The Religion in Canada Institute (RCI) is an interdisciplinary research centre and intellectual community of scholars at Trinity Western University committed to understanding the multifaceted role of religion in Canada for culture, individuals, and social institutions.
RCI is an official TWU university-based Institute. The Institute was founded in 2007 and is responsible to the Dean of Research and Faculty Development.
Contact: Michael Wilkinson, Director - Michael.Wilkinson@twu.ca
First of its kind - TWU creates new Religion in Canada Institute.
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| Michael Wilkinson is one of the many scholars at Trinity Western University who have created the first of its kind Religion in Canada Institute. |
Religion. When one hears the three-syllable word it can either induce fiery conversation or shut down an audience completely. Bands sing about it, politicians leverage it, and wars are even waged because of it. Exploring its central role in Canadian history and in the everyday lives of many Canadians has prompted a group of scholars from Trinity Western University to create the appropriately named Religion in Canada Institute (RCI). This new institute will serve as a nucleus for religious research and scholarly networking in Canada.
Established in 2007, the RCI is positioned at TWU's faith-based campus as an interdisciplinary research centre and intellectual community of scholars committed to understanding the diverse role religion plays in Canadian lives, culture and social institutions and in all aspects of religion past and future. It also engages in research projects that assist religious organizations in Canada to conduct their activities knowledgably and thoughtfully.
What makes the RCI unique is the broad base of scholars from different disciplines who are working together to understand the historical and socio-cultural significance of religion in Canada. Topics of investigation include evangelicalism; faith-based social services; Pentecostalism; religion and ethnicity; religion, culture and conflict; religion and globalization; religion, law, and public life; spirituality and health; and gender and religion.
Michael Wilkinson, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the RCI says, "The Religion in Canada Institute is a unique think tank all to its own. We are discovering and addressing important aspects of religion and the interplay it has across Canada's diverse cultural landscape - research that has never been done before in this type of collaboration. Each scholar brings their own expertise to the conversation, making the discussions timely and effective. It is hoped that the Institute will promote further study of religion among scholars and students across our country."
Who We Are
Michael Wilkinson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of RCI (2007-2011). RCI Expertise: Sociology of Religion, Pentecostalism, Religion and Globalization.
Robert Burkinshaw, Ph.D., Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. RCI Expertise: Evangelicalism, First Nations Revivalism.
John Dyck, DPhil., Assistant Professor of Political Studies. RCI Expertise: Religion and Political Thought/Political Notions of Community. See CV
Janet Epp-Buckingham, LLD, Associate Professor of Political Studies and Director of the Laurentian Leadership Centre. RCI Expertise: Religious Liberty. See CV
Elsie Froment, Ph.D., TWU Dean of Research. RCI Expertise: Gender and Leadership, Religion and Higher Education.
Brian Gobbett, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor of History. RCI Expertise: History of Religion and Science.
Bruce Guenther, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Church History and Mennonite Studies, ACTS Seminary. RCI Expertise: History of Christianity in Canada, Mennonite Studies.
Robynne Healey, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Departments of History, Geography, and Political and International Studies. RCI Expertise: Gender, War and Peace/Pacifism.
Sheryl Reimer Kirkham, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Nursing. RCI Expertise: Spirituality and Health.
Joanne Pepper, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Director of Intercultural Religious Studies program. RCI Expertise: Gender, Worldview Studies, Multiculturalism and Contextual Theology.
Paul S. Rowe, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Political and International Studies. RCI Expertise: Islam, Religious Political Movements, Globalization. See CV
Jens Zimmermann, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English, Canada Research Chair in Interpretation, Religion and Culture. RCI Expertise: Religion and the Public Sphere in the Western Tradition. See CV.
