BA in Religious Studies with Co-operative Education
BA Honours in Religious Studies
BA Honours in Religious Studies with Co-operative Education
Related Interdisciplinary Degrees (See separate listings)
BA in Religious Studies and Applied Ethics
BA Honours in Classical and Early Christian Studies
Note: A Minor is offered in Religious Studies.
Introduction
The Department of Religious Studies seeks to foster an understanding of the wide variety of religions that have influenced the development of human cultures and that continue to be powerful forces in today's world. Courses in the Department examine religious worldviews and their associated texts and practices, movements and institutions, as they appear now and as they have developed over time in many cultures of the world. The Field of Religious Studies is multicultural, i.e., religions from all over the world are the subject of study, including the ancient traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as religious movements of more recent origin. Religious Studies is also multidisciplinary, which means that religion is studied with the use of methods and theories from various disciplines, including history, philosophy, sociology, psychology, literary theory, and feminist theory.
Courses in the Field of Religious Studies are divided into three streams: Western Religions, Eastern Religions, and the Nature of Religion. Religious Studies majors are required to choose one of the three streams of study as their area of concentration. A student may define a more narrow focus of study within a stream or thematically across streams. Majors are strongly advised to consult with the Department's Undergraduate Director sometime during or before their third year of study and to submit a written declaration of their research concentration within the Field of Religious Studies. Options for concentration include one of the three streams or a focus within or across the streams.
Students are strongly advised to include in their programs relevant language courses (e.g., Classical Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Classical Chinese, Japanese, French, German) and relevant courses from other disciplines.
For guidance on where to get program advice, see the Faculty of Arts website under . In general, questions about overall programs should be addressed to a Program Advisor in the Arts and Science Undergraduate Programs Office (), while questions about program details should be addressed to the Subject Advisor in the Department Office.
Admission to the Major
Prospective students wishing to enter the BA (Religious Studies) Program must meet the criteria in the section of this Calendar on A.2 “Admission Requirements” at the ݮƵ. Annual application deadlines are set in the Applications for Admission Schedule.
Admission to Honours
The Faculty of Arts procedures for Admission to Honours established in section 3.4.3 Honours Degrees with a Major Field are applicable and provide the overall framework. The application deadline is May 1.
Overlapping Programs
Programs in Religious Studies cannot be taken in conjunction with programs in either Religious Studies and Applied Ethics or Classical and Early Christian Studies. This restriction applies to Major-plus-Minor combinations, Double Majors, Combined Degrees and Second Baccalaureate Degrees.
Field of Religious Studies
The Field of Religious Studies consists of all courses labeled Religious Studies RELS, which are divided into Streams as follows:
Faculty of Arts