Clinton's PhD research analysed Western approaches to Islam against the background of colonialism and Christian mission, especially in India. He focused in particular on how ideological presuppositions influenced scholars’ assessments of Islam. He is also an ordained Baptist minister. Publications include Understanding Christian-Muslim Relations (2008), Studying Islam: the critical issues (2009) and (as editor) the Bloomsbury Companion to Islamic Studies (2014) (all published by Bloomsbury).