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2014
Announcements and Special Mentions in 2014
Religion and Diversity Project Research Associate Anna Halafoff was interviewed about the research for a program about the History of Buddhism in Australia as practiced by Westerners. The interview was aired on Encounter ABC Radio National on Saturday, December 13, 2014. Please click here to listen to the interview.
We invite you to discover the publications (edited volumes, books, journal articles and papers) of the Religion and Diversity Project team members by visiting our "Team Members' Publications" page. Please click here to for more information.
The "Religion and Education in Canada" session organised by Student Team Members Christine L. Cusack and Leo Van Arragon was held during the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (CSSR), from May 30 to June 2, 2015. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to our Team Member Nancy Nason-Clark and Barbara Fisher-Townsend on the publication of their new book entitled Men Who Batter (Oxford University Press). Please click here for more information.
An article written by Sarah Lawrynuik entitled "Live streaming religion" on Christopher Helland's research project was published on The Coast website. Please click here to read the article.
The "Norms of Religious Minority Participation: Fields of Practice" international conference led by our Team Members Avigail Eisenberg, Paul Bramadat, Pamela Klassen and by Patti Lenard was held at the University of Victoria, in Victoria, British Columbia from November 28-29, 2014. This conference addressed the place of religious minorities in four fields of practice: healthcare; security; education; and environmental assessments. Please click here for more information.
Lori G. Beaman and Gary Bouma gave keynote addresses at "Religion, Diversity and Governance," the 2014 Annual Conference of the Australian Association for the Study of Religion (AASR) that took place from December 3-5, 2014 at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. Please click here for more information.
The 2014 American Academy of Religion (AAR) Annual Meeting included participation by several Religion and Diversity Project team members. Patrice Brodeur, Pamela Klassen, Rubina Ramji, Winnifred F. Sullivan, and Student Team Members Christine L. Cusack and Stéphanie Gravel participated in the meeting that took place in San Diego, California, from November 22-25, 2014. Please click here for the conference programme.
Congratulations to our Team Member Anver Emon who was awarded a Canada Research Chair in Religion, Pluralism and the Rule of Law, one of 137 new and renewed CRCs to recognize cutting-edge scholarship at 34 Canadian institutions. Please click here for more information.
The "Religion and the Exercise of Public Authority" workshop, organised by our Team Members Benjamin Berger and Richard Moon, was held at the Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, from November 14-15, 2014. Please click here for more information.
Our Team Member Paul Bramadat was interviewed about religious radicalization and securitization in Canada by CBC's Gregor Craigie. Please click here to listen to the interview.
Congratulations to our Team Member Linda Woodhead who was awarded a 2013-2014 Collaborative Research Grant by the American Academy of Religion (AAR) for the project "How Do We Study Religion and Emotion?" led by John Corrigan. Please click here for more information.
We invite you to learn more about the Religion and Diversity Project Research Associates, Amélie Barras, Anna Halafoff, Cathy Holtmann, Arlene Macdonald, Julia Martínez-Ariño and David Michels, by reading their profiles in our "Research Associates" page. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to our Student Team Members Alyshea Cummins, Cimminnee Holt, Sara Ludin and Rosaria Maria Tagliente who were awarded 2014-2015 Religion and Diversity Project Graduate Research Grants. For more information, please click here.
Congratulations to our Team Member Nancy Nason-Clark on the publication of her book entitled Men Who Batter, co-authored with Barbara Fisher-Townsend and published by Oxford University Press. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to our Team Member Pascale Fournier who received the Special Achievement Award for Academic Excellence and Contribution to Humanity from the Canada Arab Chamber of Commerce. Please click here for more information.
Our Team Member Valérie Amiraux participated in the October 6, 2014, programme of Planète Terre (CÉRIUM) that focused on the theme "La mission contre l’État Islamique / Le Yémen au bord du chaos." Please click here to watch the programme.
Congratulations to our Religion and Diversity Project Student Team Members Mohamed Fadil and Louis-Charles Gagnon-Tessier who successfully defended their PhD dissertations on October 1 and 3, 2014.
The "Youth, Religion, and Identity: A Canadian and International Workshop," organised by Team Member Peter Beyer, Student Team Member Paul Gareau and Spencer Bullivant, was held at the University of Ottawa from October 16-18, 2014. Please click here for more information on this workshop.
The videos and pictures of Dietrich Jung's lecture entitled "Constructing Islamic Modernities: Identity, Social Order and Religious Traditions," given on September 29, 2014, at the University of Ottawa, are now available. Please visit our "2014 Event Photo Gallery" or our RelDivProject YouTube channel to view them.
