Sociology

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Dr. Bradley Breems has taught sociology at Trinity since January 1988. As the only full-time sociology professor at the College, he also serves as the chair of the department and at one time or another has taught each sociology class offered. 

After graduating from Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, with a bachelor's degree in English literature, Dr. Breems attended the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto and earned a master's in philosophy. In 1991, he completed his doctorate in sociology at the University of British Columbia. People are his passion, and he enjoys teaching people about people. 

"I love and admire people, and I'm fascinated by human interaction and the ordered character of human relations: its regularity, predictability, and stability. Likewise, I'm equally fascinated by how that order is disrupted and broken down. Sociology looks at all those aspects." 

Dr. Breems emphasizes the Christian perspective of sociology. He asserts that the discipline gives us a deeper understanding of humanity's relationship with God. 

"Sociology connects God, human culture, and the physical world. God created the world with order, and disorder came through disobedience to His laws. The world has structural evil in which people take advantage of power and resources. Sociology tries to understand how these structures have led to deprivation and inequality. Thus, it can inform the Christian walk and show how the body of Christ can influence the world in a way that pleases God." 

That's the correlation that he wants his students to grasp. 

"I want to help them understand the connection between current events and their personal lives. Sociology gives us an opportunity to study how people relate to each other and compare their relations to how God wants us to relate to one another. Then we can better determine if we are living as God desires." 

When the weather permits, Dr. Breems rides his bike eight miles to campus from his home in Blue Island, Ill. He likes to spend his free time reading, gardening, and listening to blues music. 

"Wherever I've lived, I wanted to feel like I'm part of the culture. I got into blues when I came to Chicago. I'm interested in ethnicity and origins of folk tradition within ethnic groups, and the evolution of blues music from the Delta to Chicago is intriguing." 

Dr. Breems and his wife, Helen, have three adult children. The family attends Pullman Christian Reformed Church in Chicago.