Research
RCI Members conduct research into a wide variety of themes relating to religion in Canada, including:
- Evangelicalism
- Faith-based Social Services
- Pentecostalism
- Religion, Culture and Conflict
- Religion and Globalization
- Religion, Law, and Public Life
- Spirituality and Health
- Gender and Religion
Selected Publications of RCI Members
Robert Burkinshaw
Robert Burkinshaw, Pilgrims in Lotus Land: Conservative Protestantism in British Columbia, 1917-1981. Montreal/Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1995.
Janet Epp-Buckingham
Janet Epp Buckingham, "The Fundamentals of Religious Freedom: The Case for Recognizing Collective Aspects of Religion," (2007), 36 Supreme Court Law Rev. (2d) 251. Also published in A Living Tree: The Legacy of 1982 in Canada's Political Evolution, Graeme, Mitchell, Ian Peach, David E. Smith and John Donaldson Whyte (eds), (Lexus Nexus: 2007), 251-282.
Janet Epp Buckingham, Withering Rights: Religious Freedom in Canada, (The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada: 2004).
Darrel Reid and Janet Epp Buckingham, "Whose Rights? Whose Freedoms?," in Divorcing Marriage: Unveiling the Dangers in Canada's New Social Experiment, Daniel Cere and Douglas Farrow (ed.) ((McGill-Queen's University Press: 2004), 79-93.
Janet Epp Buckingham, "God and Caesar: Current Legal Issues Between Church and State: Post 1982," Church-State Relations in Modern Society, (Canadian Council of Christian Charities: 2002), 43-62.
Janet Epp Buckingham, "Caesar and God: Limits to Religious Freedom in Canada and South Africa" (2001), 15 Supreme Court Law Review 461.
Janet Epp Buckingham, "The Limits of Rights Limited," 2000 (11) Stellenbosch Law Review 133.
Janet Epp Buckingham, "Case Comment: S v Lawrence, 1997 (10) BCLR 210 (CC)" 1999 (10) Stellenbosch Law Review 117.
Janet Epp Buckingham, "Book Review: The Charter and the Legalization of Politics in Canada" (1995), 74 C.B.R. 522.
Robynne Healey
Robynne Healey, From Quaker to Upper Canadian: faith and community among Yonge Street Friends, 1801-1850. Montreal/Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006.
Robynne Healey, "Thirty-One Hours on Grindstone Island: the Canadian and American Friends Service Committees' Experiment in Civil Defence", Canadian Quaker History Journal 71 (2002), 22-32.
Robynne Healey, "Wrestling with the Lesser Evil: Quakers and the Sons of Freedom in Mid-twentieth Century British Columbia", in Brian Gobbett, Bruce L. Guenther, and Robynne Rogers Healey, eds., Historical Papers 2006: Canadian Society of Church History, 55-70.
Robynne Healey, "Building, Sustaining, and Reforming Quaker Community in Upper Canada: Informal Education and the Yonge Street Women Friends", Quaker History 94, no.1 (Spring 2005), 1-23.
Robynne Healey, "From Quaker to Upper Canadian: the Boundaries of Community Identity among Yonge Street Friends", in Bruce Guenther, ed., Historical Papers 2002: Canadian Society of Church History, 25-43.
Robynne Healey, "Mr Hills temper unbearable... think we had better part: the Diary of Sarah Welch Hill", in Kathryn Carter, ed., The Small Details of Life: Twenty Diaries by Women in Canada, 1830-1996 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002), 59-93.
Bruce Guenther
Chapters in Books
Bruce L. Guenther, "Ethnicity and Evangelical Protestants in Canada", in Paul Bramadat and David Seljak, eds., Christianity and Ethnicity in Canada, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, forthcoming.
Bruce L. Guenther, "Rediscovering the Value of History and Tradition", in Brad Thiessen, ed., Out of the Strange Silence: the Challenge of Being Christian in the 21st Century, Winnipeg: Kindred Productions, 2005, 187-202.
