Education
PhD (2009), History, McMaster University.
Dissertation: The Survival and Decline of the Evangelical Identity of the United Church of Canada, 1930-1971.
MA (2004), History, University of Western Ontario.
BA (2003), Economics, University of Waterloo.
Courses
- Gods and Thrones: The World to 1914 (HIS-106)
- A World at War: The Turbulent 20th Century (HIS-108)
- Totalitarian Regimes of the 20th Century (HIS-312 (POL-312))
- Modern Germany: 1740–1990 (HIS-344)
About
Kevin Flatt serves as Professor of History and Associate Dean of Humanities at Redeemer University, and as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Societal Futures at the University of Waterloo. As associate dean, he provides academic leadership for the programs in History, Philosophy, Politics, and Religion & Theology. His teaching has covered several areas of world and Western history, including Canadian, European, and Middle Eastern history. His research on Protestantism in Canada has been widely featured in national and international media. In recent years, his scholarship has focused on the history and sociology of secularization. His most recent book, Secularization, Social Order, and World History (Routledge, 2026) places secularization within a world-historical comparative framework. Dr. Flatt lives with his wife and three delightful children in his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario.
Research Interests
- Secularization in Western societies
- Protestantism in Canada
Selected Research Publications
Visit the View Research Publications page for selected publications by Dr. Kevin Flatt.
Recent Publications
Books
Flatt, Kevin. Secularization, Social Order, and World History: Toward a Global Perspective. Routledge, 2026.
Flatt, Kevin. After Evangelicalism: The Sixties and the United Church of Canada. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013.
Selected Articles and Chapters
Flatt, Kevin. “Transcendence and Culture: Philip Rieff on Sacred Order, Social Order, and the Secular Condition.” In Secularism and the Pursuit of Transcendence, vol. 1, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Wendy J. Porter, 384–404. Hamilton, ON: McMaster Divinity College Press, 2025.
Flatt, Kevin. “Secularization Theory’s Differentiation Problem: Revisiting the Historical Relationship between Differentiation and Religion.” Religions 14, no. 7 (June 2023).
Flatt, Kevin. “Canadian Evangelicalism.” The Oxford Handbook of Early Evangelicalism. Edited by Jonathan Yeager. Oxford UP, 2022.
Flatt, Kevin. “The Secularization of Western Universities in International Perspective: Toward a Historicist Account.” Review of Faith and International Affairs 18, no. 2 (Summer 2020): 30-43.
Flatt, Kevin. , D.M. Haskell, and S. Burgoyne. “Secularization and Attribution: How Mainline Protestant Clergy and Congregants Explain Church Growth and Decline.” Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review 79, no. 1 (Spring 2018): 78-107.
Burgoyne, S., K. Flatt, and D.M. Haskell. “Going the Extra Mile: The Impact of Theological Orientation and Other Congregational Factors on the Drive Times of Growing and Declining Church Attendees.” Journal of Cultural Geography 34, no. 3 (October 2017): 324-51.
Haskell, D.M., K. Flatt, and S. Burgoyne. “Theology Matters: Comparing the Traits of Growing and Declining Mainline Protestant Church Attendees and Clergy.” Review of Religious Research 58, no. 4 (December 2016): 515-41.
Haskell, D.M., S. Burgoyne, and K. Flatt. “Factors Influencing Church Choice: An Exploration of Responses from New Attendees at Growing Canadian Mainline Churches.” Canadian Review of Sociology 53, no. 4 (November 2016): 409-436.
Haskell, D.M., S. Burgoyne, and K. Flatt. “Mainline Denominational Switching in Canada: Comparing the Religious Trajectories of Growing and Declining Church Attendees.” Canadian Journal of Sociology 41, no. 4 (2016): 493-524.
Flatt, K. and D. M. Haskell. “Participant Experiences at a Charismatic Catholic Youth Rally: What Happens When Participant Socialization and Organizer Intentions Don’t Match?” Religious Education 112, no. 2 (March-April 2016): 1-16.
Haskell, D. M., and K. Flatt. “When Youth Experience God: The Reported Impact of a Mainline Protestant Youth Rally and a Charismatic-Evangelical Youth Rally on Attendees’ Religious Faith.” Journal of Youth Ministry 13, no. 2 (Spring 2015): 21-52.