Michael Wilkinson, PhD

Dean, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences; Professor of Sociology; Sabbatical Spring 2025
I am a sociologist based at Trinity Western University. My research focuses on cultural analyses of religion in Canada and I have written about immigration and religion, evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, and globalization.

Dr. Wilkinson's research and work focuses on cultural analyses of religion. He has written about immigration and religion, evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, and globalization and taught courses on the sociology of religion, religion and culture, globalization, and theory.
https://www.michaelwilkinsonphd.com/

Michael is on Sabbatical for the Spring 2025 Semester.

  • PhD (University of Ottawa; 1999)
  • MA (Wilfrid Laurier University; 1993)
  • BA (Carleton University; 1992)

Expertise

Sociology of Religion, Globalization, Pentecostalism

Selected Research Awards, 2015-2025

  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. “Flourishing Canadian Congregations in Catholic, Mainline and Conservative Protestant Sectors,” 2017-2022
  • Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities, Networking Grant. “Flourishing Congregations in Canada,” 2020-2023
  • Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Awards to Scholarly Publications Program for the publication of "After the Revival: Pentecostalism and the Making of a Canadian Church," 2019
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. “Religion, Spirituality, Secularity, and Society in the Pacific Northwest," 2017-2020
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Religion and Diversity Project. “Views of Diversity in a Korean Congregation: A Follow-up Study,” 2016-2017
  • Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Awards to Scholarly Publications Program for the publication of "A Culture of Faith: Evangelical Congregations in Canada," 2015
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. “The Role of Churches in Immigrant Settlement and Integration: Developing a National Research Partnership,” 2013-2015

Awards & Honours

  • Research Fellow, University of Cambridge, 2025
  • Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Victoria, 2018
  • President, Society for Pentecostal Studies, 2015-2016
  • Coordinator, Canadian Pentecostal Research Network, 2006-2025
  • Director, Religion in Canada Institute, 2007-2017

Recent Publications

Selected Book Publications, 2020-2025

  • Alison Marshall, Rubina Ramji, and Michael Wilkinson, editors. 2025. The Handbook of Religious Ecstasy. Bloomsbury.
  • Michael Wilkinson and Linda Ambrose, editors. 2024. The Canadian Pentecostal Experience. Leiden: Brill.
  • Michael Wilkinson and Jörg Haustein, editors. 2023. The Pentecostal World. London: Routledge.
  • Michael Wilkinson, Connie Au, Jörg Haustein, Todd Johnson, editors. 2021. Brill’s Encyclopedia of Global Pentecostalism. Leiden: Brill.
  • Michael Wilkinson and Linda Ambrose. 2020. After the Revival: Pentecostalism and the Making of a Canadian Church, McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Affiliations & Memberships

  • Association for the Sociology of Religion
  • Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
  • Canadian Society for the Study of Religion
  • Society for Pentecostal Studies
  • European Research Network on Global Pentecostalism

  • SOCI 315 Globalization
  • SOCI 331 Sociology of Religion
  • SOCI 336 Contemporary Social Theory