McMaster University Department of Religious Studies

10/02/2026

Yesterday, grad students, staff, and faculty enjoyed the inaugural Bread Break, enjoying good conversation, along with some local bread, cheese, and jam!

10/01/2026

Yesterday, Hanna Tervanotko and Jeremy Cohen led a group of students and faculty on a field trip to Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ontario. There they toured the Church of St. Joseph, saw the relics of the Canadian Martyrs, including the skull of St. Jean de Brébeuf, and visited Our Lady Undoer of Knots Grotto.

09/30/2026

Congratulations to Katharine Fitzgerald (PhD 2023) on the publication of her book, Women in Greco-Roman Jewish Novels (300 BCE–100 CE)!

https://sheffieldphoenix.com/product/women-in-greco-roman-jewish-novels-300-bce-100-ce/

09/28/2026

Adele Reinhartz (PhD 1983), Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, recently published an article entitled “Shared Scriptures, Shared Questions: Jewish Readings of the Christian Testament” in the Irish Theological Quarterly.

This article experiments with an empathetic reading strategy that focuses on the emotions, motivations, and concerns of the characters, including Jesus, within ...

09/25/2026

Check out Janine Nicol’s very positive review of Stephanie Balkwill’s (PhD 2015) 2024 book, The Women Who Ruled China: Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century!

https://journal.equinoxpub.com/BSR/article/view/36295/34966

09/24/2026

Justin Klassen (Ph.D. 2009) reflects on the abiding significance of Wendell Berry, who passed away on August 31, 2026, in The “Indispensable Justice” of Vocation: Remembering Wendell Berry.

Wendell Berry, who died at 92, was a profound thinker advocating for a redefined understanding of work, economy, and personal calling. His insights emphasize the importance of affection and meaning…

09/23/2026

Check out current PhD student Amir Abbas Salehi's new article, "Mediated Legitimacy and the Recalibration of Religious Authority in Post-2022 Iran," in a special issue of *Religions* devoted to the topic of Religion and Media Cultures in the Digital Public Sphere!

This article develops the concept of mediated legitimacy to examine how Shiʿi religious authority becomes credible, fragile, or contestable under platformed conditions in post-2022 Iran. Rather than treating digital media simply as new channels for religious authority, mediated legitimacy directs a...

09/21/2026

Check out Ali Imrie’s (BA 2017; Osgoode JD 2022) latest article, “Prov[ing] What You Already Know’: The Overreliance on Medical Evidence in Adjudicating Ontario Disability Support Program Applications,” in the Journal of Law and Social Policy!

https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/jlsp/vol38/iss1/6/

09/18/2026

Congratulations to Benjamin Goldstein on successfully defending his dissertation, “Weaving Lifetimes Together,” a critical, intertextual study of Jātaka anthologies composed by Tibetan masters that investigates the transmission of the Indian Buddhist narrative universe into Tibet. Well done, Dr. Goldstein!

09/17/2026

Eileen Schuller (Professor Emerita) recently participated in an online panel review of Rebecca L. Harris’s Religious Experience and Divinization in the Sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls, which was hosted by the Catholic Biblical Association!