Master's Program
Religion, Culture and Global Justice (MA)
Welcome to the Religion, Culture and Global Justice MA program! Our innovative Master of Arts (MA) combines the fields of Religion & Culture and Global Studies to examine how religious thinkers, traditions, practices, and ideologies inform global processes, social movements, intercultural interactions, community formation, individual identity, and other aspects of contemporary life.
Through academic study and interdisciplinary analysis of religions, cultures and global issues, RCGJ students deepen their understanding of the global contexts of religious and cultural content. Our seminars provide training in relevant methods and theories at the graduate level thereby encouraging students to develop strong inter-cultural competencies for confronting global and local level changes, challenges, and transformations--particularly as they relate to broader questions and understandings of justice.
We are committed to creative teaching and strive to foster the spirit of free inquiry, the determination to pose probing questions, and the critical skills and knowledge you will need to succeed.
The RCGJ program draws upon the shared faculty strengths, research specializations, and teaching and advising interests of the Religion & Culture and Global Studies departments.
The two departments also have ties to the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA).
Faculty Research Areas
Active scholars, faculty members in the Department of Religion and Culture have expertise in fields that include:
- Global Christianity
- Christian origins
- Islam, especially contemporary Islamic thought
- African diasporic religions
- South Asian religions
- Caribbean religions
- Aboriginal religions
- Buddhism in North America
- Religion among immigrant and refugee communities
- Multiculturalism
- Psychology and religion
- Religion and popular culture
- Food and religion
- Gender, sexuality and religion
Program Options
MA students in Religion, Culture and Global Justice have options for completing the program with a major research paper (MRP) or a thesis. Students are initially admitted to the MRP option, which includes the option of a supervised internship. Admission to the thesis option is granted upon the successful completion during the Fall or Winter term of an accepted thesis proposal.