UNews - Department of Religious Studies

In a first for the U of L, a religious studies scholar wins a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship

caroline.zentner — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 17:37:03 +0000

Dr. Shayne Dahl (BA ’07), who was a sessional instructor in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Department of Religious Studies until the end of April, has been awarded a prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, one of only 70 awarded across Canada and a first for the U of L.

Photo by Rob Olson, courtesy of Lethbridge College

The two-year fellowship worth $140,000 provides funding to postdoctoral fellows who will positively contribute to the country’s economic, social and research-based growth.

“We are excited to host our first Banting Postdoctoral Researcher,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, U of L vice-president research. “Banting Fellowships are awarded in recognition of high-quality research and researchers, as well as the research environment and quality of experience available. This award reflects Shayne’s excellent scholarship and the strength of the support he’ll receive from the department and his supervisor, Dr. John Harding.”

As a Banting Postdoctoral Researcher, Dahl will study global Shugendō practices and how they intersect with Indigenous beliefs and practices. Shugendō is an ancient Japanese religion that involves mountain worship, asceticism and ancestor veneration that has seen renewed interest in recent years, both in Japan and around the globe. Dahl wants to look at how Shugendō is practiced in other regions.

“Do Shugendō practitioners just go to Japan and worship Japanese mountains, or are they going to start worshipping the natural landscape in their home countries?” says Dahl. “If they’re going to start worshipping the natural landscape in their home countries, what are the Indigenous politics of that land and how do they entangle with that? These are some of the questions that my proposal focused on.”

Dahl, who’s currently completing a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded postdoctoral fellowship in religious studies at McMaster ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, has also received the Reischauer Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship in Japanese Studies at Harvard ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. He’s the first scholar who received a PhD in Canada to win the award in more than 20 years. Beginning Sept. 1, he’ll spend the next year at Harvard and start work on his Shugendō project and then return to the U of L to complete the project.

“Shugendō is starting to catch traction everywhere, and in its travels, it’s picking up and losing different components,” says Dahl. “So, it’s sort of becoming something new, even though it retains its old name, but what does Shugendō mean in the 21st century? That's the question I'm going to try and answer.”

U of L religious studies researcher to examine roots of religious tolerance

caroline.zentner — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 17:45:05 +0000

Dr. Jennifer Otto, a professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, will go back 500 years to delve into the events that eventually led to modern-day human rights, thanks to a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

The free church movement had its origins during the Radical Reformation, which began in the 1520s. Groups such as Mennonites, Hutterites and free evangelical or Baptist congregations believed the church should be separate from state institutions.

“This is now a foundation of modern human rights, the idea that people should have freedom of conscience to practice their religious beliefs how they wish without state interference,” says Otto. “In the 1520s, this was not the case. In fact, quite the opposite. To step out of the state church was punishable by death.”

Wanting to be outside the state church was seen as being disloyal to both the church and the state. It led to a series of judicial persecutions or prosecutions in the court system and the execution of people who had advocated for a separation from the state church. The 1500s were a period of intense religious persecutions on all sides, with protestants persecuting Catholics, Catholics persecuting protestants and both Catholics and protestants persecuting the free-church advocates.

From the 1520s to the beginning of the 17th century, more than 2,000 religious dissenters faced judicial execution in central Europe for the crime of permitting themselves to be rebaptized. These Anabaptists believed they should be baptized as adults because religion should be an individual’s free choice rather than something one is born into. The persistent threat of persecution resulted in many early Anabaptist groups developing what has been called a ‘martyrological consciousness.’ They saw themselves as reliving the experiences of early Christians.

With the upcoming 500th anniversary of the Radical Reformation, Otto’s project, titled Remembering Anabaptist Martyrs, will delve into the concept of martyrdom and how it has evolved over the centuries.

“There’s a general interest, I think, in understanding the roots of this idea of religious tolerance and the idea of separation of church and state that really starts in the 1500s,” says Otto. “My project is also a broader study of how different minority groups can feel themselves to be outsiders and be persecuted within majority Christian societies. In addition, I’m looking at the concept of martyrdom and how it has evolved over a really long period of time.”

Otto plans to examine how Anabaptist martyrs related to early church martyrs, through older martyr literature and their interpretation of their own experiences. She’ll also look at how the sense of being part of a martyred tradition has affected Anabaptists over the past 500 years, in terms of their relationship to the larger church and society. Part of the project involves looking at how contemporary Anabaptists or free-church Christians are remembering the 500th anniversary and retelling the stories of the first Anabaptists and martyrs of the 16th century.

