Religious Studies (PhD)

The PhD is designed to take four years for completion. Students must enrol in the program full-time, be available for classes and regular on-campus consultation for at least the first two calendar years, and complete a minimum of six terms beyond the Master of Arts (MA).

Students are expected to proceed through the program in a timely fashion. Normally, students must complete the course work and finish their proposal in the first year; comprehensive exams in the second year; and the dissertation project in the third and fourth years. The responsibilities of the supervisor and the supervisory committee notwithstanding, the candidate is responsible for ensuring that program requirements and deadlines are met in a timely fashion.

The degree requires a minimum of four courses beyond the MA. Students are required to take RE700 and RE710, both doctoral-level research seminars, as well as two electives. Depending on a student’s goals and admission assessment, additional course work may be required. Doctoral students must achieve at least a B in each course.

Students must demonstrate reading knowledge of a second language relevant to the field and/or the dissertation. If the topic of the dissertation makes knowledge of a third language essential, the candidate must demonstrate competence in this language as well. Students are not permitted to begin their dissertation until all language requirements are met.

The proposal is a written document outlining the dissertation project. The proposal must be formally accepted by both the student’s supervisory committee and the joint PhD committee before proceeding to the comprehensive examinations and dissertation project. Subsequent, substantive changes in the proposal must be approved by the supervisory committee and the program director.

There are two examinations, each based on a bibliography constructed by faculty in consultation with the student. The purpose of the general exam is to ensure breadth and to assess competence in the religious diversity of North America and in religious studies. The purpose of the field exam is to focus an area of specialization containing the dissertation project. The general exam is conducted by the joint committee, whereas the field exam is conducted by the student's supervisory committee.

A candidate has only two opportunities to complete each of the examinations successfully. These examinations should take place by the end of the candidate's second year in the doctoral program.

To be permitted to take the examinations at a later time, a candidate must petition the director for an extension. Extensions are normally granted only once and then, only for one term.

The dissertation project consists of three required, closely related parts: the dissertation, the public presentation, and the dissertation defence. Students must pass all three. Evaluations, carried out by the supervisory committee, take into consideration the mastery of both style and content.

The doctoral dissertation is an piece of research (approximately 50,000-90,000 words in length) aimed at making an original contribution to the study of religion. The dissertation must be crafted for publication as a book, although actual publication is not a degree requirement. This way of fulfilling the dissertation requirement is a distinctive feature of the program, and guidelines are available from the director. The dissertation is prepared in consultation with the supervisory committee, which includes the candidate's supervisor acting as chair, along with two other faculty members, one of whom may be a member of a non-religious studies department.

The public presentation is a second distinctive feature of the Laurier-Waterloo PhD in religious studies. The presentation must be accessible to the public, open to questioning and debate, and subject to faculty evaluation. This presentation may take various formats and must demonstrate the candidate’s ability to make the results of research publicly intelligible and engaging for a diverse, educated but non-specialist audience. The public presentation is held in a venue and at a time different from that of the dissertation defence. Holding it in an off-campus location is preferable. Evaluation is on a pass/fail basis, and a pass is required to complete the degree. Evaluation of such presentations is by the supervisory committee on the basis of a set of criteria available from the program director. A candidate who fails may attempt the presentation only one additional time.

The dissertation defence, which is distinct from the public presentation, is an oral review and evaluation of the dissertation. Prior to the defence, an examining committee is established. It includes the supervisory committee plus an internal examiner from another department at either university. A chair (from the university in which the student is registered) and an external examiner (from another university) are appointed by the appropriate dean of graduate studies. The supervisory committee recommends external examiners to the dean of graduate studies. The decision of the examining committee is based on the dissertation and the candidate's ability to defend it orally. A candidate who fails may attempt the presentation only one additional time.

