By Jim Coggins

A VOLATILE new book on the 'religious right' in Canada has ignited widespread discussion in both the secular and religious media. The author contends that "a web of evangelical far-right Christians" has gained influence in the Conservative government.

According to the publisher, Random House, Marci McDonald's The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism "shows that the Canadian Christian right -- infuriated by the legalization of same-sex marriage and the increasing secularization of society -- has been steadily and stealthily building organizations, alliances and contacts that have put them close to the levers of power . . .

"Determined to outlaw homosexuality and abortion, and to restore Canada to what they see as its divinely determined destiny to be a nation ruled by Christian laws and precepts, this group of true believers has moved the country far closer to the American mix of politics and religion than most Canadians would ever believe."

However, speaking to CC.com, McDonald maintained she had no intention of "demonizing" conservative Christians. Further, she said she was "raised from a young age to have an abhorrence of intolerance. I am a Christian who lost my faith for some years, and came back to it."

As might be expected, the book has been sharply criticized by some Christians.

Aileen Van Ginkel serves with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), as vice president of ministry services. EFC, she writes, "rejects the charge that Canadian Evangelicals are working to establish a theocratic government where 'non-believers -- atheists, non-Christians and even Christian secularists - have no place, and those in violation of biblical law, notably homosexuals and adulterers, would merit severe punishment and the sort of shunning that once characterized a society where suspected witches were burned.'

Marci McDonald, controversial author of The Armageddon Factor. Photo by Chick Harrity.

"By imposing the 'theo-con' label on Canadian Evangelicals and advising Canadians to shun us and our contribution to Canadian society, McDonald undermines the same democratic values she claims to espouse."

According to John Stackhouse, a professor at Regent College in Vancouver, McDonald "has just released a very bad book on what she posits is an increasingly menacing Religious Right in Canada . . . Some bloggers have already noticed that Ms. McDonald is getting basic facts wrong . . . or misinterpreting what facts she has . . .

"The book's title, introduction, and penultimate chapter would lead us to think that dispensational 'end-of-the-world' theology is key to the Religious Right in Canada. But to say so is just laughable for Roman Catholics, most Protestants, and even large numbers of evangelicals."

McDonald, he adds, "blurs important distinctions among various religious groups, movements, and categories . . . Who and what are the Religious Right? How are they related to Canadian 'social conservatives' or 'so-cons' and to those she calls 'theo-cons'? It's not clear whom she is describing, unless she means simply 'everyone to my political or religious right who is connecting religion and politics and advocating for their views in public' - and that's not a very helpful characterization . . .

"Because the main thrust of the book is conspiracy theory . . . Ms. McDonald trades in the requisite rhetoric. But her sinister language often becomes comical."

However, some Christian critics have conceded that there are good things in The Armageddon Factor.

McDonald's book, Stackhouse writes, "has so many evident problems that it is hard to trust what she says . . . And that's too bad, because I don't think she's wrong about one crucial matter . . . There is a Religious Right in Canada and it has influence worth noticing.

"The mere fact . . . that theologically conservative Christians increasingly have involved themselves in Canadian public life is not news . . . No one needs to be alarmed about Catholic bishops or the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada . . . What does disturb me . . . is the fact that extreme forms of Canadian evangelicalism -- the creation-science, hysterical-prophetic, health-and-wealth, visionary-charismatic, culturally-imperialistic, all-or-nothing forms - seem indeed to have purchase on significant figures in Canadian political life."

Ron Dart, a professor at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C., writes very positively about the book.

The Armageddon Factor, he states, is "a poignant, probing and searching . . . must-read tome for those interested in how a type of Christian nationalism has come to define Canadian nationalism in a distinctively republican manner . . .

"McDonald, to her credit, does make distinctions between a more moderate and centrist approach on the right, and a more aggressive and confrontational style. Distinctions do need to be made if the religious right is to be properly understood. There is, in short, a plurality of colours on Joseph's coat . . . even though it is the same political and ideological coat."

Further, Dart notes,"The republican right has now, brick by brick, put in place think tanks, organizations, educational institutions, media mansions, creationist museums and a new generation of lawyers and publishing companies that will last long after Harper descends from the throne."