In the wake of such events as the Columbine school shooting and the 9-11 terror attacks, scholars who study martyrs and persecution began focusing on the role of the community in determining who qualifies as a martyr. They took a step back, particularly after 9-11, to examine how judgements about martyrs are made and the criteria for defining a legitimate versus an illegitimate martyr.

“It’s the community and not the manner of death itself that makes someone a martyr,” says Otto. “There is no one stable set of criteria that can be used to define a martyr, rather martyrdom is something that happens through the commemoration. Communities choose their martyrs and remember them as such and it’s in that process of remembering and commemoration that a death becomes a martyrdom.”

In the 16th century, from the perspective of church and state officials, the Anabaptists were not martyrs — they were traitors and potentially dangerous criminals. Thus, one person’s martyr is another person’s terrorist, whether in the 16th or the 21st century.

“As we enter into a big anniversary like this one, I’d like to know how Catholics, Lutheran and Reformed Christians, and Anabaptists remember these events together, given that we now all live in one multi-religious, multicultural and tolerant society,” says Otto. “How do these different perspectives of looking at these same events fit together? How can we share a common memory?”

The grant enables Otto to hire two undergraduate research assistants. In addition, and depending on travel restrictions, Otto plans to visit libraries and other archives in Europe to examine early manuscripts and books. She’ll also look at denominational publications over the last century to see how the idea of the martyr develops over time. In the planning stages is a community-focused conference where leaders can discuss the process of remembering, the legacy of the Radical Reformation, the idea of separation of church and state and freedom of conscience. The timing of the conference will depend on COVID restrictions.

The Department of Religious Studies at the U of L is small, with only five faculty members, but mighty. Along with Otto, Drs. Hilary Rodrigues and John Harding hold SSHRC grants.

Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies goes to religious studies major

caroline.zentner — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 18:39:59 +0000

Jessica Knoop-Lentz (BA ’19) was inspired to write about Buddhist ecology and her efforts netted her this year’s Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies worth $1,000.

“I was very excited and incredibly grateful. Since I’ve been on maternity leave, it was a very welcome gift,” says Knoop-Lentz, who is mother to a six-month-old baby boy. “This was by no means the result of my efforts alone. I was several months pregnant, planning my wedding and doing my honours thesis all at the same time. I had amazing support from friends and family, so me winning this prize is also a celebration of them.”

Knoop-Lentz majored in religious studies and minored in Asian studies and anthropology, subject areas that were far from her original starting point.

“When I was at Lethbridge College, I took Introduction to World Religions and Buddhism,” she says. “When I was writing my papers and going to class, it came so naturally. Originally, I wanted to be a vet and now I want to teach religious studies.”

Originally from the Crowsnest Pass, Knoop-Lentz moved to Lethbridge about a decade ago. When she enrolled at the U of L, Knoop-Lentz started taking classes with Dr. John Harding, a professor in the Department of Religious Studies.

“Eventually, it just solidified my interest in religious studies,” she says. “I was working really hard to do OK in biology, but religious studies felt effortless. I switched majors and went with what I was passionate about.”

Her paper, titled Shades of Green: A Consideration of the Multiple Perspectives on Buddhist Ecology, was written for Harding’s class on Buddhism and science. While Knoop-Lentz didn’t need the course credit, she signed up purely because she was interested.

“Buddhism is often seen as the most scientifically compatible religion. Some people would even say the Buddha was a scientist because he sought to understand the world and how it works,” she says. “Buddhists view all things as interconnected. There’s also the concept of karma, which is the idea that by doing good in this life, you’re planting seeds for your future lives or later in this life.”

But everyone has a different idea about what is good. Would a Buddhist agree to killing off a diseased population of animals if it saves the greater forest or should the lives of individual animals be considered?

“The answers to those questions depend on who you ask,” says Knoop-Lentz. “No Buddhist is ever just a Buddhist. They could be farmers or mothers and that will factor into their decision making.”

Prize adjudicators, Drs. Trevor Harrison and Richard Mueller, commended Knoop-Lentz on a well-written paper that explores the compatibility of Buddhist teachings with modern western-based approaches to ecology. While traditional Buddhism often emphasized the inward search for enlightenment, Knoop-Lentz shows that ecological elements were already present. She demonstrates that variations of Buddhist teachings were connected with local ecological circumstances and economies.

The Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies was established by Dr. Bonnie Lee, a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, to honour the memory of her husband. Michael Chan was a Chinese-Canadian scientist and humanitarian.

Two students share this year’s Michael Chan prize

caroline.zentner — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 17:57:49 +0000

Two unique projects earned Rutika Gandhi (BA’14) and Fallan Curtis wins in this year’s Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies.

The annual prize, named after Michael Wing-Cheung Chan (1952 – 2001), is given to continuing undergraduate or graduate students in any degree program with an interest in Asia-focused scholarship, research or projects. Chan was a Canadian Chinese scientist and humanitarian known for his brilliance in mathematics and his passion for promoting Canada-Asia understanding.

As this year’s winners, Gandhi and Curtis receive $500 each — Gandhi for her essay looking at Buddhism in the digital world, and Curtis for her photo essay comparing biomedicine (Western medicine) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Curtis, an undergraduate student, participated in Dr. Bonnie Lee’s ‘Health and Culture in China’ field

study course. In the beginning, Curtis planned her project around comparing the health systems in Canada and China but first-hand experience with the Chinese system changed the focus.

While the field study group was in Hangzhou, Curtis started feeling unwell. The pain intensified, centering in the lower right quadrant of her abdomen and appendicitis was suspected. As her condition worsened, Curtis sought treatment at a hospital. Language proved to be a barrier despite the services of a translator. However, Curtis understood she needed to provide a deposit before treatment could begin. She made emergency calls to family members and secured the deposit. Tests confirmed the infection.

“Basically, over the course of five days, I received copious amounts of antibiotics intravenously and different tests,” she says. “Once they found out that those antibiotics were working and decreasing my white blood cell count, they decided not to operate. If I had presented with the same symptoms here they would have operated immediately. Now that I have had it once, the likelihood of it re-occurring is quite high.”

Students in the field study also visited a TCM hospital and one of the doctors there gave her an acupuncture treatment for appendicitis.

“I don’t think this would have exactly been a productive treatment when the appendicitis was acute, but it was interesting after to get the opportunity to be cared for in a different way,” she says.

Curtis refocused her project and decided to use her experiences and information on the types of health-care systems in a photo essay. She learned that the younger generation in China is more supportive of modern scientific medicine and some people are concerned that TCM will disappear as a result. Integrated medicine, which blends TCM with biomedicine, is also becoming more prevalent.

“There are positives to TCM that biomedicine cannot account for,” she says. “I think one of the most important things TCM has to offer is a better patient-practitioner relationship. So, integrated medicine is a combination of both treatments and studies have shown it to be extremely effective.”

Curtis can’t say enough about the value of her field study experience. The sights, sounds and smells of being in another culture can’t be learned in a book. Winning the Michael Chan prize is a bonus.

“I’m quite honoured. The prize will help me out financially because of this costly trip, so that’s nice,” she says. “I really wanted to share my experiences and I was inspired by the interactive learning experience.”

Gandhi, a master’s student under the supervision of Dr. John Harding, found her niche in religious studies while she was an undergraduate. During a course on Asian religions and the West, Gandhi learned about different manifestations of Buddhism, depending on the country, sect and school. She also learned about the ways Buddhism has been re-interpreted in modern times, including in the digital world.

Gandhi became intrigued by Second Life, an online three-dimensional virtual reality game. Some locales in the game are Buddhist in nature so Gandhi signed up, created an avatar and explored the virtual Buddhist world. Participants can visit temples, burn incense, pray, meditate, do yoga, make donations to a temple and chat with other participants.

“It made me think ‘What does this mean?’ Is it replacing religious activities or is it just another way for Buddhists to connect with each other? Is it just part of globalization?” she says. “I did a bit of research and concluded that it’s not a way for Buddhists to replace offline religious activity; it’s just an extension of it.”

Issues that occur in the real world can also be reflected in the online world. Gandhi turned her attention to a forum known as E-sangha, a popular website that claimed to be transnational and not associated with any particular form of Buddhism.

“Every forum has guidelines that people need to follow or their profiles can be suspended or terminated. E-sangha followed the eight-fold path, which ties their website to some form of authenticity, but their guidelines forbade certain schools of Buddhism from joining, which went against the site’s claim that it was universal,” Gandhi says.

