Stfx Religious Studies

Stfx Religious Studies Religious Studies students analyze fundamental questions relating to the meaning of human existence

!Woohoo! StFX University Religious Studies chair Dr. Ken M. Penner was on fire this summer. Another of his many outputs...
09/08/2026

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Woohoo! StFX University Religious Studies chair Dr. Ken M. Penner was on fire this summer. Another of his many outputs was a conference presentation at the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies annual meeting in May at Mount Allison University.

Dr. Penner participated in a session on innovative pedagogies, where he reported on his collaborative student-authored textbook project, which he piloted in his "Social Activists Inspired by the Bible" course earlier in the year.
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Stfx Faculty of Arts Communications Canadian Society of Biblical Studies

!Toot toot! That's us blowing a celebration horn for StFX University Religious Studies' Dr Gerjan Altenburg. Gerjan has...
09/06/2026

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Toot toot! That's us blowing a celebration horn for StFX University Religious Studies' Dr Gerjan Altenburg. Gerjan has a new article out in the June 2026 issue of the Journal of Buddhism, Law, & Society:

Altenburg, Gerjan. "Voyeurism at the Abbey: R v Jack Hillie III," Buddhism, Law, & Society 9, 1 (2026): 92-122.

Abstract: In this article, I consider the implications for Buddhist legal studies of a contemporary Canadian criminal case, in which a Buddhist monk installed a spy camera in the male washroom at an abbey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I place passages from the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya into conversation with documents contained in the casefile from the Provincial Court, housed at the Port Hawkesbury Justice Centre, and courtroom audio. Essentially, this article is an experiment in comparative law: an exploration of the ways in which Buddhist monastic law (vinaya) may or may not help inform our understanding of a contemporary act of voyeurism in a Buddhist monastic setting, and vice versa.

Congratulations to Dr. Altenburg on the publication of this important work.
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Stfx Faculty of Arts Communications

!Kudos to StFX University Religious Studies' profs Anderson and Sara Parks, on their conference presentations in NB t...
09/05/2026

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Kudos to StFX University Religious Studies' profs Anderson and Sara Parks, on their conference presentations in NB this spring.

Drs Anderson and Parks attended the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies conference at Mount Allison in May to participate on the pedagogy panel: "Decolonizing and Indigenizing Biblical and Religious Studies" along with other local and international Indigenous and settler scholars.

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Stfx Faculty of Arts Communications

!Congratulations to Dr. Matthew Anderson, Gatto Chair in Christian Studies, who presented a new resource this summer at...
09/04/2026

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Congratulations to Dr. Matthew Anderson, Gatto Chair in Christian Studies, who presented a new resource this summer at Université Laval, Quebec, at the 13th Sacred Journeys International Conference.

Dr. Anderson shared prototypes of his "13 Pilgrims" conversation and self-reflections cards, based on his research in pilgrimage studies and his experience leading and walking contemporary pilgrimages.

Illustrations by Nova Scotia's Kate Phillips Art and Design were supported by a grant from the Eastern Synod of the Lutheran Church of Canada.

More info here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/matthew-r-anderson-85a893229_im-presenting-the-13-pilgrims-card-deck-activity-7497351545844334593-t0nh
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Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada StFX University Stfx Faculty of Arts Communications

!This July, the StFX University Religious Studies Dept released a recording of our "Indigenous Christians on Turtle Isl...
09/03/2026

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This July, the StFX University Religious Studies Dept released a recording of our "Indigenous Christians on Turtle Island" Panel.

Drs Gerjan Altenburg and Matthew Anderson hosted three panellists who spoke about challenges, stereotypes, and benefits of navigating FNIM and Christian identities. Students of World Religions could attend for part of their experiential learning credits. Panel members were:

🔴Dr. Christine Jamieson (Boothroyd First Nation - Nlaka’ pamux), Dept of Theological Studies, Concordia University Montreal
🔴Rev. Dr. Ray Aldred (Cree – Nêhiyaw, Treaty 8), Director Indigenous Studies Program, Vancouver School of Theology
🔴Boston Laferté (Michif – Métis Nation of BC), Law student at University of Victoria and MDiv (Seminary) student for the ELCIC/Lutheran Church. Co-host, “Let’s Talk Faith and Justice” podcast.

