Current Doctoral Students
Meet the students in the Religious Diversity in North America doctoral program. Learn more about their backgrounds, research interets, and what they are currently working on.
Malik Faisal Aslam
Faisal Aslam is a PhD student with a diverse academic background. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies and Geography, an MSc in Geography from the University of the Punjab, and an MA in Religion, Culture and Global Justice from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada.
For over two decades, Malik has been dedicated to community service, focusing on education, women's empowerment, and improving the quality of life for seniors.
His research investigates the extent to which different Islamic hermeneutic practices can influence the application of Islamic juristic laws. Additionally, he explores how these practices can impact ideological conflicts related to feminism, LGBTQ issues, religious minority rights, and Islamophobia.
Supervisor: Dr. Ali Zaidi
Azmat Abbas Butt
PhD Candidate
MA (Political Science, Punjab University, Pakistan); MBA-HRM (PIMSAT Pakistan); MA (Religion, Culture and Global Justice, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2019)
Azmat’s research investigates the growing impact of anti-blasphemy ideologies on the Pakistani diaspora in Canada and the challenges to freedom of expression, multiculturalism, social integration, and national security. After completing fieldwork in Pakistan and North America, Azmat is currently in the dissertation writing stage.
Supervisor: Dr. Ali Hassan Zaidi
Zahra Jafer
PhD Student
Honours BA., 2016 (Conflict Studies; University of Ottawa & Saint Paul University); M.A, 2019 (Conflict Studies; University of Ottawa & Saint Paul University)
Research interests: Religion, History, Interfaith dialogue, Lived religion, Intersectionality, Post-colonial theory.
Zahra’s research focuses on complex religious experiences of affiliated minority groups in North America, and their challenges to maintain an equilibrium of faith and modernity within the context of ‘double consciousness’. Her fieldwork will include a series of comprehensive interviews with several affiliates from various religious groups in Eastern Ontario, which will examine dimensions of their relationship towards faith, identity, institution and community.
Supervisor: Dr. Abderrahman Beggar
Sahver Kuzucuoglu
PhD Candidate
B.Sc. (University of Waterloo); M.A. (Religion and Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University); M.A. (Cultural Analysis and Social Theory, Wilfrid Laurier University)
Sahver Kuzucuoglu holds a Masters Degree in Religion and Culture, a second MA in Cultural Analysis and Social Theory, and is currently a PhD candidate in Religious Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. Sahver has worked for many years as an Interpreter/Translator in the settlement of new Canadians in Southern Ontario fueled by her passion for volunteerism, multiculturalism, community, decoloniality, pluraversality, and intercultural dialogue. Her current research areas include Turkish Cultural Studies, Sufi Studies, Islam in North America, Multiculturalism, and the identity negotiation of the ‘minority within a minority.’
Supervisor: Dr. Meena Sharify-Funk
Xochi Luna Morales
PhD Candidate
Xochiquetzal Luna Morales is a Doctoral Candidate in Religious Diversity in North America at Wilfrid Laurier University, where she also completed a master’s degree in Religion, Culture, and Global Justice. Luna Morales previously obtained a doctoral and a master’s degree in Journalism from Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia. Her current research focuses on exploring the intersection of media and religion, specifically Catholic Faith-Based Organizations and journalism in Mexico and Russia.
Supervisor: Dr. Edmund Pries
Kaitlin McCartney
PhD Candidate
Honours BA, 2013: Religion and Culture; English, Wilfrid Laurier University & Philipps-Universität Marburg
Post Graduate Diploma in Education, 2015: The University of the West of Scotland
MEd, 2018: Wilfrid Laurier University
Research Interests: Islam, Christianity, religious conversion, Muslim identity, interfaith dialogue, lived religion, Canadian religious landscape.
Kate's research delves into the complex experiences of religious conversion, specifically focusing on individuals who have converted from Christianity to Islam. Her work explores how these individuals navigate and negotiate their faith, identity, and social relationships within the Canadian context. By examining the lived religious experiences of individuals who have embraced Islam, Kate aims to explore the personal and social dynamics that influence their spiritual journeys. Kate is working on her dissertation, which explores these themes and contributes to a deeper understanding of religious conversion, interfaith dynamics, and Islam’s place in a contemporary and multicultural society.
Supervisor: Dr. Meena Sharify-Funk
Hajrah Mumtaz
PhD Student
MA (English Literature, 1997, PU); MA (Anthropology of the Media, 2003, SOAS); MA (Religion, Culture and Global Justice, 2023, WLU).
With an extensive background in print journalism, Hajrah’s research interests lie in forms of ‘colonisations’, violence, and ideology-driven contestations over space and identities, explored through the lens of dystopian pop-culture.
Supervisor: Dr. Abderrahman Beggar
Ryan Séguin
PhD Student
B.R.E., 2006 (Arts and Biblical Studies, Emmanuel Bible College); B.A., 2009 (History, Wilfrid Laurier University); M.A., 2013 (Christian Studies, Martin Luther University College); Winner, Academic Award of Excellence, 2013 (MLUC); Winner, Charlotte and Otto W. Heick Award for Best work in Systematic Theology, 2013 (MLUC)
Ryan’s background is in systematic theology and Modern Catholic thought around transcendental Thomism and liberation theology. His research focuses mainly on secular/post-secular belief in North America and on the spiritual turn. Influenced greatly by the Metamodernists, Charles Taylor, and Karl Rahner, Ryan’s project proposes new belief structures, especially among millennials and Gen Z's, made evident through an examination the mystical/high-strangeness/weird contemporary paranormal phenomenon on social digital spaces.
Supervisor: Dr. Kevin Burrell
Kinsey Spence
PhD Student
Honours B.A., 2017 (Conflict Studies and Human Rights, minor in History, University of Ottawa); M.A., 2024 (Religion, Culture, and Global Justice, Wilfrid Laurier University)
Kinsey’s research interest is focused on the culture created by refugees who have settled in North America and the role religion plays in the resilience of refugees. Specifically, her work examines how religion has contributed to maintaining hope and optimism throughout their lives and experiences.
Supervisors: Stacey Wilson-Forsberg and Abderrahman Beggar