Read Lori G. Beaman's chapter entitled "Everything Is Water: On Being Baptized in Secularism" and Pascale Fournier's chapter entitled "Secular Portraits and Religious Shadows: An Empirical Study of Religious Women in France" in the recently published book Secularism on the Edge, edited by Jacques Berlinerblau, Sarah Fainberg and Aurora Nou. Please click here for more information.
Read an article written by our Team Member Natasha Bakht and Student Team Member Jordan Palmer entitled "The courts and the veil: Justice for some?" published by iPolitics on July 31, 2014. Please click here to read the article.
Guillaume Boucher (University of Montreal) gave a lecture entitled "À la recherche de la diversité religieuse régionale : quelques défis liés à l'approche ethnographique" on Monday, October 6, 2014, at the University of Montreal. It was given as part of the "Laboratoire de recherche empirique sur les groupes religieux" lecture series organised by Solange Lefebvre's Chaire in Religion, Culture and Society. Please click here for more information.
The Diversity and Equity Research Group (DERG) event titled "Cutting Edge Interdisciplinary Research" was held on October 6, 2014, at the University Ottawa. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to our Student Team Member Mohamed Fadil who defended his doctoral dissertation entitled "Un groupe religieux à l’épreuve du parti politique. Sécularisation de l’islamisme au Maroc : Mouvement de l’unicité et de la réforme-Parti de la justice et du dévelop-pement [1996-2011]" on Wednesday, October 1, 2014. Please click here for more information.
Our Team Member Winnifred F. Sullivan gave a lecture entitled "RAPT: 'Spiritual Governance: The Chaplin as Priest of the Secular'" on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 at the UCL Department of Political Science. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to our Team Member Pascale Fournier who was selected to participate in the International Women's Forum Leadership Foundation programme for 2014-2015. For more information, please click here.
Our Student Team Member Louis-Charles Gagnon-Tessier defended his doctoral dissertation entitled "Catholicisme et postmodernité : analyses philosophiques à partir de débats publics Québécois" on Friday, October 3, 2014. Please click here for more information.
Discover the recently published book entitled Multiculturalism and Religious Identity: Canada and India (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2014) edited by Lori G. Beaman and Sonia Sikka. Combining broader theoretical and normative reflections with close case studies, this book leads the way to addressing timely issues in the Canadian and Indian contexts. Please click here for more information on this publication.
Congratulations to our Team Members Pascale Fournier, Pamela Klassen and Barbara Thériault. They were awarded Innovation Grants from the Religion and Diversity Project for their research projects. For more information on these projects, please click here.
Congratulations to our Team Member James T. Richardson. His book entitled "Legal Cases, New Religious Movements, and Minority Faiths" co-edited with François Bellanger was published by Ashgate. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to our Student Team Member David Michels who successfully defended his doctoral thesis on August 18, 2014. The title was "Seeking the Will of God: Information-Seeking Experiences on the Leaders of Nova Scotia Churches in Transition". Please click here for more information.
Lori G. Beaman was the Keynote Speaker at the 22nd Nordic Conference for Sociology of Religion that was held from August 20-22, 2014, at the University of Copenhagen. Her keynote address explored the theme of "Deep Equality as an Alternative to Accommodation and Tolerance." Please click here to view the conference programme.
Discover the new publication entitled Religious Radicalization and Securitization in Canada and Beyond edited by our Team Member Paul Bramadat and Lorne Dawson. Visit the University of Toronto Press website to read the book’s description and reviews.
Congratulations to our Student Team Member Katia Batut who successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled "Le Sionisme chrétien contemporain aux États-Unis, Entre religion et politique" on July 3, 2014. For more information, please click here.
Congratulations to our Team Member Linda Woodhead who was appointed the first women president of the Modern Church, the main proponent of liberal theology in the British churches. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to our Student Team Member Monica Grigore who is an ISORECEA 2014 Miklos Tomka prize grantee. Monica also presented a paper at the ISORECEA conference organised this year in Kaunas, Lithuania, on April 24-27, 2014. Please click here to read her submission on "Finding Relief in Pilgrimage" featured in the International Sociological Association (ISA) newsletter.
Congratulations to our Team Member Peter Beyer who received a SSHRC Connections Grant for his workshop "Youth, Religion and Identity: A Canadian and International Workshop" which was held at the University of Ottawa from October 16-18, 2014. The workshop was co-organised by Student Team Member Paul Gareau and Spencer Bullivant. Please click here for more information.
Stay connected with the Religion and Diversity Project news and events by following us on Twitter @RDiversity or by liking us on Facebook at Religion and Diversity Project Student Caucus. You may also watch videos from past lectures on our YouTube channel RelDivProject.