Bruce L. Guenther, "'I Want to Become a More Efficient Worker for the Lord': Mennonite Bible Schools in the Central Fraser Valley, 1930-1960", in Harvey Neufeldt, Ruth Derksen Siemens, and Robert Martens, eds., First Nations and First Settlers in the Central Fraser Valley: 1890-1960, Kitchener: Pandora Press, 2005, 206-228.
Bruce L. Guenther, "Living with the Virus: the Enigma of Evangelicalism among Mennonites in Canada", in George Rawlyk, ed., Aspects of the Canadian Evangelical Experience, Montreal: McFill-Queen's University Press, 1997, 223-240.
Articles in Journals
Bruce L. Guenther, "Evangelicalism within Mennonite Historiography: the Decline of Anabaptism or a Path Towards Dynamic Ecumenism?", Journal of Mennonite Studies 24 (2006), 35-53.
Bruce L. Guenther, "Slithering Down the Plank of Intellectualism? The Canadian Conference of Christian Educators and the Impulse Towards Accreditation Among Canadian Bible Schools During the 1960s", Historical Studies in Education 16, no.2 (2004), 197-228.
Bruce L. Guenther, "A Road Less Traveled: the Evangelical Path of Kanadier Mennonites Who Returned to Canada", Journal of Mennonite Studies 22 (2004), 145-166.
Bruce L. Guenther, "'Training for Effective Christian Service': the Contribution of Covenant Bible Institute in the Life of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Western Canada", Covenant Quarterly 61, no. 2 (May 2003), 2-26.
Bruce L. Guenther, "'Wrenching Our Youth Away from Frivolous Pursuits': Mennonite Brethren Involvement in Bible Schools in Western Canada, 1913-1960", Crux 38, no.4 (December 2002), 32-41.
Bruce L. Guenther, "Populism, Politics, and Christianity in Western Canada", Historical Papers: Canadian Society of Church History (2000) , 93-112.
Bruce L. Guenther, "The Convergence of Old Colony Mennonites, Evangelicalism and Contemporary Canadian Culture - a Case Study of Osler Mission Chapel (1974-1994)", Journal of Mennonite Studies 14 (1996), 96-123.
Bruce L. Guenther, "The Origin of the Bible School Movement in Western Canada: an Ethnic Interpretation", Historical Papers: Canadian Society of Church History (1993), 135-173.
Sheryl Reimer Kirkham
Reimer Kirkham, S., Pesut, B., Meyerhoff, H., and Sawatzky, R. (2004). Spiritual Care-giving at the juncture of religion, culture, and state. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research 36 (4), 248-269.
Michael Wilkinson
Michael Wilkinson. "The Black Church and Black Pentecostalism in Canada." In Dictionary of Pan-African Pentecostalism. Estrelda Alexander, ed. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, forthcoming.
Michael Wilkinson. "Globalization." In 50 Essential Terms for Understanding Pentecostalism. Adam Stewart, ed. Dekalb, Il: Northern Illinois University Press, forthcoming.
Sam Reimer and Michael Wilkinson. "A Demographic Look at Evangelical Congregations." Church and Faith Trends, 3 (2) 2010: 1-21.
Michael Wilkinson. "Public Acts of Forgiveness: What Happens When Churches and Governments Seek Forgiveness for Social Sins of the Past?" In Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Restoration. Martin W. Mittelstadt and Geoffrey W. Sutton, eds. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2010.
Michael Wilkinson and Steven M. Studebaker, eds. A Liberating Spirit: Pentecostals and Social Action in North America. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2010.
Michael Wilkinson and Steven M. Studebaker. "Pentecostals and Social Action: An Introduction." In A Liberating Spirit. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2010.
Michael Wilkinson. "Globalization and the Environment: Assessing a Pentecostal Response." In A Liberating Spirit. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2010.
Michael Wilkinson and Peter Althouse, eds. Winds from the North: Canadian Contributions to the Pentecostal Movement. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2010.
