Institute for Religion, Culture and Societal Futures
@ircsf.bsky.social
The IRCSF is Canada’s hub for social scientific and empirical research related to religion, spirituality, and new forms of communities of belief and practice. Based @stjeromesuni.bsky.social and @uwaterloo.ca
We’re looking forward to hosting a webinar with Anna Strhan on her new co-authored book "Growing Up Godless: Non-Religious Childhoods in Contemporary England," 2:30pm-3:30pm EST on March 4th. To attend the free virtual event, please register here: uwaterloo.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
February 9, 2026 at 4:12 PM
We’re looking forward to hosting a webinar with Anna Strhan on her new co-authored book "Growing Up Godless: Non-Religious Childhoods in Contemporary England," 2:30pm-3:30pm EST on March 4th. To attend the free virtual event, please register here: uwaterloo.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Our Director Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme is currently a visiting researcher at the Centre for Fertility and Health in Oslo, Norway! Below are the average number of children women aged 20-44 in Canada have in their household, by women's religious group
February 5, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Our Director Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme is currently a visiting researcher at the Centre for Fertility and Health in Oslo, Norway! Below are the average number of children women aged 20-44 in Canada have in their household, by women's religious group
In this infographic, Naz, undergrad assisting the IRCSF last term, summarizes some key points from Joel Thiessen's talk last November "Planting Seeds: The Catholic Parish in the Religious Transmission Ecosystem."
To watch Joel's guest lecture from last November: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMa...
To watch Joel's guest lecture from last November: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMa...
February 3, 2026 at 4:13 PM
In this infographic, Naz, undergrad assisting the IRCSF last term, summarizes some key points from Joel Thiessen's talk last November "Planting Seeds: The Catholic Parish in the Religious Transmission Ecosystem."
To watch Joel's guest lecture from last November: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMa...
To watch Joel's guest lecture from last November: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMa...
In this infographic, Joanne, undergrad assisting the IRCSF last term, summarizes some key points from Joel Thiessen's talk last November "Planting Seeds: The Catholic Parish in the Religious Transmission Ecosystem."
To watch Joel's guest lecture from last November: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMa...
To watch Joel's guest lecture from last November: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMa...
January 22, 2026 at 5:26 PM
In this infographic, Joanne, undergrad assisting the IRCSF last term, summarizes some key points from Joel Thiessen's talk last November "Planting Seeds: The Catholic Parish in the Religious Transmission Ecosystem."
To watch Joel's guest lecture from last November: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMa...
To watch Joel's guest lecture from last November: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMa...
Immigration trends among Canadian (non)religious groups, from 2021 Census data. Catholics, Muslims and those with no religious affiliation gained the most people from immigration to Canada between 2016-2021.
January 14, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Immigration trends among Canadian (non)religious groups, from 2021 Census data. Catholics, Muslims and those with no religious affiliation gained the most people from immigration to Canada between 2016-2021.
Join us for our upcoming webinar "Habits of the Heart, Then and Now - A 40th Anniversary Retrospective." This free event on Zoom will take place from 1-2pm EST on Thursday January 22nd, 2026. To attend, please register here: uwaterloo.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
January 12, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Join us for our upcoming webinar "Habits of the Heart, Then and Now - A 40th Anniversary Retrospective." This free event on Zoom will take place from 1-2pm EST on Thursday January 22nd, 2026. To attend, please register here: uwaterloo.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
(3/3) To watch Joel's guest lecture from last November: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMa...
January 7, 2026 at 7:10 PM
(3/3) To watch Joel's guest lecture from last November: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMa...
(2/3) "...These nine practices represent empirically grounded strategies that strengthen transmission outcomes for children and youth. They enhance parental, parish, peer, and institutional influences, helping the ecosystem function more effectively."
January 7, 2026 at 7:09 PM
(2/3) "...These nine practices represent empirically grounded strategies that strengthen transmission outcomes for children and youth. They enhance parental, parish, peer, and institutional influences, helping the ecosystem function more effectively."
(1/3) Elina, undergrad assisting the IRCSF last term, summarizes the following from last November's talk: "Joel Thiessen discussed the concept of religious transmission ecosystems in his guest lecture...
January 7, 2026 at 7:09 PM
(1/3) Elina, undergrad assisting the IRCSF last term, summarizes the following from last November's talk: "Joel Thiessen discussed the concept of religious transmission ecosystems in his guest lecture...
Amy, undergrad student assisting the IRCSF this term, highlights the following finding in this poster as particularly interesting from Joel Thiessen's talk last month at St. Jerome's University:
December 11, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Amy, undergrad student assisting the IRCSF this term, highlights the following finding in this poster as particularly interesting from Joel Thiessen's talk last month at St. Jerome's University:
Naz, undergrad student assisting the IRCSF this autumn, highlights in this reel some of her key takeaways from Christian Smith's webinar last month about the US religious landscape titled "Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith."
December 3, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Naz, undergrad student assisting the IRCSF this autumn, highlights in this reel some of her key takeaways from Christian Smith's webinar last month about the US religious landscape titled "Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith."
Amy, undergrad student assisting the IRCSF this autumn, highlights in this poster some of her key takeaways from Christian Smith's webinar last month titled "Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith."
Watch Christian's IRCSF talk here: youtu.be/BVxCy5zacf4
Watch Christian's IRCSF talk here: youtu.be/BVxCy5zacf4
December 1, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Amy, undergrad student assisting the IRCSF this autumn, highlights in this poster some of her key takeaways from Christian Smith's webinar last month titled "Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith."