As modern Buddhism evolved from different places around the world, the dynamics between the monastics and laity changed. Traditionally, monks have been authority figures in Buddhism. Now lay people sometimes hold more sway in the online world and the current mindfulness movement in North America is led by mostly lay people and even some who are not Buddhists.

“Overall, what I’m trying to show is that the real world and the online world are not completely separate and that the online world does not replace the offline world. They sort of work in sync with each other and although the online world does not replace the offline world, it can extend some of the issues that are going on,” she says.

Winning the Michael Chan prize was unexpected but welcome news and the money will help her pay tuition fees.

“I always try to keep a positive outlook on things but I also don’t want to set myself up for disappointment,” Gandhi says. “I knew it was a good paper but when I actually saw the email that I won I was pleasantly surprised and really happy.”

U of L humanities researchers secure federal grants

caroline.zentner — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 16:31:45 +0000

Four ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge professors have been awarded more than $300,000 in research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

“This year’s SSHRC results reflect a high standard of excellence amongst our humanists and social scientists, of which we can be rightly proud,” says Dr. Claudia Malacrida, associate vice-president research. “These researchers’ projects touch on vital aspects of cultural, civil and social life and each of them richly deserves this recognition.”

Dr. Abdie Kazemipur, a U of L sociology professor, has been awarded more than $138,000 over four years for a research project called After the Ottawa Attack. Kazemipur will examine the integration of Muslims in Canada in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in Canada by Muslim converts. More details about his research project are available on the UNews website.

Dr. Fangfang Li, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge psychology professor, has received a grant worth more than $28,000. She and several fellow researchers at the U of L want to ensure the public has access to correct information about child language learning and are organizing a conference that will bring the various academic disciplines involved in child language acquisition research and the public together. The conference, to be hosted on a rotating basis with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, is planned to be an annual event. Check out the UNews website for more information.

Dr. Gloria Tian, an associate professor of finance at the U of L’s Calgary campus, and two fellow finance professors, will use their Insight Grant worth more than $94,000 to examine partnerships between corporations and the non-profit sector. Visit UNews to learn more about Tian’s project.

Dr. Hillary Rodrigues, a professor of Religious Studies, will investigate a growing component of the ‘spiritual but not religious’ group. The Modern Nondual Spirituality movement centres on the attainment of a key psychological realization where all conceptual dualities, especially those that distinguish the individual from the rest of reality, collapse. The movement hasn’t received much attention from religious scholars and Rodrigues plans to use his grant worth more than $43,000 to correct that situation. Further information on his study is outlined on UNews.

These grants will further knowledge in key areas of research that are of interest not only to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, but also to professionals and the public.

Rodrigues to investigate modern nondual spirituality

caroline.zentner — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 20:44:12 +0000

Sociological studies show the number of those who call themselves ‘spiritual but not religious’ (SBNR) has been outpacing those who identify with mainstream religious traditions in Canada.

A subset of SBNR groups is the Modern Nondual Spirituality (MNS) movement. Eckhart Tolle, the movement’s high profile teacher, lives in Canada. His books, including The Power of Now and A New Earth, have sold millions of copies. Even so, religious scholars have largely ignored MNS.

“The academic literature is anemic,” says Dr. Hillary Rodrigues, a professor of Religious Studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. “MNS is often included in New Religious Movements or New Age religions but little effort has been made to distinguish it from other very different movements within those categories.”

Thanks to an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) worth more than $43,000, Rodrigues aims to rectify that situation.

“My goal is to focus on this fast-growing contemporary phenomenon at this crucial emergent stage using religious studies theories and methods,” says Rodrigues. “The MNS movement provides us with a rare opportunity to study what might be a growing and eventually significant religious movement.”

MNS centres on the attainment of a key psychological realization where all conceptual dualities, especially those that distinguish the individual from the rest of reality, collapse. This nondual spiritual liberation is seen as necessary to achieve inner peace, mental health, social tolerance and a host of other personal and communal needs.

Nondual approaches to spirituality aren’t new; they’ve been a part of Hinduism and Buddhism for millennia. However, in the 21st century, adherents of MNS don’t identify as Hindu or Buddhist. Rodrigues’ project will help clarify the characteristics of the MNS movement and perhaps provide clues about why people are increasingly opting for spirituality over religion.

By attending gatherings held by non-duality teachers around the world, Rodrigues plans to conduct free-flowing interviews with seekers in the movement to gain understanding of their motivations and experiences. He hopes to discern shared key characteristics among members. While his hunch is that those in the SBNR movement, estimated to be 30 to 40 per cent of the population in Canada, find the term ‘religion’ too constricting, his research project will verify if that’s correct.

