The School of Religion at Queen's University offers a unique and innovative one-year M.A. program in Religion and Modernity. The program explores the continuing evolution of historic religious traditions in modernity and postmodernity, and the formulation of alternate spiritual traditions and new religious movements. Students focus generally on religion as a cultural phenomenon and also have the opportunity to work on specific religious traditions. Queen's offers a small but outstanding faculty with significant research and publications in several areas including:

• Islam, modernity and democracy (Forough Jahanbakhsh) 
• Hinduism and Buddhism (Ellen Goldberg)
• Daoism and Confucianism (James Miller)
• Religious responses to the global environmental crisis (James Miller)
• Feminist studies and queer theory (Pamela Dickey Young)
• Violence, sacrifice and religion (Bill Morrow)
• Theory and method in the study of religion (Ellen Goldberg)
• Biblical interpretation (Richard Ascough)
• Religion and popular culture (Richard Ascough)
• History of Christianity (John Young)
• Ethics (Tracy Trothen)

The program is designed to be completed within twelve months. Students take one core course and two elective courses in both the fall and winter terms, then write a master's essay over the summer. More about our program requirements...

We are able to provide substantial funding to qualified students through Queen's scholarships. Our students have also been successful in competitions for Ontario Graduate Scholarships and Canada Graduate Scholarships. Students also receive funding as research or teaching assistants.

Students will have the opportunity to work as research or teaching assistants for Queen's professors. Because we do not have a PhD program at Queen's, we are able to devote all our resources and attention to MA students and can give them research and teaching opportunities that other institutions cannot match.

Graduates of our program have been accepted into PhD programs at the University of Toronto, McGill, the University of British Columbia, York University, Waterloo University, the University of Ottawa and McMaster University. Others have entered the private sector or have been accepted to further study at institutions such as Oxford University and the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley.

Our application process is entirely online. Click here to find out how to begin the process and to learn more about admission requirements.

If you are interested in learning more about this exciting program, please contact Ellen Goldberg, Co-ordinator of Graduate Studies.