The Armageddon Factor, he adds, "could have been made stronger by demonstrating that there is in Canada a distinctive High/Red Tory tradition that is thoroughly nationalist; but such a tradition would have little in common with the modern versions of conservatism and nationalism that are merely echoes of American nationalism."

Some commentators in the secular press have praised the book. Douglas Todd, spirituality and ethics columnist for The Vancouver Sun, poses a key question: "What, many evangelicals and other religious conservatives are asking, is wrong with becoming politically involved to protect fetuses, defend traditional marriage, oppose homosexual relationships, fight assisted suicide, promote religious schools, counter 'big' government, support the military and campaign with fellow evangelical activists in the USA?"

McDonald, Todd writes, "never actually says in her book that evangelicals and other religious conservatives aren't free to pursue their political goals in a democratic country. McDonald's main aim is to simply let readers know about the extent and sophistication of what might be called the Religious Right in Canada . . .

"The claim by McDonald in the book that she was trying to be balanced, however, has certainly not stopped many evangelical activists from feeling persecuted . . . This, clearly, is a book that stirs strong and often angry emotions, while raising big issues for religious people and the country."

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Other commentators in the secular press have contended that the book relies on sloppy research; utilizes unjustified leaps of logic; and is unfair in its treatment of evangelicals. In particular, the book has been accused of focusing on the more extremely "nationalist" evangelicals - and then tying them to all evangelicals, and even to other groups such as Jews and Sikhs. Other secular commentators have pointed to the positive contributions evangelicals have made.

Maclean's magazine ran an article entitled 'Those crazy Christians are taking over Ottawa!' Paul Wells writes: "McDonald is a former Washington and Paris bureau chief for this magazine. In 2006, she wrote a long article for The Walrus. In it, she took an obvious and interesting fact -- the Harper government pays a lot of attention to the concerns of evangelical Christians -- and turned it into a risible fantasy: the Harper government is a plaything of wild-eyed end-timers who would transform Canada into a soul-saving factory in anticipation of the Rapture."

The Armageddon Factor, he claims, "is the book-length version of that article . . . It's a blend of screaming hysteria linked to something that probably actually happened over an exquisitely equivocal footbridge of maybe-words . . .

"How influential are evangelicals? . . . McDonald admits her so-called Christian nationalists are only 'one faction,' before declaring it has 'gained influence out of all proportion to its numerical heft.' From there it's only a short step along the maybe-word footbridge to warning that the end-timers are about to take over . . .

"People who believe in God and vote their beliefs often work hard. That makes them a potent ingredient in any political coalition anywhere. They win some and lose some. Always have, always will. These days, they win more than they used to. They still lose a lot."

In a Globe and Mail piece entitled 'Onward, Christian nationalists,' Molly Worthen noted that McDonald "has spent hundreds of hours interviewing evangelicals, but still seems to view them as Christian zombies masked as ordinary citizens, who 'burble' and 'enthuse' rather than merely speak . . .

"Her account relies heavily on a handful of books by American journalists who over-simplified evangelical thought, in an effort to galvanize liberals during the George W. Bush era. Some of her subjects may indeed dream of ruling Canada by divine mandate, but she paints all with the same theocratic brush . . . McDonald sees Christian nationalist conspiracy everywhere she looks. Yet much of what she describes sounds merely like politics as usual."

In the National Post, Charles Lewis writes: "By now I should be be used to this particular view of the world . . . It is a world in which certain views are smart and others are for rubes. It is a world in which religion has no place in public life."

McDonald, he maintains, "believes there is a dangerous rise in the religious right in this country, and most good Canadians are sleepwalking into a political nightmare -- much like she witnessed in the United States under Ronald Reagan . . .

"Yet, for all her warnings, Ms. McDonald [is] the only one being divisive . . . [She believes] anyone who might have concerns about abortion, who still regrets Parliament's decision to legalize same-sex marriage, or who gives 100 percent support to Israel is a danger to the nation. Put another way, anyone who disagrees is an enemy."