Michael Wilkinson and Peter Althouse. "Like a Mighty Rushing Wind: Innovation and the Transnational Character of Pentecostalism." In Winds from the North. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2010.
Michael Wilkinson. "Charles Chawner and the Missionary Impulse of the Hebden Mission." In Winds from the North. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2010.
Michael Wilkinson, ed. Canadian Pentecostalism: Transition and Transformation. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009.
Michael Wilkinson. "Canadian Pentecostalism: An Introduction." In Canadian Pentecostalism. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009.
Michael Wilkinson. "Transforming Pentecostalism: The Migration of Pentecostals to Canada." In Canadian Pentecostalism. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009.
Michael Wilkinson. "Canadian Pentecostalism: A Multicultural Perspective" Historical Papers: Canadian Society of Church History (2008) 103-119.
Michael Wilkinson and Steven Studebaker. "A Liberating Spirit: Liberation Theology and the Pentecostal Movement" The Ecumenist: A Journal of Theology, Culture, and Society 45 (2008) 1-7.
Michael Wilkinson. "What's 'Global' about Global Pentecostalism?" Journal of Pentecostal Theology 17 (2008) 96-109.
Michael Wilkinson et al. "Faith-Based Social Services in North America: A Comparison of American and Canadian Religious History and Initiative" Social Work and Christianity 35:2 (2008) 123-147.
Michael Wilkinson. "Faith-Based Social Services: Some Observations for Assessing Pentecostal Social Action" Transformation 24:2 (2007) 71-79.
Michael Wilkinson. "Religion and Global Flows." Religion, Globalization, and Culture, Peter Beyer & Lori Beaman, eds. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic (2007, 375-389).
Michael Wilkinson. "When is a Pentecostal a Pentecostal? The Global Perspective of Allan Anderson" Pneuma 28:2 (2006) 278-282.
Michael Wilkinson, The Spirit Said Go: Pentecostal Immigrants in Canada. New York: Peter Lang, 2006.
Events
Will be updated as events become available.
News
Multidisciplinary Collaborative Research Initiative
Michael Wilkinson is a co-applicant for a successful MCRI grant on Religious Diversity. The project is a 7-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) research initiative, hosted at the University of Ottawa. The project brings together 36 team members from 24 universities, with Lori G. Beaman, Canada Research Chair in Contextualization of religion in a Diverse Canada, University of Ottawa, as the Project Director.
Lecture Series and Symposium on the Middle East
The TWU Religion, Culture, and Conflict Research Group hosted a lecture series on Religion, Culture, and the Middle East Conflict in Spring 2011. This dovetailed with a symposium on "Christians and the Middle East Conflict" on 24-26 March 2011.
Book Announcement
John Dyck, Paul Rowe, and Jens Zimmermann, eds., Politics and the Religious Imagination, London: Routledge, 2010.
RCI Member at World Religions Summit
Janet Epp-Buckingham served as a panelist on Human Rights and Religious Freedom at the World Religions Summit in Winnipeg MB on 21 June 2010.
Book Announcement:
Michael Wilkinson and Peter Althouse, eds., Winds from the North: Canadian Contributions to the Pentecostal Movement, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2010
Much of the scholarly focus on early twentieth-century Pentecostalism is dominated by the origins debates of the United States. The polarization between those who argue for Parham’s theological contribution or Seymour’s African American experiential contribution are well known. Beyond these debates scholars typically focus on the role of Americans in the development of Pentecostalism. However, the Hebden mission in Toronto, Canadian women, and the Latter Rain revival illustrate the transnational and innovative qualities of the movement. This book contextualizes the global story of Pentecostalism with some important and often neglected contributions by Pentecostals in Canada and their influence on Pentecostalism in the United States and the world.