Team Members Rukhsana Ahmed, Nacira Guénif-Souilamas, Solange Lefebvre and Postdoctoral Fellow Julia Martínez-Ariño, participated in the XVIII International Sociological Association (ISA) World Congress of Sociology that took place in Yokohama, Japan, from July 13-19, 2014. For more information on the congress, please click here.
Learn more about Team Member Anver Emon's latest publication entitled Natural Law: A Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Trialogue, edited with Matthew Levering and David Novak, and published by Oxford University Press. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to our Project Director Lori G. Beaman who was elected the new Association for the Study of Religion's President-Elect. Lori will begin her role at the end of this year's Annual Meeting when the current President-Elect, Melissa Wilde, succeeds Christopher Ellison as the President of ASR. Please click here for more information.
The "Re/posing the 'Muslim Question'" workshop organised by Jennifer Selby and Lori G. Beaman was held at the Memorial University of Newfoundland from June 26-27, 2014. This workshop included the participation of Team Member Valérie Amiraux, and Postdoctoral Fellows May Al-Fartousi and Amélie Barras. For more information on this workshop, please click here.
Team members Benjamin Berger and Lori G. Beaman participated in the teach-in session titled "Religion and Politics in the Americas" at the Hemispheric Institute Encuentro 2014 on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. Please click here for more information.
Learn more about the Religion and Diversity Project’s research associates by reading Amélie Barras and Cathy Holtmann’s recently created profiles in our "Research Associates" page. Please click here to access this page.
The Religion and Diversity Project is pleased to have, and have had, so many talented postdoctoral fellows involved in its programme. Find out more by visiting our newly created page solely dedicated to postdoctoral fellows. Click here to access this page.
Read the entries written by Team Members Benjamin Berger (Sovereignty and Secularism /Quandaries of Belonging, April 25, 2014) and Lori G. Beaman (Re-writing Religion as Culture, Heritage and Values, April 28, 2014) in the States of Devotion blog, an interactive forum for news, scholarly analysis, and opinion-making about the intersection of religion and politics in the Americas.
Student Team Members Alyshea Cummins, Christine L. Cusack, Paul Gareau, Stéphanie Gravel, Jordan Palmer, Matthew Riddett and Giomny H. Ruiz participated in the Religion and Diversity Project Graduate Student Workshop Series 2, Session 2 facilitated by Grace Davie (University of Exeter) at the University of Ottawa from May 8-9, 2014. Visit our "Graduate Student Workshop Series" to read the workshop report.
As of June 1, 2014, Donald Boisvert became the Chair of the Department of Religion at Concordia University for a 3-year term. Please click here for more information.
Our Team Member and past-president of the ISSR, ASR, RC22 and SSSR, James A. Beckford, has received a "docteur honoris causa" in "sciences des religions" from the University of Lausanne on May 23, 2014. Please click here for more information.
We are very pleased to have seen so many Religion and Diversity Project team members at the 2014 Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (CSSR) Annual Conference held from May 24-27 at Congress 2014. Team Members Paul Bramadat, Rubina Ramji, Samuel Reimer, Michael Wilkinson, Postdoctoral Fellow May Al-Fartousi, and Student Team Members Ian A. Cuthbertson, Paul Gareau and Aldea Mulhern all participated in this conference.
Congratulations to our Team Member Peter Beyer. His book entitled Religion in the Context of Globalization Essays on Concept, Form, and Political Implication has been published by Routledge. This volume is a collection of essays on the relation between religion and globalization with special emphasis on the concept of religion, its modern forms and on the relation of religion to the state. Please click here for more information.
Lori G. Beaman and Heather Shipley were pleased to participate in two research meetings at the Canadian Human Rights Commission on May 8, 2014. Religion and Diversity Project initiatives and results were presented to the CHRC promotion branch management and CHRC employees as further partnership opportunities and collaborations continue to be explored. Heather will also be moderating a session at the upcoming "Accommodation Works!" conference, organised by CHRC and CASHRA June 11-12, 2014. Please click here for more information on this conference.
Congratulations to Project Manager Heather Shipley, the book she edited entitled "Globalized Religion and Sexual Identity: Contexts, Contestations, Voices" has been published by Brill. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to Team Members Lori G. Beaman, Solange Lefebvre, and Linda Woodhead. The special issue of the India International Centre Quarterly based on the "Living with Religious Diversity" seminar was published on April 2, 2014. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to Team Member Michael Wilkinson who was appointed "Distance Learning Instructor" at the University of Birmingham, UK.
