Timetable Builder lists the current Religion courses that are being offered in a given acadmic session. For a complete list of Religion undergraduate courses, see our Faculty of Arts & Science Academic Calendar entry. Please keep in mind that not all courses listed in the Calendar are offered in a given year.
Faculty of Arts & Science Academic Calendar - Religion
Special Topics and by-application courses, if offered, are listed below with their descriptions and more information.
Questions? Please contact the Undergraduate Administrator at religion.undergrad@utoronto.ca.
RLG239H1S Special Topics: Introduction to Modern Philosophy of Religion
Description: This course studies basic writings of foundational figures in European Philosophy of Religion. These include Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, Hegel and Marx. Topics include rational approaches to religious concepts, the interface of religious thinking and political order, skepticism concerning religious explanations of the world, and dialectical historical approaches to rethinking religious ideals and values.
RLG411H1S Advanced Topics in Religion: Mystical Poetics
Description: This course will consider some of the consummate poet-mystics of Western Christianity, including Iacopone, Dante, Hadewijch, Silesius, Traherne, and Blake. It will examine how the recording of mystical experience in poetic form allows the mystical writer to achieve a result not otherwise possible in discursive communication. Readings will explore how, through the practice of mystical poetry, language becomes approximate and playful, capable of giving presence to absence, materiality to the immaterial, and lexicon to the non-lexical. It is recommended that graduate students have some facility in at least one language in addition to language of instruction (Italian, Dutch, German).
RLG468H1S Special Topics in Buddhism: Transnational Buddhism
Description: How and why do Buddhists move across borders, and what builds transnational Buddhist networks? Since its emergence in 5th century BCE India, Buddhism has traveled through people, texts, objects, and ideas, actively shaping and being shaped by cross-cultural exchange. From ancient pilgrimages and monastic routes to modern diasporas and digital spaces, mobility has been central to its evolution. This course explores Buddhism’s transnational dimensions from philosophical, anthropological, and historical angles, examining how traditions are transmitted, adapted, and redefined. We’ll analyze Buddhist movements at both micro (individuals, families, sects, linguistic adaptations) and macro levels (imperial patronage, trade, migration, global institutions). Through primary sources and case studies, students will gain insight into Buddhism as a dynamic, border-crossing tradition that continually negotiates global adaptation and local continuity.
RLG471H1F Special Topics in Hinduism: Women in South Asian Religions
Description: In Indian society, the role models of the women can vary greatly today as in the past. To investigate diverse aspects of the roles of women in religion, the course will be organised around three main themes. In the lay life, we will examine the various images of virtue, practices of observance and acts of patronage; in the ascetic life, we will look at the role of saints and nuns and the debates about their access to salvation, which vary from tradition to tradition and from period to period; and in the divine world, we will study the positions of the goddesses and their specific functions.
RLG426H1S Religion in the Public Sphere: Community-Engaged Learning
Description: In a placement with a community partner, students are given an opportunity to learn about and reflect upon the ways that religion and religious diversity shape public life. How do individuals and organizations recognize and negotiate the intersections of religious diversity, culture, and public space in the context of engaging with public policy? Through critical classroom discussions, readings, reflections, and meaningful work for and with front-line community partners, community-engaged learning offers students the opportunity to integrate academic knowledge with experiences outside the classroom, to challenge themselves, and to explore their values and future directions.
Application Process: Interested students must complete the online application form to indicate their interest in and expectations of community engaged learning, as well as any previous volunteer/co-op-internship experience they may have had. Following submission of student applications, the course instructor(s) will contact student applicants individually to conduct a brief informational interview. Interviews will be conducted, at which time students will be enrolled by the department.
Independent Studies Courses
RLG490Y1 | RLG491H1 | RLG492H1 | RLG493H1 | RLG494Y1
Description: Independent Study Courses allow Religion specialists and majors to pursue individualized research projects under the supervision of a DSR faculty member. Students must secure their own DSR faculty supervisor before applying. Please see our Independent Study Course page for more information.
Notes on the Timetable, Enrollment Regulations and Procedures
- If a course has a tutorial, they are mandatory and it is the student's responsibility to enrol in a TUT section.
- Take note of the delivery methods of the course.
- If you are on the waitlist for a course, it will count towards your maximum course and term load.
- For more detailed information on course enrolment, please review the Course Enrolment page on the Faculty of Arts & Science website.
UTM and UTSC Timetables
Please note that UTM and UTSC courses do not automatically count towards completion of a RLG program. If you have taken or are planning on taking a course at another campus and would like it to count exceptionally towards your program requirements, please email the Undergraduate Administrator at religion.undergrad@utoronto.ca. You can view UTM and UTSC courses on Timetable Builder.