RCI Member Update: New Book and Conference
Jens Zimmermann and Brian Gregor are the editors of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Continental Thought: Cruciform Theology published by Indiana University Press. Zimmermann also organized the CCCU funded conference "Reason and Faith" held at Trinity Western University in October, 2009. Zimmermann presented the paper "Christian Humanism in Paul’s Letter to the Romans" at a conference on Religion and Humanism organized by the Catholic Academy in Hamburg, Germany in October 2009.
RCI Members present at American Academy of Religion 2009 Annual Meeting
Michael Wilkinson and Jens Zimmermann presented at the American Academy of Religion meeting held in Montreal, November 6-9, 2009. Wilkinson presented the paper "Charles W. Chawner and the Missionary Impulse of the Hebden Mission" which examines the impact of the early Canadian Pentecostal movement in Africa. Zimmermann's paper, "Being Human, Becoming Human: Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Christological Humanism" argues for the Christian origins of humanism.
Research Award
Dr Michael Wilkinson (Sociology Department, Director, Religion in Canada Institute), has secured funding for a two-year project as part of the Templeton Foundation Flame of Love Award. It is a collaborative and inter-disciplinary project with Dr Peter Althouse (Southeastern University, Florida) investigating the concept of 'godly love' in the Charismatic movement. The project focuses on understanding the role of prayer within a network of Charismatic prayer centres in the USA. The total amount of the award is $150,000 USD.
RCI Members present at Western Political Science Association
RCI members John Dyck and Paul Rowe presented at the Western Political Science Association General Meeting in Vancouver, held from 19-21 March 2009.
Culture, Religion, and Integration among Young Adults of Immigrant Background in Canada
Michael Wilkinson will provide leadership for the Vancouver site of this SSHRC funded project. The principal investigator is Peter Beyer, University of Ottawa. The three-year project will attempt to understand the role of religion and culture in the social interegration of young adult immigrants in Canada.
Book Now Available in Paper
Michael Wilkinson is the editor of a volume on Pentecostalism in Canada that is now available in paper. The book, Canadian Penteocstalism: Transition and Transformation is published by McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009/2010.
Other RCI contributors include Bob Burkinshaw and Bruce Guenther.
Bringing together a previously scattered and somewhat hidden literature, Canadian Pentecostalism provides the first comprehensive overview of the subject. The collection is broad in focus, examining classical Pentecostalism, charismatic movements in the Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant traditions, and neo-Pentecostalism. Contributing authors examine historical debates about the origins of the movement, the response of Pentecostalism to institutionalization and globalization, and the roles of women, aboriginals, and immigrants within the Canadian movement.
RCI Director Awarded Prestigious Research Fellowship
RCI Director Michael Wilkinson, together with colleague Sam Reimer from Atlantic Baptist University, received a large grant, "Canadian Pentecostal Congregations: Healthy Churches Study” from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada - Centre for Research on Canadian Evangelicalism to study evangelical churches in Canada.
RCI Launch
The Religion in Canada workshop launched the work of the Religion in Canada Institute. The launch is featured in a recent Trinity Western University press release and in an article in Canadian Christianity.
Past Events
The RCI hosted its inaugural workshop February 9, 2008. The sold out all day workshop highlighted three prominent religion experts and Canada Research Chairs; Jens Zimmermann (Trinity Western University), Mark Vessey (University of British Columbia) and Lori Beaman (University of Ottawa) and celebrated the official opening of the Institute in the public sphere.
Funding for the workshop came from the Aid to Small Universities program of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Workshop panelists featured the who's who of religious researchers in Canada and included scholars such as Pamela Klassen (University of Toronto), Solange Lefebvre (University of Montreal), Mark McGowan (St. Michael's College, Toronto), Sam Reimer (Atlantic Baptist University), Peter Beyer (University of Ottawa), and Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham and Paul Rowe of Trinity Western University.
Says Wilkinson, "The future of religion in Canada is going to look very different. This is an opportunity for the members of RCI and key scholars in Canada to examine first hand some very important shifts in the religious life of Canadians including personal practices, public institutions, organizations, and new global networks."
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