The Colloque 450 - La religion dans la sphère publique (82e du Congrès de l'Acfas) was held at Concordia University from May 13-14, 2014. This seminar was organised by Postdoctoral Fellow Amélie Barras in collaboration with Team Members Solange Lefebvre, Donald Boisvert and André Laliberté. Please click here for more information.
As part of the Distinguished Visiting Researchers Program, Grace Davie (University of Exeter) was a visiting scholar at the University of Ottawa from May 7-10, 2014. Please click here for more information.
Lori G. Beaman gave a lecture entitled "Negotiating Religious Diversity: Tolerance, Accommodation and Deep Equality" as part of the Faculty of Arts Dean's Lecture Series at the University of Ottawa on Thursday, May 8, 2014. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to Religion and Diversity Project Student Team Members Gandhar K. Charkravarty and Glen Choi who successfully defended their PhD theses. Please click here to find out more about our student team members and their research.
The Quebec’s New Religions: Alternative Spiritualties after Vatican II and the Quiet Revolution Conference, organised by Team Members Susan Palmer and Solange Lefebvre, was held at McGill University on Friday, April 25, 2014. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to Student Team Member Mathilde Vanasse-Pelletier. She has received a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for her Master’s research project based on postcolonial feminist theories, the study of new religious movements and the reception theories of media productions.
Congratulations to our Team Member Rukhsana Ahmed. The volume she co-edited with Isaac Nahon-Serfaty entitled "New Media and Communication Across Religions and Cultures," has been published. Please click here for more information.
The State Government of Victoria (Australia) released a policy statement entitled "Victoria’s Advantage – Unity, Diversity, and Opportunity" in which Team Member Gary Bouma had input. Please click here for more information.
The recordings of Team Member James A. Beckford's lectures given as part of the FD Maurice lectures 2014 at King's College are now available. Please click here to listen to the lectures.
Congratulations to our Team Members Solange Lefebvre and Lori G. Beaman. The book they edited entitled Religion in the Public Sphere: Canadian Case Studies has been published. Please click here for more information.
A book preview of Varieties of Religious Establishment edited by Winnifred F. Sullivan and Lori G. Beaman is available on the Political Theology Today website. Please click here to read it.
Erin Wilson (University of Groningen) gave a lecture entitled "'But that’s culture, not religion': the politics of Christianity as cultural heritage" as part of the Building Bridges: Lunch and Learn lecture series on Thursday, April 3, 2014. Please click here for more information.
The videos and pictures of Paula Montero's (University of São Paulo) lecture entitled "Secularism's Dependency, Religion's Necessity" are now available. Please click here to view them.
Our Team Member Richard Moon's new book entitled Freedom of Conscience and Religion (Irwin Law) has been published. Please click here for more information.
Paula Montero (University of São Paulo) gave a lecture entitled "Secularism’s Dependency, Religion’s Necessity" as part of the Critical Thinkers in Religion, Law and Social Theory lecture series on Thursday, March 20, 2014. Please click here for more information.
Tayyibah Taylor, founding editor-in-chief and publisher of Azizah Magazine, was interviewed by the Ottawa Multicultural Media Initiative (OMMI). Please click here to watch the interview.
Team Members Valérie Amiraux, Lori G. Beaman, Benjamin Berger, Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens, Pamela Klassen and Student Team Member Ian Alexander Cuthbertson responded to the Immanent Frame article entitled "The Charter of Quebec Values". Please click here to read the article.
Paul Eid's (UQAM) lecture entitled "Les dessous neufs du Nous : la Charte des valeurs québécoises et les risques de dérives néoracistes" was given as part of the March 2014 Seminar presented by the Diversity and Equity Research Group (DERG). The seminar took place on Thursday, March 13, at the University of Ottawa. Please click here for more information.
Yvette Taylor and Heather Shipley have co-authored an entry for the Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research blog entitled "Making Space Across Religion, Gender and Sexuality: Canada-UK Connections." Please click here to read the blog entry published on March 2, 2014.
Read an article about Tayyibah Taylor (Azizah Magazine) entitled "In defence of modest: A Muslim magazine editor discusses her choice to cover up" published in the Ottawa Citizen and written by Daphne Bramham (Vancouver Sun columnist). Please click here to read the article.
The Société, Droit et Religions de l’Université de Sherbrooke (SoDRUS) Research Centre presented the "Journée d’étude sur la charte de la laïcité" that took place on Friday, March 14, 2014.
Visit our "Whose Religion?: Education about Religion in Public Schools" page which offers details pertaining to the workshop (under the same name) that was held at the University of Ottawa on November 4-6, 2013. It includes information such as the workshop description, themes, participant biographies and videos of the presentations given as part of this event. Please click here to access the page.
