Degree and Diploma Programs by Graduate Unit
2014-15 SGS Calendar
Religion
Faculty Affiliation
Arts and Science
Degree Programs Offered
Religion—MA, PhD
Collaborative Programs
The following collaborative programs are available to
students in participating degree programs as listed below:
1. Bioethics
 Religion, MA, PhD
2. Book History and Print Culture
 Religion, MA, PhD
3. Diaspora and Transnational Studies
 Religion, MA, PhD
4. Editing Medieval Texts
 Religion, PhD
5. Environmental Studies
 Religion, MA, PhD
6. Ethnic and Pluralism Studies
 Religion, MA, PhD
7. Jewish Studies
 Religion, MA, PhD
8. Knowledge Media Design
 Religion, MA, PhD
9. Sexual Diversity Studies
 Religion, MA, PhD
10. South Asian Studies
 Religion, MA, PhD
11. Women and Gender Studies
 Religion, MA, PhD
12. Women's Health
 Religion, MA, PhD
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. As a
guideline for areas of strength in the department, we are
organized by the following fields:
2014-2015 School of Graduate Studies Calendar
www.sgs.utoronto.ca/calendar
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Buddhist Studies
Christianity
Hinduism and South Asian Religions
Islam
Judaism
Religion, Culture, and Politics
Religion, Ethics, and Modern Thought
Religion and Medicine
Religions of Mediterranean Antiquity
These fields do not determine program requirements.
Most faculty and students participate in multiple fields.
At the doctoral level, from the point of admission onward,
student programs must be matched with the expertise of
at least three professors who help supervise the student's
work. The department's Graduate Studies Handbook,
available on the web and from the department, gives full
information on admissions and programs as well as the
research and teaching interests of the faculty.
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
Degree Programs
Religion
Master of Arts
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 B+ 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.
Religion
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Degree and Diploma Programs by Graduate Unit
Program Requirements
 Courses. 4.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs); included in
the total are RLG 2000Y Major Research Paper and
RLG 1200H MA Method and Theory Workshop. 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
Doctor of Philosophy
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. A minimum of 4.0 full-course equivalents
(FCEs), including RLG 1000Y Method and Theory in the
Study of Religion and at least 0.5 FCE outside the area
of specialization. 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 modern scholarship and necessary source
languages provided that at least one shall be a language
of modern scholarship, as approved by the Director of
Graduate Studies. The language requirements must be
fulfilled before writing the general examinations.
2014-2015 School of Graduate Studies Calendar
www.sgs.utoronto.ca/calendar
 Professionalization Seminar. Doctoral students must
complete SRD 4444Y Doctoral Seminar Series—
Compulsory Attendance (CR/NCR). This seminar
consists of a series of workshops, all of which must be
completed to fulfil the requirement.
 General Examinations. Upon completion of
coursework, the language requirements, and the thesis
pre-proposal, 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: 1) a four-hour
written examination will cover the student’s area of
specialization, 2) a three-hour written examination will
cover at least one important cognate area, and 3) a twohour 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
participate 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 those of the first two academic years of a
program.
Program Length
4 years full-time (some students may take longer)
Time Limit
6 years full-time
Course List
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.
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Degree and Diploma Programs by Graduate Unit
Religion
RLG 1000Y
Method and Theory in the Study of
Religion
RLG 2088H
The Birth of Anthropology and the Study
of Primitive Religion
RLG 2089H
The Study of Non-Literate Religions in
Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century
France
RLG 2090H
Topics in Psychology of Religion
RLG 3143H
Hebraica
RLG 3144H
Isaiah and Prophecy in the Early Judaism
and Christianity
RLG 3150H
Reconceiving the Revelatory in Jewish
Antiquity
RLG 3190H
Pseudepigraphy in Ancient
Mediterranean Religion
RLG 1200H
The MA Method and Theory Workshop
RLG 1501H
Directed Reading
RLG 1502H
Directed Reading
RLG 2000Y
Major Research Paper
RLG 2007H
Ethics, Society, and Technology
RLG 2008H
Sex, Gender, and the Body in Religious
Perspective
RLG 2011H
Natural Law in Judaism and Christianity I
RLG 2012H
Natural Law in Judaism and Christianity II
RLG 3201H
Topics in Christian Origins I
RLG 2016H
Radical Evil: Religious, Philosophical and
Psychological Response
RLG 3210H
Mani and the Kingdom of Light—Exploring
an Alternate Christianity
RLG 2025H
Religious Thought
RLG 3212H
Martyrdom and Christian Identity
RLG 2028H
Enemies of God: Religion and Violence in
