Happy Canada Day! July 1st marked not only a national holiday but also numerous changes within the Department of Religious Studies. Before turning to those, I would like to highlight the hard work of James Benn and our two administrators, Miranda MacDougall and Alexia Rolle, in planning an amazing Sixtieth Anniversary for McMaster’s Graduate Program in Religious Studies! Check out pictures from the event here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mcmasteruniversity/albums/72177720334087065/
And thanks to all who attended – I have heard from numerous people how much they enjoyed the day’s events and the opportunity to reconnect with people from our program. In light of that feedback, I have decided to resurrect the Chair’s Newsletter to highlight the accomplishments of former and current members of our department.
Congratulations to Andrew Perrin (PhD 2013), whose book Lost Words & Forgotten Worlds: Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls won the 2025 Foreword INDIES Gold Award for Religion (Non-Fiction)!
On June 17th, Robert Revington (MA 2018, Toronto School of Theology PhD 2023) gave a lecture at the University of Toronto’s Alumni Week entitled “‘Under a Very Heavy Cloud of Suspicion’: Great Debates in Canadian Biblical Studies and Theology at the Turn of the Century.”
Congratulations to Chris Jensen (PhD 2019) on being awarded tenure and promotion to associate professor at Carleton University!
Check out John Van Maaren’s (PhD 2019, University of Vienna) new article, “Learning to Treat Other Ways of Being Generously Through the Biblical Studies Classroom” in Teaching Theology & Religion
Maxwell Kennel’s (PhD, 2021) article, “Pacifist Historiography” (Angelaki 30.4 (2025): 34-48), was just translated into German as “Pazifistische Geschichtsschreibung” and published in a special issue of the Mennonitische Geschichtsblätter 83 (2026).
Congratulations to Rory Tasker (MA 2021) on completing his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of Toronto!
Congratulations to PhD student Pema Sherpa, on being awarded a prestigious Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in Buddhist Studies! Pema was one of eight doctoral students worldwide and the only one based in Canada to receive this fellowship. Click on the following link for more information about Pema’s research project, being conducted under the supervision of Shayne Clarke: Fellows and Grantees – ACLS
Congratulations also to PhD student John Ottuh on the publication of his book, Jesus, the Gospels, and African Christianity: Interpreting Fasting and Prayer, which came out in June in the Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies Series! You can check it out and order it here: Jesus, the Gospels, and African Christianity: Interpreting Fasting and
Liyakat Takim recently published two essays, “Ijtihad and Reform in Modern Shi’ism” in The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Reform and “Shi’i Communities and Networks in North America” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam in North America, both published by Oxford University Press.
June 30th marked the final day of Celia Rothenberg’s chairship in the department. The Department is grateful for the hard work and dedication she has put in over the last five years and wishes her a rejuvenating and fruitful time as she transitions to a one-year administrative leave. During her leave, Celia will be carrying out research funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council on Canada’s Holocaust Torahs. Read more about her research here: Canada’s Holocaust Torahs | Religious Studies | McMaster University
As of July 1st, Hanna Tervanotko has taken up the role of Acting Director of McMaster’s Gender and Social Justice Program! To learn more about the important work of the GSJ Program, click here: https://gsj.humanities.mcmaster.ca/
Also, as of July 1st, Jeremy Cohen, who has been with us since 2016, first as a PhD student and then on a contractually limited appointment has now become a tenure-track assistant professor in the department!
And finally, as of July 1st, Matthew Thiessen has taken up the role of Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.
If you are on social media, I encourage you to follow us at any of the following accounts for regular updates:
Finally, we encourage you to submit updates, whether academic accomplishments or significant personal news, so that we can share it with the entire McMaster Religious Studies community, both past and present. Updates should be sent to the following email: MacReligiousStudies@gmail.com
Matt Thiessen Chair, Department of Religious Studies
Departmental News