About

The Religion and Diversity Project/Religion et diversité is a 7 year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funded Major Collaborative Research Initiative (MCRI), hosted at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario.  This project brings together 36 team members from 24 universities, with Lori G. Beaman, University of Ottawa, as the Project Director on this research initiative. 

The aim of this project is to address the following question: What are the contours of religious diversity in Canada and how can we best respond to the opportunities and challenges presented by religious diversity in ways that promote a just and peaceful society?

This website serves as the public portal for access to research on the topic of Religion and Diversity and it also provides information about The Religion and Diversity Project to team members, the public, policy makers and other engaged scholars.  The intention of this site is to provide access to networks of research ongoing on the subject of Religion and Diversity, while also disseminating and announcing The Religion and Diversity Project’s team events and news.  Please click here to visit the  Religion and Diversity Project description and website section for more information about this initiative.

 What's New:

Explore and Discuss – Lecture Series

Check out our exciting lecture series offered in partnership with the Canadian Museum of Civilization's God(s): A User's Guide exhibit.  Interested in attending the lectures? Click here for your chance to win free tickets!  

2012 Religion and Diversity Project Team Conference

Please see attached call for papers for our next team conference, which will be held September 5-7 2012 at St. John's College, Cambridge, UK.  Team members must submit abstracts directly to Heather Shipley (hshipley@uottawa.ca) by March 16, 2012 (see details here).

  • William Hoverd (DFAIT Postdoctoral Fellow) will be giving at talk entitled “Pakeha, Maori and the Challenge of Religious Diversity to New Zealand Biculturalism” at Nipissing University March 9, 2012.  Click here for more information.
  • Congratulations to team member Donald Boisvert on the publication, with co-editor Jay Emerson Johnson) of Queer Religion (Vol. I: Homosexuality in Modern Religious History; Vol. II: LGBT Movements and Queering Religion), Praeger, 2012.
  • Félicitation à membre d’équipe Pascale Fournier  qui a devient titulaire de la Chaire de recherche sur le pluralisme juridique à l’université d’Ottawa.
  • In January 2012 the Religion and Diversity Project took part in the Ontario Human Rights Commission Policy Dialogue: Creed, Freedom of Religion and Human Rights. The event was co-organized by team member Pamela Klassen at the Religion in the Public Sphere Initiative. Team members Lori Beaman, Benjamin Berger, Anver Emon, Richard Moon, Bruce Ryder, Heather Shipley, and Winnifred Sullivan presented papers.
  • The Religion and Diversity Project is delighted to announce an exciting lecture series to be held at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, in Gatineau, as part of the upcoming exhibit "God(s): A User's Guide."  The Museum of Civilization and the Religion and Diversity Project have been working in partnership to develop an insightful and timely series of lectures.  The theme for the conference series is Religious diversity in Canada, which will explore the following four themes: Multiculturalism, Secularism and Reasonable Accommodation (February 15, 2012); Religion in Public Institutions (March 1, 2012); Religion, Gender and Sexuality in Modern Society (March 15, 2012) and Religion and Immigration (April 5, 2012).  More information about the panel sessions can be found in our Events section. Visit the Canadian Museum of Civilization for more information about the exhibit.
  • Our next Religion and Diversity Project Team Meeting will take place September 5-7, 2012 at St. John’s College in Cambridge UK and will coincide with the Religion and Society Programme’s conference.
  • Daniel Boyarin presented the paper “Nominalist ‘Judaism’ and the Late-Ancient Invention of Religion” as part of the Critical Thinkers Speakers series at the University of Ottawa on December 8, 2011. Click here to see pictures from the event.  Click here to watch video from the event.We are proud to present the second volume of the Religion and Diversity Newsletter. Click here to read it.
  • Team member James Beckford presented the paper “Religious freedom, religious diversity, and prisons”, as part of the Critical Thinkers Speakers series at the University of Ottawa on November 4, 2011. Click here to see pictures from the event.  Click here to watch video from the event.
  • Distinguished Visiting Researcher Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip presented the paper “Meanings and Connections: A Multi-faith Exploration of Young Religious Believers” at the University of Ottawa on November 10, 2011. Click here to see pictures from the event. 
  • Félicitation à Pascale Fournier qui a reçu le « Prix du Recteur de l’Université d’Ottawa pour l’excellence en relations médiatiques » Pour les plus amples informations cliqué ici.
  • Lene van der Aa Kühle, a visiting fellow with the Religion and Diversity Project, gave a public lecture at Carleton University on Wednesday October 26, 2011 at 3:00 pm. Her lecture was entitled "Immigrant, Muslim, Citizen: A discussion on Muslims rights in Denmark." Click here fore more information.
  • Gérard Bouchard presented the paper “Interculturalism and the Management of Ethno-Cultural Diversity in Québec” as part of the Critical Thinkers Speakers series at the University of Ottawa on September 23, 2011.  Click here to see video of the event.  Click here to see pictures from the event.
  • Team member Rukhsana Ahmed has received a SSHRC Partnership development grant for a project titled Ottawa Multicultural Media Initiative. As the principal investigator Ahmed will develop a partnership with the City of Ottawa to study Ottawa’s growing multicultural digital and print media and the opportunities and challenges for newcomer wellbeing, inclusion, and integration.
  • Congratulations to team member William Closson James on the publication of his new book God's Plenty: Religious Diversity in Kingston (McGill-Queen’s Press).  Click here for more information.
  • Congratulations to the following students for their successful applications to participate in The Religion and Diversity Project's Graduate Student Workshop Series: Emilie Audy (Université de Montréal), Louis-Charles Gagnon-Tessier (Université de Montréal), Catherine Holtmann (University of New Brunswick), David Michels (Dalhousie University), Sharday Mosurinjohn (Queen's University), David Rangdrol (University of Ottawa), Tanja Riikonen (Université de Montréal), Shaun Turriff (Concordia University) and Leo Van Arragon (University of Ottawa).  The first session of the workshop will be held at the University of Ottawa November 2-3, 2011, we look forward to seeing you soon!
  • Team member Winnifred Sullivan has edited a new book with co-editors Robert A. Yelle and Mateo Taussig-Rubbo titled After Secular Law. Click here for more information.
  • Two one-day workshops have been funded for this year. The first, organized by Valérie Amiraux and Nacira Guénif, is titled “Drama Queen/Malika: fashion, beauty, humour, in a context of constrained visibility” and wasbe held in Paris in September. The second, organized by Pamela Dickey Young, is a Survey Workshop with Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip, which was held at the University of Ottawa in November.
  • Team Member Pamela Klassen has written a new book titled Spirits of Protestantism: Medicine, Healing, and Liberal Christianity (University of California Press). Click here for more information.
  • Team Member Winnifred Sullivan participated in the “Politics of Religious Freedom: Contested Norms and Local Practices” workshop in Venice in July.  Click here for more information on this event, organised by the Politics of Religious Freedom Project. 
  • Congratulations to the team members whose research projects have been awarded grants. For more information on the exciting research ventures click here!

Our next Religion and Diversity Project team meeting will take place September 5-7, 2012 at St. John’s College in Cambridge UK and will coincide with the Religion and Society Programme’s conference.

Please visit the SSHRC/CRSH website for further information about the MCRI program and other SSHRC funded opportunities.