05/19/2026
Food connects us to time, people, places, traditions. This is perhaps particularly significant for diaspora communities. Join us Wednesday for the final CSRS summer lecture as Simi Kang explores food as practice.
Canada's leading centre for scholarly research at the intersection of religion and society. We have no affiliation with any religion and no religious agenda.
We offer paid fellowships for students, faculty, and artists, host free, weekly public lectures, and conduct collaborative, critical research. The CSRS is a community of academics dedicated to the scholarly study of religion in relation to all aspects of human society, from law and politics to family and culture to history, the sciences and the arts. We are equally interested in Eastern, Western, ancient and contemporary religions, as well as cultural and textual studies.
05/19/2026
Food connects us to time, people, places, traditions. This is perhaps particularly significant for diaspora communities. Join us Wednesday for the final CSRS summer lecture as Simi Kang explores food as practice.
05/11/2026
Join us Wednesday for a lecture and discussion with Rory Dickson (UWinnipeg) on Sufism as philosophy and spiritual practice. Online or in person. The University of Winnipeg
05/03/2026
A fun change of pace this week with UVic scholar and librarian Matthew Huculak. Where did our libraries and their systems come from, and where are they headed? And what does religion have to do with either? Join us Wednesday for the next instalment in our summer series. Please note the noon start time. UVic Humanities UVic History Department
04/27/2026
In Nigeria, the realm of reproductive health is fraught; providers have to be concerned about the welfare of their clients, but also wider religious, cultural, legal and political battles over norms and expectations. Aminat Muibi (UVic, Business) introduces us to the challenges this Wednesday in the next instalment our Spring Lecture Series. Join us!
04/21/2026
What can Buddhist monks tell us about navigating thorny issues of religion and law? Join us as visiting scholar Ben Schonthal describes some of the challenges and lessons from Southern Asia. In-person only.
04/13/2026
Thailand promotes religious freedom, but Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang (Chulalongkorn University) argues that authorities use criminal laws to suppress non-conventional interpretations of Buddhism. Join us in the Law Library (FRA A145) at 1:00pm.
03/23/2026
We're so excited to celebrate our fantastic CSRS artists-in-residence, Melanie Siebert and Neil Griffin. Join us Thursday for presentation of their work, and discussion of the artistic process. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP on our Eventbrite page (via our events page: uvic.ca/csrs/events).
03/16/2026
Excited to hear from Shubham Arora, the Harold Coward India Research Fellow, on the timeless topic of sexual pleasure. Join us tomorrow morning in Fraser 152 at UVic or online (join Zoom via our events page: uvic.ca/csrs/events). Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives UVic Humanities
03/09/2026
Sneek preview--our Distinguished Lecture in Islam is coming up Thursday, March 19th. Register now at uvic.ca/csrs/events!
03/09/2026
We're excited to welcome Suad Ahmed to the Scholars in the Square lecture series this week. Suad takes a nuanced look at the experience of racialized Muslim youth from immigrant families as they negotiate complex identity dynamics in Canadian culture. Join us! uvic.ca/csrs/events. York University - Faculty of Education
| Monday | 9am - 5pm |
| Tuesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 5pm |
| Friday | 9am - 5pm |