Watch Christian's IRCSF talk here: youtu.be/BVxCy5zacf4
Watch Christian's IRCSF talk here: youtu.be/BVxCy5zacf4
Join us for our last webinar of the autumn 2025 term: the launch of Kevin Flatt's new book "Secularization, Social Order, and World History: Toward a Global Perspective" on Friday December 12th @ 2pm EST. Register here to attend the free event: uwaterloo.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
November 26, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Join us for our last webinar of the autumn 2025 term: the launch of Kevin Flatt's new book "Secularization, Social Order, and World History: Toward a Global Perspective" on Friday December 12th @ 2pm EST. Register here to attend the free event: uwaterloo.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Joanne, undergrad student assisting the IRCSF this autumn, highlights here some of her key takeaways from Christian Smith's webinar earlier this month titled "Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith."
Watch Christian's IRCSF talk here: youtu.be/BVxCy5zacf4
Watch Christian's IRCSF talk here: youtu.be/BVxCy5zacf4
November 24, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Joanne, undergrad student assisting the IRCSF this autumn, highlights here some of her key takeaways from Christian Smith's webinar earlier this month titled "Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith."
Watch Christian's IRCSF talk here: youtu.be/BVxCy5zacf4
Watch Christian's IRCSF talk here: youtu.be/BVxCy5zacf4
#Christian #nationalism in #Canada and the #USA from mid-1990s to mid-2020s, based on International Social #Survey Programme data. 12% of #Canadians in 2023 say it's very or fairly important to be a Christian to be "truly" Canadian, compared with 36% in the USA in 2024 to be "truly" #American.
November 18, 2025 at 6:29 PM
#Christian #nationalism in #Canada and the #USA from mid-1990s to mid-2020s, based on International Social #Survey Programme data. 12% of #Canadians in 2023 say it's very or fairly important to be a Christian to be "truly" Canadian, compared with 36% in the USA in 2024 to be "truly" #American.
Elina, IRCSF student this autumn, highlights her key takeaways from our last webinar: "Christian Smith discussed his new book, and outlined new concepts — Cultural Zeitgeists and Cultural Mismatch — through which he explored the question: Why is religion becoming obsolete?"
November 17, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Elina, IRCSF student this autumn, highlights her key takeaways from our last webinar: "Christian Smith discussed his new book, and outlined new concepts — Cultural Zeitgeists and Cultural Mismatch — through which he explored the question: Why is religion becoming obsolete?"
Amy, an undergrad student assisting the IRCSF this term, focuses on the concept of the civil sphere as her key takeaway from Mervyn Horgan’s talk at the IRCSF last month:
November 7, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Amy, an undergrad student assisting the IRCSF this term, focuses on the concept of the civil sphere as her key takeaway from Mervyn Horgan’s talk at the IRCSF last month:
2024 Canadian data on (non)religious switching from Pew Research Center's report "Around the World, Many People are Leaving their Childhood Religions": www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/u...
November 5, 2025 at 6:38 PM
2024 Canadian data on (non)religious switching from Pew Research Center's report "Around the World, Many People are Leaving their Childhood Religions": www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/u...
Joanne, one of the undergrad students assisting the IRCSF this term, created the following infographics on the sacred as a space of collectivization, based on Mervyn Horgan's talk at the IRCSF last month:
October 23, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Joanne, one of the undergrad students assisting the IRCSF this term, created the following infographics on the sacred as a space of collectivization, based on Mervyn Horgan's talk at the IRCSF last month:
Naz (undergrad student assisting the IRCSF), writes about last month’s IRCSF event: we heard from Mervyn Horgan, who took us into the world of Erving Goffman, helping us think about the everyday interactions we often take for granted, what Goffman called the Interaction Order.
October 17, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Naz (undergrad student assisting the IRCSF), writes about last month’s IRCSF event: we heard from Mervyn Horgan, who took us into the world of Erving Goffman, helping us think about the everyday interactions we often take for granted, what Goffman called the Interaction Order.
Join us for our next free webinar event with Christian Smith titled "Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith" on Friday November 7th, 2025 @ 2pm EST. Register to attend the free event here: uwaterloo.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
October 15, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Join us for our next free webinar event with Christian Smith titled "Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith" on Friday November 7th, 2025 @ 2pm EST. Register to attend the free event here: uwaterloo.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Elina, an undergrad student at the IRCSF, writes about last week's IRCSF event: Dr. Horgan discussed how the sacred is not confined to religious institutions: it persists (in altered forms) in secular realms, moral imaginaries, public rituals, and everyday encounters.
October 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Elina, an undergrad student at the IRCSF, writes about last week's IRCSF event: Dr. Horgan discussed how the sacred is not confined to religious institutions: it persists (in altered forms) in secular realms, moral imaginaries, public rituals, and everyday encounters.
Check out the CSSR - Canadian Society for the Study of Religion's upcoming webinar. Register here for the free event: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
September 30, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Check out the CSSR - Canadian Society for the Study of Religion's upcoming webinar. Register here for the free event: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Over 1/3 of the Canadian pop. has no religious affiliation. This Pew Research Center report looks into the spiritual beliefs and practices, as well as attitudes towards religion, among the religiously unaffiliated across the world, including here in Canada.
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
September 15, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Over 1/3 of the Canadian pop. has no religious affiliation. This Pew Research Center report looks into the spiritual beliefs and practices, as well as attitudes towards religion, among the religiously unaffiliated across the world, including here in Canada.
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
Eastern Europe is home to some of the most secular countries in the world, such as Estonia (81% of its pop is religiously unaffiliated according to EVS 2017) and Czechia (77%), as well as some very Christian ones (Poland and Ukraine for example).
September 11, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Eastern Europe is home to some of the most secular countries in the world, such as Estonia (81% of its pop is religiously unaffiliated according to EVS 2017) and Czechia (77%), as well as some very Christian ones (Poland and Ukraine for example).