The results of Rodrigues’ study of MNS will also be of interest to other disciplines such as health sciences, psychology, art and education.

Asian Culture Week a chance to celebrate diversity on campus

trevor.kenney — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 19:17:57 +0000

From fashion and film to judo and jiu-jitsu, the inaugural Asian Culture Week at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge gives the campus community the chance to enjoy a number of performances and learn a little something about Asia in the process. The week culminates with the 23^rd Annual International Dinner, featuring guest speaker Kim Thúy sharing her stories about the Canadian Life of a Vietnamese boat person.

Asian Culture Week came about after a successful Japan Culture Day program held two years ago. But rather than focus on one country, organizers decided the program should include Asia as a whole.

“The decision to expand to an Asian Culture Week was consistent with how we designed our Asian Studies program at the U of L,” says Dr. John Harding, a religious studies professor and coordinator of Asian Studies. “We aimed for more comprehensive coverage of Asia, with courses, talks and study opportunities that continue the strong ties between southern Alberta and Japan, and expanded it to include China, India and Southeast Asia.”

Angela Lin, a U of L student, organized several activities and displays from Taiwan, including a qipao (Chinese traditional dress) fashion show display and a board that introduces Taiwan and its main highlights.

“We will also be teaching people how to play the game Wu-Zhe-Chi, or “connect five.” Taiwan is known for its use of traditional Chinese writing and we will be translating and writing peoples’ names on paper using traditional Chinese characters,” says Lin.

Opening remarks are scheduled for 1:45 p.m. Monday in the Atrium, followed by a performance by Global Drums in the Atrium of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Centre for the Arts. Tuesday’s activities include karate, judo and jiu-jitsu demonstrations, a fashion show and minyo (Japanese folk dance and song) dancers. A lion dance starts off Wednesday’s activities at 10:45 a.m., followed by a kung fu demonstration, a performance by a Chinese flute player, a Bhutanese dance, and cricket from 2 to 3 p.m. in the gym. Films, including a Bollywood science-fiction comedy and a locally made documentary about Bhutanese refugees living in Lethbridge, will be shown Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. The online scheduleoffers more details. On Thursday from noon to 1 p.m., a panel will be available in the Atrium to answer any questions about studying in Asia.

“We hope people attend as many events as possible and simply enjoy themselves and the opportunity to see some of the diverse forms of Asian culture, as well as the talents of local students and community members,” says Harding.

Understanding the Asian roots of modern Buddhism

trevor.kenney — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 19:05:18 +0000

From its 2,500-year-old roots in eastern India, Buddhism has evolved into the fastest-growing philosophical religion in the West, one that has sparked diverse groups of practitioners — including many celebrities — spawned countless books, and is often glamourized in Hollywood films. Dr. John Harding wants to know why.

Dr. John Harding's interest in Buddhism goes back to his time as an undergraduate student.

More specifically, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Religious Studies associate professor would like to better understand the forces that have shaped Buddhism since it crossed continents from Asia into Europe and North America 150 years ago. He hopes to debunk the common misconception of modern Buddhism, particularly as it is practised in Canada, as primarily influenced by the West, and demonstrate that Asian reform movements prominently contributed to Buddhism’s global transformation.

“The more we looked into the history…the more clear it becomes that a lot of the characteristics of modern Buddhism that are viewed as Westernized actually started in Asia,” says Harding, who also chairs the Religious Studies department and coordinates the Asian Studies minor program. “We need to look at all of the global linkages, and introduce a little more theoretical sophistication to how we explore Buddhism in the West.”

It’s an area Harding has been investigating since 2013 with colleagues at McGill and St. Mary’s universities as part of a five-year research project funded by a $258,000 grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He recently presented on the topic at a U of L PUBlic Professor Series lecture called Buddha’s World Tour: Global Buddhism in the Modern Era. As he explains, today’s version of Buddhism is viewed as being a reflection of Western social values: egalitarian, female friendly, based in meditation and socially engaged. At the same time, there is a perception of traditional Asian Buddhism as hierarchical, sexist, ritualistic and withdrawn from society.

