Course Catalogue 2026-2027

This orientation to several dimensions of Christian ethics - language, sources, norms, methods and concerns - aims to foster ethical awareness for dealing with moral challenges in personal, social, and church/religious life. To practice Canadian ethical reflection, these dimensions are introduced with reference to several concrete social issues and the public vocation of Christian ethics.

Through analysis of doctrinal statements of The United Church of Canada, their historical origins and contemporary theology, this course will enable students to become acquainted with United Church theology and the processes by which it has been developed, and to articulate their own faith in relation to their own experience, the faith of the church, and the practice of ministry in the context of challenges of today. Students will participate in the process by which "Christians of each new generation are called to state [the faith of the church] afresh in terms of the thought of their own age and with the emphasis their age needs" (Preamble, A Statement of Faith, 1940). Doctrinal statements on which the course will focus include the Doctrine section of the Basis of Union (1925), A Statement of Faith I1940), and A Song of Faith (2006); theological statements from other United Church documents will also be considered. Course methods include readings, discussions, and papers, and will incorporate students' reflections on their experience and integration of theory and practice into discussions and papers.

Queer theory challenges feminist theory’s and gay and lesbian studies’ focus on tolerance and inclusion with radical deconstructive critiques of the institutions and practices that produce gender and sexuality norms to begin with. Theologies in dialogue with queer theory thus presuppose the full inclusion of LGTBQIA2+ people in the life and leadership of churches – rather than argue for it – to articulate constructive theological projects out of queer practices. In this course, students engage foundational texts in queer theology to begin constructing their own theological positions in a context that disrupts binary understandings of gender and heteronormative views of sexuality. This course is focused through a Christian lens because this is where queer (rather than ‘affirming’ or ‘apologetic’ approaches) have primarily been developed. Students in non-Christian streams are still encouraged to enroll, however; please meet with the instructor prior to the course to ensure you are able to receive the support you need to pursue your goals in relation to course parameters. This course fulfills the Emmanuel College designated elective in Theology or Pastoral Studies.

This course explores creativity and its theological significance, drawing from interdisciplinary sources to consider the imagination, creative process and the arts in relation to the life of faith and spiritual practice. Even though creativity is often associated with intentional artistic endeavours, the capacity to imagine, improvise, innovate, and make/construct is intrinsic to human life e.g., in daily routines and relationships, rituals, stories, spiritual identity, personal resilience, empathy, community building, and peace and justice building. By paying attention to various dimensions of creativity, human and divine, the course investigates the making and perceiving of beauty in the world as an orientation toward value and personal and communal transformation. It thus seeks move beyond cognitive and entrepreneur models of creativity as well as dichotomies of action vs. reflection in theology. Particular consideration is given to visual arts and music.

This course is a seminary format historical retracing of the main figures, movements, and issues which have emerged overtime in the fields of Christian ethics. Starting with the early church through to contempOrary times, this course is an in-depth analysis of the development of Christian understanding of right and wrong, human morality, concerns for justice, peace, freedom, etc. Major emphasis is given to enhancing participants' skills in analyzing ethical arguments from different periods, from their own cultural and religious background and context.

The cross-disciplinary migration of ethnography - or, more broadly, qualitative methods (QR) - has called not just for its application to, or even, integration with the various academic fields in which it lands. Rather, each discipline needs to reinvent and reimagine qualitative approaches in light of the nature, goals and norms of their own scholarly communities. Theology - where ethnographic approaches are increasingly being used - is not exempt from this need. While the sub-fields of Practical Theology and Ethics are best known for their use of ethnographic approaches to the theological disciplines, other sub-fields (e.g., Constructive/Systematics, Biblical studies, Digital Studies and more) have recently followed suit. Robust conversations at these inter-disciplinary intersections are developing complex ways for arranging myriad vectors of knowledge production that contribute to a theological project. This course is designed for AD theology students (all research areas) intending to use ethnography or QR in their thesis projects. While exploring some of the QR methods most used by theologians, its main purpose is to engage with the core theological questions associated with the use of QR for theological purposes, including, but not limited to: reflexivity, normativity and representation. 

This seminar offers an advanced introduction to comparative theological method. The course examines the processes by which theologians study theologies across religious boundaries and bring this learning into dialogue with home traditions through careful comparison, dialogical reflection, and nuanced theological understandings of religious belonging. Students will consider critiques and refinements of the practice of comparison, survey current methods of theological comparison, and frame a comparative research project according to their own theological interests. Because the class wrl! analyze examples from a variety of religious traditions, prior knowledge of multiple traditions is desirable but not required.

Queer theory challenges feminist theory’s and gay and lesbian studies’ focus on tolerance and inclusion with radical deconstructive critiques of the institutions and practices that produce gender and sexuality norms to begin with. Theologies in dialogue with queer theory thus presuppose the full inclusion of LGTBQIA2+ people in the life and leadership of churches – rather than argue for it – to articulate constructive theological projects out of queer practices. In this course, students engage foundational texts in queer theology to begin constructing their own theological positions in a context that disrupts binary understandings of gender and heteronormative views of sexuality. This course is focused through a Christian lens because this is where queer (rather than ‘affirming’ or ‘apologetic’ approaches) have primarily been developed. Students in non-Christian streams are still encouraged to enroll, however; please meet with the instructor prior to the course to ensure you are able to receive the support you need to pursue your goals in relation to course parameters. This course fulfills the Emmanuel College designated elective in Theology or Pastoral Studies.

This course explores creativity and its theological significance, drawing from interdisciplinary sources to consider the imagination, creative process and the arts in relation to the life of faith and spiritual practice. Even though creativity is often associated with intentional artistic endeavours, the capacity to imagine, improvise, innovate, and make/construct is intrinsic to human life e.g., in daily routines and relationships, rituals, stories, spiritual identity, personal resilience, empathy, community building, and peace and justice building. By paying attention to various dimensions of creativity, human and divine, the course investigates the making and perceiving of beauty in the world as an orientation toward value and personal and communal transformation. It thus seeks move beyond cognitive and entrepreneur models of creativity as well as dichotomies of action vs. reflection in theology. Particular consideration is given to visual arts and music.

This course is a seminary format historical retracing of the main figures, movements, and issues which have emerged overtime in the fields of Christian ethics. Starting with the early church through to contempOrary times, this course is an in-depth analysis of the development of Christian understanding of right and wrong, human morality, concerns for justice, peace, freedom, etc. Major emphasis is given to enhancing participants' skills in analyzing ethical arguments from different periods, from their own cultural and religious background and context.

This course is rooted in an ever-deepening awareness that all Christians are, by virtue of their baptism, incorporated into the People of God, and all of them “in their own way share the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ,” as they carry out their mission in the Church (Lumen Gentium #31). This course seeks to equip students with virtuous leadership skills and an understanding of lay ministry as they discern their place in the servant Church of Christ.

This course explores the development of monasticism in the first millennium of Christianity that continues to inform Christian life today. Attention will be paid to the biblical background and social-cultural context that led to its growth, as well as its relationship to the development of Christian institutions across the diverse cultural realities of the Christian East. The course also studies role monasticism played in the articulation of the liturgical, spiritual and doctrinal tradition.