Course Catalogue 2026-2027

 The course will examine different approaches to multicultural religious education in churches, faith-based schools and other pastoral contexts. It will also consider the implications and challenges of different public policies in Canada on multiculturalism and equity in diverse ministerial settings especially in separate school boards. One of the important goals of this course is to help students to acquire cultural proficiency and cultural intelligence and other skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic society. Students will be led to a deeper appreciation of diversity and acquire tools to interact, and communicate with people from diverse backgrounds. The course will creatively identify healthy and hopeful approaches for teaching and ministry in a multicultural context in which cultures, races, genders and religions are embraced as potentially powerful and transformative variables in the process of evangelization. Teaching method: Weekly lectures and tutorials; quantitative and qualitative approaches in cross-cultural learning, assigned weekly reading, focused group discussion, and seminars. Means of evaluation:Class participation: 10%; Book Review: 20%; Reflection Paper: 20%; Seminar Presentation: 20%; Final Integration Paper: 30%

The course will examine different approaches to multicultural religious education in churches, faith-based schools and other pastoral contexts. It will also consider the implications and challenges of different public policies in Canada on multiculturalism and equity in diverse ministerial settings especially in separate school boards. One of the important goals of this course is to help students to acquire cultural proficiency and cultural intelligence and other skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic society. Students will be led to a deeper appreciation of diversity and acquire tools to interact, and communicate with people from diverse backgrounds. The course will creatively identify healthy and hopeful approaches for teaching and ministry in a multicultural context in which cultures, races, genders and religions are embraced as potentially powerful and transformative variables in the process of evangelization. Teaching method: Weekly lectures and tutorials; quantitative and qualitative approaches in cross-cultural learning, assigned weekly reading, focused group discussion, and seminars. Means of evaluation:Class participation: 10%; Book Review: 20%; Reflection Paper: 20%; Seminar Presentation: 20%; Final Integration Paper: 30%

Ecclesiology embraces the study of the story, nature, self-understanding, hopes, achievements and failings of the church. This class will explore the Inter-relation between ecclesiology, ethics, and community In recent times and our current age. It will focus primarily, but not exclusively on the Roman Catholic Church, although it will examine issues of wider ecclesial relevance, as well.

This course explores not only Orthodox (both Byzantine and non-Chalcedonian) understandings of the Church but also the singular perspectives and experience of the Eastern Catholic Churches whose very nature as “Uniate” bodies poses questions of ecumenical and ecclesiological import. Special attention will be paid to controverted issues of conciliar and papal authority and primacy, the rise of synodality in the Catholic world, and the problematic relationship between nationalism and ecclesial structures. Sources for the course will run on parallel tracks: official (in a Catholic context: “magisterial”) documents on ecclesiology and ecumenism from both Orthodox and Catholic sources; official documents of bilateral and multilateral regional and international ecumenical dialogues; and published scholarship from academics of these traditions

In recent years, several studies conducted in boards of education, such as Peel Region (Chadha, Herbert, and Richard 2020) and Toronto District (James and Turner 2017), have reaffirmed the existence of racial inequities in Canada's education system. While these inequities exist at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, the vulnerability of the K-12 sector makes it a particularly urgent issue. The studies highlight disparities in student achievement, suspensions, streaming and completion rates among Black students and their white counterparts. Furthermore, the school to jail pipeline is a well documented phenomenon that has far reaching implications for society. Recent events such as the police killings of Black individuals, and the civil rights movements spawned by these horrific events, have served to emphasize the systemic racism present in our institutions, including those mandated for education. Scholars such as Ladson-Billings (1995) and Grant and Sleeter (2011) have mapped the characteristics of successful teachers of Black students. Influenced by the conscientization philosophy of Paulo Freire (1970), three spheres of successful learning experiences converge to ensure this success: believing that students can succeed academically, encouraging cultural competence, and nurturing critical consciousness. Through this course, we will uncover how racism disrupts the humanization process and subsequently assails educational development.

In recent years, several studies conducted in boards of education, such as Peel Region (Chadha, Herbert, and Richard 2020) and Toronto District (James and Turner 2017), have reaffirmed the existence of racial inequities in Canada's education system. While these inequities exist at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, the vulnerability of the K-12 sector makes it a particularly urgent issue. The studies highlight disparities in student achievement, suspensions, streaming and completion rates among Black students and their white counterparts. Furthermore, the school to jail pipeline is a well documented phenomenon that has far reaching implications for society. Recent events such as the police killings of Black individuals, and the civil rights movements spawned by these horrific events, have served to emphasize the systemic racism present in our institutions, including those mandated for education. Scholars such as Ladson-Billings (1995) and Grant and Sleeter (2011) have mapped the characteristics of successful teachers of Black students. Influenced by the conscientization philosophy of Paulo Freire (1970), three spheres of successful learning experiences converge to ensure this success: believing that students can succeed academically, encouraging cultural competence, and nurturing critical consciousness. Through this course, we will uncover how racism disrupts the humanization process and subsequently assails educational development.

The MRE Practicum offers participants the opportunity to reflect upon and integrate the theological, philosophical, historical, and pedagogical areas of study, to practice the knowledge and skills, to profit from a supervised peer-supported group and to relate teaching contextually in a post-modern globalized reality. This is a required core Religious Education course of St. Augustine's MRE candidates. Lectures, class discussions, written reflections on readings, theology of ministry paper, and practicum project. Prerequisite:Completion of ten courses in the MRE degree program.

The MRE Practicum offers participants the opportunity to reflect upon and integrate the theological, philosophical, historical, and pedagogical areas of study, to practice the knowledge and skills, to profit from a supervised peer-supported group and to relate teaching contextually in a post-modern globalized reality.

The MRE Practicum offers participants the opportunity to reflect upon and integrate the theological, philosophical, historical, and pedagogical areas of study, to practice the knowledge and skills, to profit from a supervised peer-supported group and to relate teaching contextually in a post-modern globalized reality.

The MRE Practicum offers participants the opportunity to reflect upon and integrate the theological, philosophical, historical, and pedagogical areas of study, to practice the knowledge and skills, to profit from a supervised peer-supported group and to relate teaching contextually in a post-modern globalized reality.

The MRE Practicum offers participants the opportunity to reflect upon and integrate the theological, philosophical, historical, and pedagogical areas of study, to practice the knowledge and skills, to profit from a supervised peer-supported group and to relate teaching contextually in a post-modern globalized reality. This is a required core Religious Education course of St. Augustine's MRE candidates. Lectures, class discussions, written reflections on readings, theology of ministry paper, and practicum project. Prerequisite: Completion of ten courses in the MRE degree program.

The MRE Practicum offers participants the opportunity to reflect upon and integrate the theological, philosophical, historical, and pedagogical areas of study, to practice the knowledge and skills, to profit from a supervised peer-supported group and to relate teaching contextually in a post-modern globalized reality. This is a required core Religious Education course of St. Augustine's MRE candidates. Lectures, class discussions, written reflections on readings, theology of ministry paper, and practicum project.