Michael Wilkinson, Ph.D.

Interim Dean; Professor of Sociology; Chair of Sociology & Anthropology; Coordinator of Sociology; Director, Religion in Canada Institute

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.

  • PhD (University of Ottawa)
  • MA (Wilfrid Laurier University)
  • BA (Carleton University)

Expertise

  • Sociology of Religion
  • Globalization
  • Religion and Immigration
  • Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity

  • Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities, Networking Grant. “Flourishing Congregations in Canada.” $30,000. 2020-2023.
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. “Religion, Spirituality, Secularity, and Society in the Pacific Northwest.” Co-Applicant with Paul Bramadat and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme. $167,000. 2017-2020.
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Religion and Diversity Project. “Views of Diversity in a Korean Congregation: A Follow-up Study.” $10,000. 2016-2017.
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. “The Role of Churches in Immigrant Settlement and Integration: Developing a National Research Partnership.” $200,000. Co-applicant with Rich Janzen and Sam Reimer. 2013-2015.
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Religion and Diversity Project. “Christian Churches and Immigration: Integration and Identity.” $10,000. 2013-2014.
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Religion and Diversity Project. “Asian Christianity in Canada.” $9,500. 2012-2013.
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Major Collaborative Research Initiative. “Religion and Diversity Project.” Co-applicant with Lori Beaman, $2.5 million. 2010-2017.

Awards & Honors

Notable Accomplishments and Experiences

  • 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. $8,000, 2019.
  • Visiting Research Fellowship, 2018. Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Victoria, BC.
  • Hollenweger Annual Lecture, 2016. University of Birmingham, UK.
  • President of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, 2015-2016.
  • 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. $8,000, 2015.
  • Director, Religion in Canada Institute, 2007-2017.

Recent Publications

Selected Publications:

Michael Wilkinson, ed. 2021. Brill’s Encyclopedia of Global Pentecostalism. Leiden: Brill.

Michael Wilkinson. 2021. “Globalization.” In The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion, Second Edition, edited by Robert A. Segal and Nickolas P. Roubekas, 277-288. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Michael Wilkinson and Linda M. Ambrose. 2020. After the Revival: Pentecostalism and the Making of a Canadian Church. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Michael Wilkinson. 2018. “The Transformation of Religion and the Self in the Age of Authenticity.” Pneuma 40(2): 91-108.

Michael Wilkinson and Peter Althouse, eds. 2017. Pentecostals and the Body. Leiden: Brill.

Michael Wilkinson. 2016. “Pentecostals and the World: Theoretical and Methodological Issues for Studying Global Pentecostalism.” Pneuma 38 (3): 373-93.

Sam Reimer, Mark Chapman, Rich Janzen, James Watson, Michael Wilkinson. 2016. “Christian Churches and Immigrant Support in Canada: An Organizational Ecology Perspective.” Review of Religious Research 58 (4): 495-513.

Michael Wilkinson, 2016. “The Prosperity Gospel and the Globalization of American Capitalism.” In Religious Activism in the Global Economy, edited by Sabine Dreher and Jay Smith, Rowman International Books.

Sam Reimer and Michael Wilkinson. 2015. A Culture of Faith: Evangelical Congregations in Canada. Montreal & Kingston: 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

  • SOCI 210 Race and Ethnicity in Canada
  • SOCI 315 Globalization
  • SOCI 331 Sociology of Religion
  • SOCI 336 Contemporary Social Theory
  • SOCI 405 Globalization and Religion
  • SOCI 450 Seminar in Sociology