In fact, he says, this shift to what many Westerners call the “new Buddhism” evolved organically in countries such as Sri Lanka, Japan, China, Taiwan and Vietnam. Typically, these changes occurred in response to pressures such as Western colonialism and aggressive Christian missionization. Monks travelling between the different Asian countries observed these changes and started their own Buddhist reform movements at home. What eventually emerged, Harding says, was a radically different form of Buddhism that, with the growth of population movement and global communication, began to spread worldwide.

Harding’s interest in the subject goes back to his time as an undergraduate student at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Puget Sound in Washington in the early 1990s, when he completed his thesis on changes in Buddhism in Japan in the late 1800s. At that time, he says, reformers were responding to domestic criticism that the religion wasn’t relevant in the modern world. From that point on, through his graduate studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Pennsylvania and since joining the U of L in 2003, he has studied extensively and published widely on the development of modern Buddhism worldwide.

“I find it quite fascinating that our culture and surroundings can be significantly shaped by forces and influences we know almost nothing about…I’m particularly interested in different perspectives that shape how people think about their own life and their world and how it’s unfolding,” says Harding, who often seeks to involve undergraduate and graduate students in this research.

Harding and his research colleagues are now one-third of the way through their latest research project with the support of the SSHRC grant. In the last five years, the three colleagues have published two books that analyze the dramatic growth of Buddhism in Canada in global and historical contexts, Wild Geese and Flowers on the Rock. Going forward, Harding says he hopes their research results help improve the scholarship in the nascent fields of Global Buddhism and of Buddhism in the West by setting the historical record straight on the hows and whys behind the new Buddhism. As well, he says, a clearer understanding of the origins of modern Buddhism will help us better understand Canada’s cultural mosaic. Finally, practitioners of Buddhism in Canada may be interested to learn about the cross-cultural exchange between Asia and the West that helped form Buddhism as we know it today

“There is an impression that Buddhism in the West has become a bit of a quick fix for a fast food culture, and many people’s understanding of it is quite shallow,” he says. “In fact, there are many variations of the tradition influencing culture at multiple levels, and if one of the concerns is authenticity, this study can reflect how Asia played a role in the modernization of Buddhism.”

Grant allows Harding opportunity to study Buddhism in Canada

trevor.kenney — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 22:25:52 +0000

Dr. John Harding (Religious Studies, Principal Investigator) has received a five-year, $258,659 Social sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight grant – the largest-ever grant received by the Department of Religious Studies – to study Buddhism in Canada and around the world.

With colleagues Dr. Victor Hori (McGill ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ) and Dr. Alexander Soucy (Saint Mary’s ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ), Harding, the Principal Investigator and coordinator of the U of L’s new Asian Studies program, will develop a better understanding of how Buddhism, like many other religions, is modernizing itself worldwide. He will also look at how it is changing more rapidly as immigration influences the different forms of Buddhism being practiced in Canada.

With an estimated population of more than 365,000 and a strong presence in southern Alberta, Canadian Buddhists have more than a century of religious practice to their credit.

Raymond, Alta. housed the first Buddhist temple in Canada east of the Rocky Mountains (1929) and was in some ways the centre of Buddhism in Canada as significant numbers of Canadians of Japanese descent were relocated to the area during WWII.

Today, the southern Alberta region is still an important hub for members of the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist community as a new Buddhist Temple was recently built in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Understanding Islam

trevor.kenney — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:39:45 +0000

In an age when tension between religions has reached a critical point, the need for dialogue, understanding and tolerance has never been more important. An Endowment at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of lethbridge is supporting Islamic studies, and cultivating an understanding of world religions and appreciation of diversity.

By ERIKA JAHN (BA '08)

Islam is one of the world's great religious traditions – and one of the fastest growing in the West – but it is not without controversy. Since 9-11 particularly, Islam has been at the forefront of many discussions about the challenges of religious tolerance and increasing cultural diversity in the West.

It is also the subject of academic inquiry in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's small Department of Religious Studies and for students like Campbell Peat (BA '08) and James Falconer who study with religious studies professor Atif Khalil. What these students point out is that discussions about "Islam in the West" in the media, and by politicians and pundits alike, lack depth and empathy, and often are coloured by Islamophobia.

"That geopolitical conflicts have been framed in terms of religion or a clash of civilizations seems more like a convenient way for the West to label the 'other' as irrational and extremist while concealing the real roots of the conflicts," says Falconer.

As a student and research assistant in the Department of Sociology at the U of L, Falconer has studied Muslim immigration in the West, complementing his studies with courses about Islam to better understand the cultural and religious context of those he researches.

