St. Michael’s innovative Diploma in Interfaith Dialogue, which resumes this month, is now accessible to students across the country, thanks to the program’s move to all-online delivery.
The latest course offering, Indigenous Sacred Traditions & Reconciliation, which begins on July 26, 2022, will see students examine key notions in Indigenous sacred traditions and worldviews, examining questions relating to topics such as justice and ecology, says doctoral student Benjamin Lujan, who will be teaching the course.
Given that the class will overlap with Pope Francis’s arrival, discussion will also focus on the purpose and impact of the papal visit, Lujan says.
“This is not an Us-Them situation because we are all in this together,” he says. “The key is to recognize that we should be living in solidarity with each other.”
The four classes will also explore the effects of colonization and recent initiatives to work toward reconciliation in Canada, paying attention to the spiritual dimension both of colonial violence and reconciliation.
The course runs from 6-9 p.m. for four consecutive Tuesdays, concluding on August 16. Thanks to generous support from the Scarboro Missions, tuition remains $100 per course.
Requirements for the 10-credit Diploma in Interfaith Dialogue include two foundational courses, a minimum of two courses from the Faith Traditions category as well as a minimum of two from the category of topics in interfaith encounter and a summative project.
The program is open to people of all faith traditions, and a prior degree is not needed to apply. With rolling admissions, people can register for the diploma at any point throughout the year.
Lujan says students in the Indigenous Sacred Traditions online course will be invited to bring their own questions and experiences to the class, which will be modelled on Indigenous methodologies. Participants will each produce four reflection papers.
“This will not simply be four weeks of exhaustive knowledge transfer,” says Lujan, “but an attempt to examine relationships, because we must be in relationship before having meaningful dialogue. Reconciliation is a spiritual thing because damage has a spiritual nature. Unless there is change experienced by both parties true reconciliation does not take place.”
This fall’s course offerings will include East Asian Religions and Hinduism. More information on the Diploma in Interfaith Dialogue, including application forms, can be found on our website.