a (Post) Modern Time
RLG 3228H
Social History of the Early Jesus
Movement
RLG 2043H
Buddhism as Translation
RLG 3230H
Comparative Theology Seminar
RLG 2060H
Religion and Philosophy in the European
Enlightenment
RLG 3232H
Sacred Space
RLG 2062H
Modern Hermeneutics and Religion
RLG 3235H
Liberation Theology: Examining the Work
of Gustavo Guitiérrez and Thomas Berry
RLG 2063H
Hermeneutics and Critical Theory
RLG 3236H
Religious Pluralism and the Church
RLG 2064H
Constructing Religion
RLG 3237H
Religion and Social Reform in Canada
RLG 2065H
The Presuppositions of Interreligious
Dialogue
RLG 3238H
Latin American Liberation Theology
RLG 2071H
Religion and Philosophy
RLG 3242H
Christian Asceticism in Late Antiquity
RLG 2072H
Kant’s Theory of Religion
RLG 3243H
The Synoptic Problem
RLG 2073H
Que(e)rying Religion
RLG 3248H
Gospel of John and the Jesus Traditions
RLG 2080H
Origins, Evolution and the Psychology of
Religious Experience
RLG 3249H
Studies in the Synoptic Gospels
RLG 3250H
Heresy and Deviance in Early Christianity
RLG 2083H
Social Scientific Approaches to the Study
of Religion
RLG 3252H
The Letter of James and Early Christian
Wisdom
RLG 2084H
Social Science Approaches to Early
Christianity: Topical Investigations
RLG 3258H
Salvation as Liberation in Paul
RLG 2085H
Genealogies of Christianity
RLG 3260H
Twentieth-Century Political Philosophy
within Christianity
2014-2015 School of Graduate Studies Calendar
www.sgs.utoronto.ca/calendar
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Degree and Diploma Programs by Graduate Unit
RLG 3261H
Augustine, Aquinas, Lonergan
RLG 3515H
Law, Ethics and Society in the Islamic
Tradition
RLG 3265H
Christian Spirituality and Modern Culture
RLG 3266H
God and Evil
RLG 3520H
Disciplining Islam
RLG 3270H
Christianity and Crisis in North America
RLG 3522H
Dreams, Visions and the Enlightenment
RLG 3272H
Jews and Judaism in Christian Traditions
RLG 3590H
Islam and Sexuality
RLG 3275H
Varieties of North American Christianity
RLG 3610H
Wisdom in Second Temple Judaism
RLG 3280H
Christianities of South Asia
RLG 3611H
Hebrew Literature and Religion: Midrash
Aggadah
RLG 3290H
Words and Worship in Christian Cultures
RLG 3615H
Post-Holocaust Jewish Thought
RLG 3410H
Reading Practices in East Asian Religions
RLG 3621H
Modern Jewish Thought
RLG 3413H
Burmese Religions
RLG 3622H
Maimonides and His Modern Interpreters
RLG 3414H
The Vessantarajataka
RLG 3634H
Worship and Scripture at Qumran
RLG 3415H
Theravada Practice
RLG 3645H
The Jewish Legal Tradition
RLG 3446H
Causation, Movement and Time in
Buddhist Scholastic Debate
RLG 3647H
Early Rabbinic Judaism
RLG 3651H
Hellenistic-Jewish Thought
RLG 3448H
History of Sanskrit Buddhist Tantric
Literature
RLG 3653H
Jewish Exegetical Traditions in Antiquity
RLG 3450H
Buddhism and Science
RLG 3655H
Readings in Jewish Literature (200 BCE–
200 CE)
RLG 3454H
Readings in Tibetan Buddhism I
RLG 3691H
Themes in Jewish Studies I
RLG 3455H
Readings in Tibetan Buddhism II
RLG 3703H
RLG 3456H
Tantra in Tibet
Indo-Islamic Civilization: The Sultanate
and Mughal Periods
RLG 3458H
Rhetoric and Discipline in Buddhist
Studies
RLG 3710H
Newar Religion
RLG 3715H
Readings in Hindu Tantra
RLG 3460H
Sanskrit Readings
RLG 3720H
RLG 3461H
Sanskrit Readings II
Sex, Body and Gender in South Asian
Religious Traditions
RLG 3470H
Buddhist Tantra
RLG 3721H
Ramayana in Literature, Theology and
Political Imagination
RLG 3480H
Religion and Magic in Asia
RLG 3730H
Fasting and Feeding in Hindu Traditions
RLG 3490H
Buddhist Auto/biography
RLG 3740H
The Mahaparinirvanasutra
RLG 3501H
Special Topics in Islamic Studies
RLG 3744H
Hindu Epics
RLG 3505H
Topics in Islamic Religious Literature
RLG 3745H
Hindu Myths and Mythology
RLG 3510H
Studies in Islamic Thought and Spirituality
RLG 3750H
Topics in South Asian Religions
RLG 3512H
Introduction to Islamic Law
RLG 3760H
Vedanta Through the Ages
RLG 3514H
Ismaili History and Thought: The Persian
Tradition
RLG 3762H
Religion and Aesthetics in South Asia
2014-2015 School of Graduate Studies Calendar
www.sgs.utoronto.ca/calendar
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Degree and Diploma Programs by Graduate Unit
RLG 3764H
Readings in Sanskrit Philosophy
RLG 3931H
Topics in North American Religions
RLG 4001H
Directed Reading: TST Seminar
RLG 4004H
Colloquium Presentation
SRD 4444Y
Doctoral Seminar Series—Compulsory
Attendance (CR/NCR)
Joint Courses
JAR 6510H
From Theory to Ethnography:
Anthropological Approaches to Religion
JPR 2057H
Democracy and the Secular
JRG 2050H
Religion, Culture, and Global Politics
JRP 2000H
Religion and Public Policy
Other Departments
Other departments and collaborative programs (see
programs listed at the beginning of this entry) offer
courses that may contribute to graduate programs in the
study of religion. Visit the website for a current listing of
such course offerings from:
 Anthropology
 Art
 East Asian Studies
 English
 Ethnic and Pluralism Studies
 German
 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
2014-2015 School of Graduate Studies Calendar
www.sgs.utoronto.ca/calendar
Religion
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