• Rigotti, Elizabeth (2018). The Indulgence of Professionalization: Adoption Services, Maternity Homes, and Catholic Negotiations in American Society, 1895-1990 (Supervisor: Carol Duncan).
• Dewji, Sahir (2018). Beyond Muslim Xenophobia and Contemporary Parochialism: Aga Khan IV, the Ismā‘īlīs, and the Making of a Cosmopolitan Ethic (Supervisor: Meena Sharify-Funk)
• Anningson, Ryan (2017). Theories of the Self, Race, and Essentialization in Buddhism in the United States during the "Yellow Peril," 1899-1957 (Supervisor: Jason Neelis).
• Brown, Rachel D. (2017). Immigration, Integration and Ingestion: The Role of Food and Drink in Transnational Experience for North African Muslim Immigrants in Paris and Montreal (Supervisor: Michel Desjardins).
• Armstrong, Suzanne (2015). The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario: Integrating Christian Principles with the Practicality of Farming (Supervisor: Michel Desjardins).
• McKeen, Leah (2015). Canadian Christian Nationalism?: The Religiosity and Politics of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada (Supervisors: Jeff Wilson and Paul Freston).
• Xavier, Merin Shobhana (2015). Masjids, Ashrams and Mazars: Transnational Sufism and the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship (Supervisor: Meena Sharify-Funk).
• Albarghouthi, Ali (2013). Interpreting on the fault lines: Ijtihad and religious interpretation among Muslim academics and community leaders in North America (Supervisor: Meena Sharify-Funk).
• Amarasingam, Amarnath (2013). Pain, pride, and politics: Social movement activism and the Sri Lankan tamil diaspora in Canada (Supervisor: Lorne Dawson).
• Dickson, William Rory (2012). Living Sufism in North America: Between tradition and transformation. (Supervisor: Meena Sharify-Funk).
• Price, Lauren T. (2012). Regulation of Religious Others within the Zero Institution of Canadian Multiculturalism, a critical cultural psychoanalytic study (Supervisor: Chris Ross).
• Weston, Ryan (2012). It's not like going to church and singing a hymn: Performance, Identity, and Canadian Gospel Music (Supervisor: Carol Duncan).
• White, Marybeth (2012). Enlivening the Buddha: Laying the foundations for the re-creation of Lao Buddhism in Canada (Supervisor: Janet McLellan).
• Bhikkhu, Deba Mitra (2011). Dhamma Education: The transmission and reconfiguration of the Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition in Toronto (Supervisor: Kay Koppedrayer).
• Chandler, Siobhan (2011). The Social Ethic of Religiously Unaffiliated Spirituality (Supervisor: Lorne Dawson).
• Hagerman, Brent (2011). You can't go to Zion with a Carnal Mind: Slackness and Culture in the music of King Yellowman (Supervisor: Carol Duncan).
• Pearse, Holly A. (2010). But Where Will They Build Their Nest? Liberalism and Communitarian Resistance in American Cinematic Portrayals of Jewish-Gentile Romances (Supervisor: Faydra Shapiro).
• Atkinson, Andrew P. (2009). Saltwater sacraments and backwoods sins: Contemporary Atlantic Canadian literature and the rise of literary Catholicism (Supervisor: Peter Erb).
• Campbell, Patricia Q. (2009). Knowing Body, Moving Mind: Ritualizing and learning in two Buddhist centres in Toronto (Supervisor: Ron Grimes).

