism and modernity. ***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.*** *Note: Special approval by the course instructor.*

RLST 498 - Honours Seminar
Honours seminar. ** Permission of the Department Head is required to register. **

RLST 499 - Honours Essay
Honours essay. ** Permission of the Department Head is required to register. **

RLST 800 - Advanced Theory
An intensive study of selected methodological approaches to the study of religion, and significant contemporary issues in the discipline.

RLST 801 - Comp Religious Thought
Comparative study of a constant theme in major religious traditions, an important influence on the current development of religions, or the thought of thinkers drawn from several traditions. *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 801 or RLST 490AJ.*

RLST 802 - Religion After Modernity
This graduate level course examines four different theoretical locations; postpatriarchy, postmodernism, poststructuralism, and postcolonialism, and their importance to the study of religion. The course engages each theoretical location according to intersections with modernity, epistemological assertions, theoretical import, and implications for the study of religion. Further to the understanding of the four 'posts' the writing of some of their more recognized proponents are read. ***Prerequisite: Permission of the Department Head.***

RLST 810 - Religious Studies Research Seminar
This seminar is a critical examination of issues involved in the construction of a research project. It is designed to integrate theoretical perspectives and scientific research projects. *** Prerequisite: Permission of Department Head. ***

RLST 840 - Advanced Studies in the Religions of Asia
This course will explore selected themes, movements, philosophies, and religious practices of Asian religions such as Hinduism, Jaininsm, Sikhism, Buddhism, Doaism, Confucianism, and Shinto through the examination of selected figures, myths, rituals, and symbols. *** Prerequisite: Permission of Department Head. ***

RLST 843 - Advanced Studies in Islam
This course will explore selected themes, movements, philosophies, historical periods, and religious practices of Islam through the examination of selected figures, myths, texts, rituals and symbols.

RLST 845 - Advanced Studies in Christianity
This course will explore selected themes, movements, philosophies, historical periods, and religious practices of Christianity through the examination of selected figures, myths, texts, rituals and symbols.

RLST 847 - Adv Studies Ancient Religions
This course will explore selected themes, movements, philosophies, and religious practices ancient religions including the traditional religions of Greece and Rome, Hellenistic religions, Hermetic materials, ancient Judaism, and ancient Christianity, through the examination of selected figures, myths, texts, rituals and symbols.

RLST 890AM - Advanced New Religions
This class will focus on new religious movements in various locations including North America, India, Japan and SE Asia. We will also explore various analyses of these regions including questions of origin, membership and teachings.

RLST 890BI - Advanced Gender: Theories and Practices
This course begins by examining gender/sex theories (feminist, masculinity and queer studies) arising from a variety of academic locations. Thereafter, we analyze gender/sex ideologies shaped by and in religio-cultural practices across a spectrum of historical locations (e.g., ancient Greece, early modern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East). *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 890BI or WGST 372.*

RLST 890BL - Women/NorthAmerican Buddhism
This course will focus on women's role in Buddhism in North America. The Buddhist practises will be examined in the context of North American Culture and Society.

RLST 890CB - Ritual Studies
Students in this course will examine ritual theories and specific ritual practices related to their area of study.

RLST 890CY - Religion and Mobile Technology
This course provides a critical investigation of religion and online technology in the contemporary West. Particular attention will be paid to the personalization of religious spaces and experiences with the boom of mobile technology.

RLST 890DA - Storytelling in Japanese Religions
A critical examination of the form and function of storytelling traditions in pre-modern Japanese religions among various mediums (textual, visual, theatrical). Particular attention is given to the role of narratives in the construction of local religious identities and the promotion of miraculous objects of worship.

RLST 890DB - Storytelling in Asian Religions
This course is for students who wish to continue their studies in Asian religions. From the approach of textual studies, Religious syncretism among Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism will be the focus. Buddhism reflected in texts and in popular beliefs are important issues as well.

RLST 890DC - Religion on the Internet
This course examines religion on the internet in its multiple manifestations. We will take a thematic look at web sites, web pages, and applications that have religious content. We will focus our analysis on the tendency to proselytize, appeal, and currency. Theoretical perspectives will include historical, sociological, and anthropological.

RLST 890DD - Contemporary Conspiracy Culture
This course explores the nature of conspiracy theories in religion and culture as a cogent contemporary response to the fears and anxieties of living in a corporate world where no one can trust those in positions of power, whether in politics or religion.

RLST 890DE - Interreligious Dialogue and Community Engagement
This course examines how interreligious dialogue can assist with supporting recent immigrants and refugees to our Canadian, multicultural context. What roles do religions, community engagement and public policy play in this accommodation of diversity?

RLST 890DG - Narratives of the Monstrous and Supernatural in East Asia
This course examines narratives of the monstrous and supernatural in contemporary East Asian religious culture as critiques of hegemonic power both foreign and domestic.

RLST 890DH - Advanced Religion and Animals
This course is an intra-historical and cross-cultural examination of non-human animals and their signification, use, and value within differing systems of belief and practice. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, animals in ritual, animals in folktale and myth, in the cosmos, as messengers, tricksters, and helpers, animals as deities and demons, and relations between non-human animals and human animals. *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 890DH or RLST 390BD.*

RLST 890DI - Representations of Death
Students examine critically representations of death as they are propagated in symbol myth and ritual in cross-cultural and transhistorical contexts.

RLST 890DJ - Pilgrims in a Foreign Land:Canadian Religious History and Immigration to the Prairies
This course will begin by offering a broad context for religious history in Canada, assessing some major writers on the subject, and then proceed to focus on a specific aspect of this history - religion's role in immigration to the Canadian Prairies. The effect of religious leaders, institutions, and discourse will be considered throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, along with the methodological differences among academics within the realm of Canadian religious history.

RLST 890DK - Advanced Myth, Symbol and Ritual
The course is an introduction to the critical study of the categories of myth, symbol and ritual. The course will examine the theoretical and socio-cultural dimensions of myth, symbol, and ritual examining each category individually. *Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 890DK or RLST 372.*

RLST 890DL - Muslim-Christian Relations
This is an in-depth graduate course on the historical development in the inter-religious relations between Muslims and Christians since the advent of Islam in the seventh century till contemporary time. The focus will be on the mutual perspectives of Muslims and Christians on themes like leadership, authenticity, and co-existence.

RLST 890DM - A Freudian engagement of Christian development among First Nations communities in prairie Canada
This course will explore the spread, integration, and rejection of Christian beliefs within Indigenous communities through the use of a Freudian lens. Questions will be asked about what traditional Indigenous spirituality is as well as if and how pre-contact religious expression might be meshed with a system of Christian beliefs imported from Europe.

RLST 890DN - Religion and the State in Early Japan
This course examines the religious traditions of Shinto, Daoism, and Buddhism as power structures in the formation of the imperial state in early and classical Japan (late sixth century to twelfth century).

RLST 901 - Thesis Research
Thesis research. ** Permission of Coordinator is required to register. **