UNISA - Religious Studies, Islamic Studies & Arabic

UNISA - Religious Studies, Islamic Studies & Arabic The Department of Religious Studies and Arabic teaches three Disciplines: Religious Studies, Islamic Studies and Arabic. We emphasise the following aspects:

1.

The Department of Religious Studies and Arabic teaches three disciplines, namely Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, and Arabic. knowledge of facts about religions
2. empathy for and understanding of religions as expressions of the human search for meaning
3. the willingness and ability of students to think independently and critically
4. the training of students to do empirical and historical res

earch

We engage staff and students in research in:

1. the religious heritage of Africa, including traditional, Christian and Islamic influences
2. the classical traditions of humankind, especially Islam
3. new religious phenomena
4. theoretical and philosophical studies
5. the Arabic language

We are committed to serving our society. We therefore:

1. encourage a general public awareness of and respect for the various religions in our pluralistic world
2. support positive dialogue between religious traditions
3. conduct our teaching according to general academic rules. No particular religious or philosophical commitment is presupposed or required to study with us, but we do insist on an attitude of respect for the beliefs of others. The department is fully involved in research and its academic members produce a steady stream of books, essays and articles in their respective fields of expertise.

19/03/2026
19/03/2026

Streaming the Sacred: Religion, Public Pedagogy, and Epistemic Diversity in The Believers. Lee Scharnick-Udemans

12/03/2026

The Department of Religious Studies and Arabic present their latest podcast titled 'Sacred Spaces in a digital age'

Click the link below to listen:
https://mylifeunisaac-my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/rafudma_unisa_ac_za/IQCAlbeaVgA8Tb3Ucz7DEz0UAY5ipru5D5mwZaRQHSe5YMY?xsdata=MDV8MDJ8bWFib252QHVuaXNhLmFjLnphfGUwOGFmNDZiZWZmYzRhMTAyYjllMDhkZTgwMTVkZjQ5fGNhOWE4YjhjM2VhMzQ3OTlhNDNlNTUxMDM5OGU3YTNifDB8MHw2MzkwODkwMjg2MTU3MjczMDF8VW5rbm93bnxUV0ZwYkdac2IzZDhleUpGYlhCMGVVMWhjR2tpT25SeWRXVXNJbFlpT2lJd0xqQXVNREF3TUNJc0lsQWlPaUpYYVc0ek1pSXNJa0ZPSWpvaVRXRnBiQ0lzSWxkVUlqb3lmUT09fDB8fHw%3d&sdata=UW5LTWJhWk1JbG5tK0FmUHkzUjZvNzlsWEdCMTYvcFV1Z0ljK0dISHcwVT0%3d

05/02/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1D4FEhJP9L/?mibextid=wwXIfr
23/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1D4FEhJP9L/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🌍 BaobabX Podcast | BaobabX Talks
🎙️ Holy Algorithms: Studying Religion in the Age of Machines and Digitalisation

How are algorithms, AI, and digital platforms reshaping religion in Africa today?

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with leading academics as we explore how religion is being transformed, expressed, and contested in a world shaped by machines, data, and emerging technologies. From online worship and WhatsApp sermons to TikTok preaching and digital pilgrimages, this session sits at the intersection of Religious Studies and African Digital Humanities.

📅 Date: Tuesday, 27 January 2026
⏰ Time: 18h00 – 19h00
📍 Platform: Facebook Livestream

👉 Join the conversation here:
🔗 https://bit.ly/4oSlyOx

Let’s reflect together on faith, technology, ethics, power, and meaning-making in the digital age.

11/01/2026

Can artificial intelligence (AI) move beyond efficiency toward wisdom? In an interview with CGTN, Misha Tadd, a sinologist and director at the Global Laozegetics Research Center at Nankai University, reflects on how AI is used in academic research.

He notes that AI enhances efficiency in tasks such as comparing various translations of the "Tao Te Ching," a foundational text of Taoism, enabling scholars to conduct large-scale textual analysis with unprecedented speed. Yet its limitations are also notable. Built on language and data, AI cannot access the lived, non-verbal experiences that lie at the heart of the "Tao Te Ching," which reminds us, "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao."

https://history.stanford.edu/people/joel-cabrita
05/12/2025

https://history.stanford.edu/people/joel-cabrita

Joel Cabrita is Professor of History at Stanford University and Director of the Center for African Studies. She is currently writing the first sustained history of CIA operations in apartheid South Africa. The book traces U.S. intelligence networks from the 1950s to the 1980s - including the CIA’s...

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Department Of Religious Studies And Arabic, University Of South Africa, PO Box 392 UNISA
Pretoria
0003

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