Jonathan Simmons, PhD
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Website: https://liminalnotes.ca
Email: jssimmon@ualberta.ca

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5231-0578
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=bbJckfEAAAAJ&hl=en

Email is the most reliable point of contact.

Profile

Writing specialist and sociologist working in Canadian higher education, with research and public writing focused on secular humanism, nonreligion, and religious deconversion. My professional work centers on editorial judgment, argument quality, writing development, and responsible uses of generative AI in academic contexts.

Current role

Graduate Writing Specialist
University of Alberta, Writing and Learning
2019–present

I design and deliver writing and research programming serving graduate researchers and faculty across disciplines, including workshops, retreats, and writing groups. My work focuses on argument quality, revision practice, academic integrity, and supporting researchers in producing clear, publishable work. I also develop institutional resources and programming on generative AI and academic writing.

Teaching experience

Sessional and contract instruction in Sociology at the University of Alberta and Concordia University of Edmonton (2015–2021), including courses on religion, secularism, deviance, criminology, and introductory sociology.

Selected public writing

Free Inquiry

  • Simmons, J. (2026). The Prophet and the Pathologist: Stephen Kent, Massimo Introvigne, and the Battle for an Honest Study of Religion.
  • Simmons, J. (2025). The Humanist Response to Authoritarianism.
  • Simmons, J. (2025). Sacred or Secular? Rethinking Indigenous Spirituality.

More writing appears on the Writing page.

Media and interviews

  • Divorcing Religion Podcast (forthcoming) — discussion of Indigenous atheism and secular worldviews.
  • U of A Folio profile on research into secular activism (2019).
  • Interview on religious disaffiliation trends, 630 CHED Radio (2014).

Research and publications

My academic research examines nonreligion, secular identity, stigma, and social movements.

Peer-reviewed publications appear in journals including:

Social Movement Studies; Secularism and Nonreligion; Canadian Journal of Sociology; Religion and Gender; Secular Studies; Policing and Society; Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching.

A full bibliography is available via Google Scholar or upon request.

Education

PhD, Sociology — University of Alberta, 2018
MA, Sociology — University of New Brunswick, 2012
BA, Communication Studies & Philosophy — University of New Brunswick, 2010

Selected honours and grants

  • Marsden Fund Research Grant (Co-Investigator), 2024–2027
  • SSHRC Doctoral Scholarship
  • President’s Doctoral Prize of Distinction, University of Alberta
  • Best Student Paper Award, Canadian Sociological Association
  • Graduate Student Teaching Award, University of Alberta

Service and professional activity

Peer reviewer for journals including Politics and Religion, Social Movement Studies, and Secularism and Nonreligion. University service includes committee and representative roles within the University of Alberta.

Workshops and professional development

Develop and deliver workshops on graduate writing, revision practices, grant writing, academic integrity, and responsible use of generative AI in academic contexts.