Christopher Craig Brittain is Dean of Divinity and Margaret E. Fleck Chair in Anglican Studies at the University of Toronto. His primary research interest is in contemporary Christianity, which he explores from a variety of differing perspectives and concerns.

I. Power and Powerlessness. The project is a theological study of the concept of power.  Many scholars have observed that the concept of power remains contested and often neglected. The absence of a theoretical grasp of the concept is even more striking in Christian theology. Churches in the Global North evidence considerable discomfort over the idea of power: to avoid the charge of colonial imposition of their worldview; due to conflicts over authority within the churches; or to dissociate from the dominant political order. In the Global South, however, the vibrant Neo-Pentecostal and Charismatic movements celebrate the immediacy of the ‘power of the Spirit’. What needs to be better understood, therefore, are the resources contained within the Christian tradition to make sense of competing claims about the nature and significance of power, particularly given that existing literature does not often address these issues in a sustained manner.

II. Conflict in the Anglican Communion:  This project analyses the nature of the ongoing conflict within the global Anglican Communion, a conflict that has played out both within and between the different Provinces of the Communion. Although the conflict has often been presented (particularly in the press) as a dispute over sexual norms, preliminary investigations suggest that, while homosexuality is a focus of the conflict, it is to a large degree a ‘presenting symptom’ for other issues and tensions.

III. Issues in Political Theology. I have recently completed essays on populism and religion (focusing on evangelical support of Donald Trump) and in Christian responses to the migration crisis.

The Anglican Communion at a Crossroads: The Crises of a Global Church (University Park: Penn State University Press, 2018). 264 pages.

Plague on Both Their Houses: Liberals vs Conservatives and the Divorce of the Episcopal Church USA (London: T&T Clark, 2015). xvi +263 pages.

Religion at Ground Zero: Theological Responses to Times of Crisis (London: Continuum, 2011). x + 223 pages.

Adorno and Theology (London: T&T Clark, 2010). x + 238 pages.

The Weight of Objectivity: Critical Social Theory and Theology (Saarbrücken, Germany, LAP Lambert, 2010). 194 pages.