We visited a university world religions class to discuss how the very understanding of "religion" in the west has been shaped so profoundly by Biblical religion that it inhibits the ability to understand other religions clearly. The talk also used religious objects to explore "lived religion."

We took business students from the University of Toronto's business school to Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist places of worship to learn about how to create inclusive work environments where staff feel a sense of belonging and can contribute fully.

The USA has often been considered an "exceptional" country by religion scholars as it has maintained very high religiosity unlike any other Western country. In this talk, we explored why the United States has been such an outlier and how this ties to the unique relationship between religion and politics in the world's oldest democracy. This talk focused on the long term forces in America that will help participants understand both its history and current events.

Participants joined religion scholar Brian Carwana to explore Shintoism, Japan’s indigenous religion, and the intricacies of Shinto, a unique belief system with no founder, sacred texts or formal doctrines. We discovered the profound connection between Shinto and Japanese identity through its nature-based principles and historical significance.

This webinar explored how Organ Donor professionals and hospital staff can provide more meaningful support for families whose beliefs fall outside commonly represented religious frameworks. Participants were invited to move beyond the comfort of familiarity and toward a practice rooted in curiosity, humility, and affirming care — ensuring that every family, regardless of belief system, receives the meaning, intentional support they deserve.

We spoke with senior leaders at the TVDSB (superintendents, managers and system principals) about how religious literacy can inform the classroom, the workplace, and foster better community relations. The schoolboard has schools with quite varied demographics and we explored how to create a better environment and more cohesion between staff, students and the broader community.

The papacy is one of humanity’s oldest and most influential institutions. Over centuries, popes have brokered peace, launched wars, encouraged colonial expansion and at times sought to restrain its excesses, shaping ideas about morality, sexuality and political authority across the Western world. We explored the history of the papacy and examine several of the most influential figures to occupy the seat of St. Peter.

Brian participated on a panel considering a new book on religious literacy by Leo Van Arragon titled "Reflections on Religious Literacy: Paradox, Promise and Politics in a Secular Age." Van Arragon completed his PhD at the University of Ottawa on this topic and his work is a deep consideration of the role of religious literacy in our education systems.

We explored why religious literacy is so important for creating inclusive workplaces, and how inclusion fosters greater teamwork, higher productivity, and enhanced employee well-being with positive implications for staff retention. We enjoy offering this workshop to city employees and also to partner organizations among the businesses in Chatham-Kent.

In this online program, participants learned about 5 religions in 5 days through classes and interviews with expert practitioners. These programs are very popular, and the feedback from attendees is been excellent.