The Study of Religion in British Columbia: A State-of-the-Art Review

A.J. Pell is the rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Diocese of New
Westminster in British Columbia.

Brian Fraser has packed a great deal of information into this review of
religious studies in British Columbia at the university, seminary, and
Bible-college levels. The data are organized in three
chapters—“Origins and Development,” “Programs and Curricula,”
and “Faculty, Research and Publications”—with extensive endnotes
for each chapter. The information is informative and insightful.

However, the review is very Vancouver-centred, with the University of
British Columbia’s Department of Religious Studies dominating the book
and most of the remaining attention being devoted to the Vancouver
School of Theology, Regent College, and Trinity Western University. The
other institutions reviewed tend to be in the Lower Mainland, with no
mention of Bible colleges in the interior and far too little information
about the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University
of Victoria. One hopes that any future edition will be more
comprehensive.