The Diversity and Equity Research Group (DERG) presented a "Perspectives on diversity and religion at a crossroads" panel that took place on Monday, March 3, 2014 at the University of Ottawa. This event will feature presentations from Team Members Natasha Bakht and André Laliberté. Please click here for more information.
Tayyibah Taylor's (Azizah Magazine) lecture, organised by the Religion and Diversity Project, the Embassy of the United States of America and the Ottawa Multicultural Media Initiative (OMMI), was given on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at the University of Ottawa. Please click here for more information.
Julia Martínez-Ariño, a Religion and Diversity Project postdoctoral fellow at the University of Montreal, supervised by Solange Lefebvre, participated in the scientific workshop "When, why and how organisations respond to diversity" in Göttingen on February 6-7, 2014. She gave a talk entitled "Hospitals and prisons confronted to religious diversity : A comparative perspective" with her colleague Maria del Mar Griera (Barcelona). Please click here for more information.
Jing Feng, a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Ottawa, facilitated the Introduction to DODOOSE Workshop on Wednesday, February 19, 2014. Please click here for more information.
Anne-Laure Zwilling's (Université de Strasbourg) lecture entitled "Minorités religieuses et neutralité de l’État en France et en Europe : tensions et débats contemporains" took place on Monday, February 17, 2014. The lecture was organised by the Laboratoire de recherche empirique des groupes religieux and was given at the University of Montreal. Please click here for more information.
Congratulations to Team Member Rukhsana Ahmed. Her new book entitled Health literacy in Canada: A Primer for Students, co-written with Laurie Hoffman-Goetz and Lorie Donelle, was published by the Canadian Scholar's Press. Please click here for more information.
Anne Leahy’s (McGill University) lecture entitled "Étude de cas : État du Vatican, Saint-Siège et relations internationales" was given on Monday, February 10, 2014. The lecture was organised by the Laboratoire de recherche empirique des groupes religieux and took place at the University of Montreal. Please click here for more information.
Researchers including Team Members Valérie Amiraux, Lori G. Beaman, Patrice Brodeur, Pascale Fournier, Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens, André Laliberté and Barbara Thériault co-signed the brief entitled "60 chercheurs universitaires pour la laïcité, contre le projet de loi 60." Co-written by a group of academic researchers from various fields and co-signed by 60 researchers, this brief questions and criticizes the bill’s philosophical foundations, its constitutionality, its underlying principles as well as its alleged correlation with a strengthening of feminism in Quebec. Please click here for more information or here to read the brief.
Team Member Michael Wilkinson and Peter Althouse are pleased to announce that their new book Catch the Fire: Soaking Prayer and Charismatic Renewal, published by Northern Illinois University Press, is now available. Please click here for more information.
Giomny H. Ruiz's lecture entitled "Analyse du concept de minorité au sein des commissions publiques sur les diversités culturelle et religieuse : discussion méthodologique" organised by the "Laboratoire de recherche empirique des groupes religieux" was given on January 20, 2014, at the University of Montreal. Please click here for more information.
Read our latest team member book recommendations from Benjamin Berger and Rukhsana Ahmed in our Reading Corner page. Please click here to read the recommendations.
Michèle Lamont's (Harvard University) lecture entitled "Groupness and the Fight for Respect: Responses to Stigmatization among African-Americans, Black Brazilians, Ethiopian Jews, Mizrachis, and Arab Israelis" took place on Thursday, January 16, 2014. The lecture was given as part of our Critical Thinkers in Religion, Law and Social Theory lecture series. Please click here for more information.
The Winter 2014 issue of Regulating Religion, the Religion and Diversity Project E-Journal, is now available. Please click here to read the latest issue.
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
Le Berkley Center at Georgetown University a été créé au sein du bureau de John J. DeGioia, Président de Georgetown, en mars 2006. Le centre a été conçu afin de miser sur les forces de Georgetown: l'excellence académique; son emplacement à Washington, DC; sa portée internationale et sa tradition catholique et jésuite d'ouverture aux autres religions et au vaste monde séculier. Le généreux soutien de William R. Berkley, un membre du conseil d'administration de l'université, a permis la croissance rapide du centre.
Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez cliquer ici.
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The Project is happy to provide information about research centres, initiatives and projects across Canada and beyond that are focusing on the examination of religion, diversity, pluralism and society through its “Research Centres” page. Led by our Team Member Pamela Klassen and housed at the University of Toronto, the mandate of the Religion in the Public Sphere initiative is to examine how religion manifests in public spaces, institutions, and interactions, and consider the challenges and possibilities of religious diversity in Toronto and around the globe. To learn more about this initiative, please click here.