"The courses in Islamic studies have the potential to help transcend the profound misunderstandings about Islam held by those in western societies, myself included," says Falconer.
"Muslim immigrants are overwhelmingly educated, secularist, progressive and modern – that's why they immigrated to the West," he goes on to explain.

Muslim immigrants to western countries like Canada often find themselves confronted in their new country by misgivings and misunderstandings about their faith, and ultimately about them as citizens.

It was with the hope of dispelling these kinds of misunderstandings that one such Canadian immigrant, the late Dr. Mushtaq Khan, who was a senior research scientist at the Lethbridge Research Station for 28 years, and his wife Catherine Khan (BEd '72, BASc '77), who served as president of the U of L Alumni Association from 1975-1977, established the Mushtaq and Catherine Khan Endowment at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Grad student Campbell Peat (right) is currently completing his MA on the Spanish Sufi mystic, Ibn Arabi, and intends to pursue doctoral work in the near future. Undergraduate James Falconer (left) has completed his degree requirements and will convocate in June 2011. He intends to pursue an MA in sociology.

"We wanted people to know what Islam really is, and that Muslims have about as much to do with terrorism as you or me," Catherine explains. "Most of the people who are Muslim are peaceful, law-abiding citizens who only want to live at peace with their neighbours."

After the events of 9-11, the need for education and cross-cultural understanding only grew. The Khans believed that in supporting education about Islam, they were supporting a future with increased tolerance and less fear.

"We thought if there was more education about what Islam really is then people wouldn't be afraid of it as much as they are," Catherine explains.

The Khans' financial support enabled the Department of Religious Studies to recruit Professor Khalil in 2007 and to attract prominent scholars to speak at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ on the topic of Islam. Khalil, who teaches classes ranging from world religions to upper-level philosophy and theology courses, notes the importance of studying Islam in a country with a growing Muslim population and intensifying anti-Islamic sentiments in the media.

"Canadians, in my view, should not be afraid. Even though there are forms of Islam that are isolationist and exclusivist, mainstream Canadian Islam, which is the Islam of the vast majority of Muslims, stresses peaceful coexistence and tolerance," says Khalil. He hopes that through his courses and the study of Islam and religion more generally, students will come to appreciate the diversity and complexity of religion, allowing them to form relationships of respect with their peers and neighbours, rather than fear or hostility.

Since Khalil's arrival at the U of L and the support from the Khans, the department has expanded its library holdings and attracted some high-profile speakers. Most notable, however, is the benefit to the student population and to the wider community.

"It is my hope that our courses on Islam instil in students a greater appreciation of the richness and diversity of our world, of our religious traditions and of the collective wisdom of the human race," says Khalil. It's a sentiment that has captured the imaginations of many who pass through the department and that is mirrored in the testimony of his students.

"If anything, the promotion of Islamic studies encourages the individual to adopt a reflective position that approaches Islam as a multidimensional display of human emotion and belief," says Peat. "Even a basic understanding of Islam goes a great way to combat ideas of cultural antagonism."

Falconer agrees, and says that he was surprised to learn that Islamic and western civilizations share the same intellectual roots. "They are more compatible than most would imagine based on modern western portrayals and perceptions of Islam," he says.

The Khans' donation has sown the seeds for a future in which mutual understanding and respect between people might blossom.

"Mushtaq was always tolerant of other religions and encouraged tolerance from others," recalls Catherine. "It was his hope that others in his adopted Canadian community could at minimum attempt to understand Islam."

The hopes that fuelled the donation to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ are being fulfilled as hundreds of students every semester enrol in the department's courses and are increasingly exposed to the religions and cultures of their Canadian neighbours.

"The fact that the son of a farmer is able to study one of the world's great traditions in the southern Alberta town he grew up in is simply astounding," says Peat. "Even in smaller communities like Lethbridge we are able to see the effects of global integration. Without founding a multicultural spirit and exploratory ethos we run the risk of letting our ideas of Islam (or any religion, for that matter) become superficial and narrow."

The Khans' commitment to supporting liberal education and the study of religion is indeed one step in the right direction toward a society more tolerant, just and curious about the beliefs of others. It is clear this contribution is helping to mould thoughtful citizens, leaders and educators of tomorrow who are less focused on religious differences and more interested in exploring our shared human experiences.

This story first appeared in the Spring issue of SAM. For a look at the entire SAM magazine in a flipbook format, follow this link.

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