Brian Carwana

My research focuses on conservative Christianity in Canada and its interaction with the political sphere. I look primarily at Christian lobby groups in Canada and how they relate to and are affected by the Canadian state. My research intersects with three main areas: (i) contemporary conservative Christianity, including its social-historical constitution and development; (ii) secularism, as it pertains to the public sphere, the secularization thesis and its critiques, and the ways that different traditions are affected by and sometimes help drive modernity; and (iii) religion and sexuality, with a primary focus on the role that sex, family, and gender issues play in contemporary politics and in establishing boundary markers for both conservative Christians and liberal secularists. Methodologically, my approach draws primarily on historical sociology.