The recording, and music by Mary Beth Carty, were made possible by the StFX Religious Studies Department and the Eastern Synod of the ELCIC.

You can see a recording of the panel anytime on the YouTube channel StFXUniversity ("Indigenous Christianity Panel" July 15 2026): https://youtu.be/5giNmq0COhQ?si=QXuu0YsqTvq2oDCH
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Stfx Faculty of Arts Communications Matthew Anderson Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Marybeth Carty

!Congrats to Dr. Sara Parks, whose new article, "L'effet Brooten: Sortir les Femmes des Marges Conceptuelles" came out ...
09/02/2026

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Congrats to Dr. Sara Parks, whose new article, "L'effet Brooten: Sortir les Femmes des Marges Conceptuelles" came out this summer in the French-language journal Foi et Vie, in a special themed issue on "Les femmes dans le judaïsme".

The article shows how gendered stereotypes have often caused interpreters of ancient inscriptions, archeology, and documents to dismiss very clear evidence of women, sometimes coming up with hilarious excuses as to why the women should be ignored (they're the result of spelling errors, they're men with women's names, the author was just being polite, etc.) Sara named this common problem "The Brooten Phenomenon" after the way it happens to Professor Bernadette Brooten's clear inscriptional evidence for women leaders of ancient synagogues.

The journal issue is online here: https://www.foi-et-vie.fr/archive/review.php?code=2025_04
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StFX University Stfx Faculty of Arts Communications Sara Parks PhD

!Congratulations are in order for StFX University Religious Studies prof Dr. Gerjan Altenburg, who presented new resear...
09/01/2026

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Congratulations are in order for StFX University Religious Studies prof Dr. Gerjan Altenburg, who presented new research this spring in Toronto.

He shared "Buddhist Monasticism, Law, and Society in Canada's Maritime Provinces" at the Fourth International Conference on Buddhism and Law, York University, April 17-19 2026.
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Stfx Faculty of Arts Communications

Religious Studies has room for you! Check out our fall courses!
09/01/2026

Religious Studies has room for you! Check out our fall courses!

!Congratulations to StFX University Religious Studies department chair, Dr. Ken M. Penner, on his brand new publication...
08/31/2026

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Congratulations to StFX University Religious Studies department chair, Dr. Ken M. Penner, on his brand new publication on the Bible and AI:

Ken Penner, "1 Kings 3:1-15 - The Listening Heart: Discernment in the Age of Intelligent Tools," in Douglas Estes and Marcus Schwarting, eds., "40 Bible Passages About AI: Scripture for an Age of Intelligent Machines" (Friendship Press, 2026).

https://www.friendshippress.org/products/40-bible-passages-about-ai-nbsp?variant=51270057492768
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Faculty of Arts Communications

!Huge congratulations to Dr. Linda Darwish, whose SSHRC-funded manuscript has just been submitted. The book, "Meaningfu...
08/29/2026

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Huge congratulations to Dr. Linda Darwish, whose SSHRC-funded manuscript has just been submitted. The book, "Meaningful Journeys: Stories of Forced Migration from Muslim-Majority Countries to Canada" is co-authored with Linda's former PhD supervisor at Concordia, Dr. Lynda Clarke. A five-year SSRHC Insight Grant supported interviews, translation, compiling, and analysis across many personal narratives of forced migration from Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq, and Syria to Canada. Look for this insightful book when it comes out with McGill-Queens University Press, in their Refugee and Forced Migration Studies series:

https://www.mqup.ca/Series/M/McGill-Queen-s-Refugee-and-Forced-Migration-Studies
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StFX University Stfx Faculty of Arts Communications

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