The Department for the Study of Religion (DSR) is a vibrant site of research and teaching where you can study diverse religious and spiritual traditions in their historical, cultural, political, and textual contexts. As a religion department located in one of the most multi-religious and multi-cultural cities in the world, our undergraduate courses attract a remarkably wide range of students curious about religion and how to study it in university. Our courses cover numerous traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Indigenous spiritualities, Islam, and Judaism, and also focus on existential questions, such as the nature of happiness, narratives of creation, evil and suffering, and love, sex and family. Some of our students may have grown up with religious traditions while many have no religious affiliation or background whatsoever; every student is welcome in our classes.
Our courses equip you with the critical and methodological skills, writing ability, and language training that you need. DSR students learn to ask how power, creativity, and contestation are central to religion and to examine how religion is connected to other categories of experience such as gender, sexuality, and racialization. DSR undergraduate students combine religion programs and courses with a wide variety of other programs of study, including environmental studies, political science, computer science, women and gender studies, and college programs such as international relations and cognitive science.
We are happy to answer your questions about the DSR. Please contact the Associate Chair, Undergraduate, Srilata Raman at s.raman@utoronto.ca, as well as Undergraduate Program Assistant, Phoebe To at religion.undergrad@utoronto.ca, with any questions you may have.