• Emory-Moore, Christopher (2019). Renunciation and the Householder/Renouncer Relation in the New Kadampa Tradition (Supervisor: Jeff Wilson)
• Brassard, Brooke (2018). Thirsty Land into Springs of Water: Negotiating a Place in Canada as Latter-day Saints, 1887-1947 (Supervisor: Jeff Wilson).
• Celestini, Carmen (2018). God, Country, and Christian Conservatives: The National Association of Manufacturers, the John Birch Society, and the Rise of the Christian Right (Supervisor: Scott Kline).
• Morlock, Laura (2018). How it Seams: Religious Dress, Multiculturism, and Identity Performance in Canadian Society, 1910-2017 (Supervisor: Jeff Wilson).
• Dyer-Witheford, Anne (2017). Neospirituality, Social Change, and the Culture of the Post-Fordist Workplace (Supervisors: Lorne Dawson and David Seljak).
• Schuurman, Peter (2016). Bruxy Cavey and The Meeting House Megachurch: A Dramaturgical Model of Charismatic Leadership Performing "Evangelicism for People not into Evangelicism" (Supervisor: Doug Cowan).
• Bekkering, Dennis (2015). Drag Queens and Farting Preachers: American Televangelism, Participatory Media, and Unfaithful Fandoms (Supervisor: Doug Cowan).
• Read, Jamie Ann (2015). "J'y Suis. Pour de Bon." Montreal Jewish Education and the Social Construction of Diaspora Identity (Supervisor: David Seljak).
• Cutting, Christopher (2014). Sharia and Constraint: Practices, Policies, and Responses to Faith-based Arbitration in Ontario (Supervisor: David Seljak).
• Puett, Tiffany (2014). The Political Discourse of Religious Pluralism: World Religions Textbooks, Liberalism, and Civic Identities (Supervisor: David Seljak).
• Shrubsole, Nicholas (2013). Religion, Land and Democracy in Canadian Indigenous-State Relations (Supervisor: Scott Kline).
• Stewart, Adam (2012). Quenching the Spirit: The Transformation of Religious Identity and Experience in Three Canadian Pentecostal Churches (Supervisor: David Seljak).
• Patrick, Margaretta (2011). Playing for Keeps: The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in the Public Sphere, 1983-2006 (Supervisor: Scott Kline).
• Feltmate, David S. (2010). Springfield’s Sacred Canopy: Religion and Humour in the Simpsons (Supervisor: Doug Cowan).
• Benham-Rennick, Joanne (2008). Religion in the Ranks: Religion in the Canadian Forces in the 21st Century (Supervisor: David Seljak).

• A Master of Arts in religious studies or related field with a minimum A- standing.
• Applications are reviewed by the graduate program committee, which considers all prior university grades, a statement of research interests and letters of reference.
• Contact a prospective advisor prior to submitting your application.
• Review any additional requirements/considerations applicable as an international applicant.

The first round of applications is considered in early January. Thereafter, applications will continue to be considered until the program is full. If applying after the first phase of applications is considered in early January, consult the graduate coordinator directly to enquire about further openings in the program. We have had a significant amount of interest in our program during the past two years, so we strongly encourage prospective students to apply prior to the deadline.

After you have submitted your OUAC application, paid the non-refundable application fee, and Laurier has received your application, you'll receive an email from gradadmissions@wlu.ca advising you to upload the additional required documentation to Laurier’s Online Registration and Information System (LORIS).

Please note, the application process and the uploading of supplemental documentation, which includes references, typically takes two weeks. To avoid disappointment, apply early.

An application for admission to our PhD program in Religious Studies must include:

• The Application Summary, which is generated after you complete your OUAC application (log back in to OUAC to retrieve it).
• Transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work. Documents must be dated within the past six months.
• A completed statement of intent.
• A resume of your academic and work experience. Include a history of your publication and scholarly paper activity and any other information you feel will interest the admissions committee.
• A sample of your scholarly writing (10-20 pages in length). This may be a chapter of your master's thesis or a paper written for a graduate course.
• Completed reference forms. Three academic references are required. Note: Reference forms are electronically submitted to Laurier by the referee and do not need to be uploaded.
• A completed Authorization of Information Release (AIR) form is required if you have engaged the services of an education agent/agency. Upload it to your application checklist when you identify your agent in the OUAC application. Visit Step 2 for more information about the AIR.

Visit our Graduate Admissions Toolkit for more information about applying.

The Department of Religion and Culture welcomes international students to the PhD Program. International students who have confirmed funding from a third-party, such as their employer or a scholarship program in their home country, will be considered for admission.

Proficiency in written and spoken English is essential to graduate studies at Laurier. Applicants whose language of instruction during their previous postsecondary education was not in English must submit evidence of proficiency in English. If applicable, results from accepted testing services must be uploaded to LORIS.