Dr Kelly Fleming

Although I never studied religion in school growing up, I studied it on my own.

I studied Judaism under the local Rabbi and in the neighbourhood Roman Catholic Church, I found a priest who encouraged my studies.

As a teenager, I studied Christianity with the neighbourhood priest who taught me as an academic would do.

The Rabbi taught me the Torah and the commentaries as well as the Talmud. He taught me using the methods they used in yeshiva studies.

In university, my favourite place to hang out in my free time was in the religion department where I had an awesome opportunity to study under the lead professor of religion.

I stayed friends with her until she passed away during the pandemic. One of the last things she said to me was “what manuscript are you currently working on”?

I’ve been blessed to have some amazing scholars in religion to guide me and help me to learn. They all encouraged me to continue my studies, which I have done.

I would not be the person I am today without the mentors I had growing up as well as those as an adult who have opened opportunities for me to study in the field of religion. They taught me how to do in-depth research at a young age and my academic life has grown so much over the past 35+ years thanks to these mentors.

Sadly all three of my primary mentors are no longer with us but the things they taught me and the methods they used, have made a profound impact on my life and my skills in the scholastic area of religion.