Celebrating Spiritual Traditions with Brian Carwana

Brian Carwana

Brian Carwana is the Executive Director of Encounter World Religions. Brian left a business career to follow a passion for studying the world’s religions (captured in this 5 min CBC interview). He speaks to thousands of people annually in North America including police officers, NGOs, health care workers, educators, high school students, and the general public. Brian is a sought-after expert in religious traditions and in religious and cultural diversity who has taught at the University of Toronto and been a guest speaker at universities in Canada and the United States.  Encounter’s programs have reached over 100,000 people and the centre was recognized as a Gift of Service to the World by the Parliament of World Religions.

The Centre is called Encounter because, in addition to teaching, Brian brings people to Hindu temples, Wiccan covens, Rasta shops, and Islamic mosques and has deep and long relationships with religious leaders in many traditions. Encounter’s premier program is its Discovery Week, held every July, where participants explore 11 religions through a combination of introductory classes and about 20 site visits to explore temples, meet rabbis and Zen masters, and observe religious ritual and architecture.
Brian also hosts Encounter’s new Youtube series called Religion In A Minute which explores religion in very short segments using the hundreds of Encounter’s religious artifacts.

Brian is in the final stages of his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto which he began shortly after the demise of the dinosaurs. He expects to complete it in 2020.