McDonald, Lewis added, "talked about a weird agenda on the part of Mr. Harper to appeal to social conservatives, as if responding to that part of the electorate was a form of political arson.

"Want to know something about social conservatives? The Catholic Church and many evangelical Christians are opposed to abortion and gay marriage -- but spend a lot of time feeding the hungry and housing the homeless and lobbying for social justice.

"As well, the religious -- some of whom are conservative -- pay taxes, support schools, vote, volunteer and look after their neighbours. They also give to charity, run shelters and give comfort to the sick."

The Armageddon Factor is "nonsense," according to Naomi Lakritz of the Calgary Herald. She elaborates: "Particularly odious to me as a Jew is McDonald's take on Prime Minister Stephen Harper's pro-Israel stance . . . Reading McDonald's shrill book, you'd never suspect the reason Harper is pro-Israel is that he recognizes it is the only Western-style democracy in the Middle East, or that he's aware that the Palestinian people's problems are caused by their corrupt leaders -- who, instead of spending money on health, education and infrastructure, spend it on weapons to pursue their maniacal goal of killing every Jew in Israel.

"No, rather it's that . . . he's infected by an entourage of 'Christian nationalists' . . . And so it goes throughout McDonald's book. Anything and everything can be traced to Harper's born-again connections."

Gerry Nicholls, in the National Post, says "Canada's trendy, urban, secular left . . . earnestly believe Harper has a 'hidden agenda' that includes, among other things, imposing a Christian-style theocracy on Canada. To their minds, McDonald's book simply confirms what they knew all along . . .

"I worked with Harper for five years (1997-2002) at the National Citizens Coalition. During all the time I knew him, he never displayed an ounce of zealotry . . . A clever political strategist, Harper realizes he needs to keep social conservatives in his camp.

"But he also realizes that if he is seen pandering to the Christian right it will frighten more secular-minded Canadians . . . Indeed, many social conservatives I have talked to have expressed frustration at Harper's failure to promote their agenda."

"Canada's secular liberal media," writes Lorrie Goldstein in the Toronto Sun, "are panicking about evangelical Christianity . . . The Armageddon Factor by one of their own, Marci McDonald, has them clucking about how Stephen Harper and his theo-Conservatives are plotting a church takeover of the state . . .

"Today, proclaim our media, devout Christians have no place in the public square . . . This would come as a shock to NDP founder Tommy Douglas, a Baptist minister . . . I don't ever recall the secular liberal media getting this hysterical about left-wing and mainstream religious leaders organizing and lobbying in the public square . . .

"As a member of the secular media who is pro-choice and Jewish . . . I wish they would visit some of Toronto's most troubled communities, like Jane-Finch. There they will find courageous, black, Christian, socially conservative, evangelical pastors, trying to undo decades of damage caused by secular, liberal social engineers - who, decades ago, thought just like they do today . . .

"It's Christian leaders like Jamaican-born Pastor Orim Meikle and his Rhema Ministries, who have been cleaning up the mess ever since . . . He tells the gangsters -- face to face -- to lay down their guns, stop dealing drugs and stop impregnating women. He tells young, black women God wants more for them than to become baby mothers, living in poverty. He tells black parents they must stick together, love and discipline their children and provide for their future."

Ultimately, the core issue underlying the furor over McDonald's book is the role of religion in public life -- and whether conservative Christians should have the right to express their views.

In the Ottawa Citizen, Margaret Somerville writes: "Secularists argue . . . that religion has no valid role to play in forming our shared values, and has no place in the public square. I believe they're wrong; but it's true religion cannot function in the public square in the same way as in the past . . .

"It's a mistake to accept that secularism is neutral, as its advocates claim. Rather, it too is a belief system used to bind people together. And if, despite being a belief system, secularism is not excluded from the public square, then religious voices should not be excluded on that basis . . .

"We need all voices to be heard in the democratic public square, and they have a right to be heard . . . To privilege secularism, as its advocates argue should be done, is to contravene the liberty and equality principles of democracy and to prevent democracy functioning as it should -- in short, it's profoundly anti-democratic."

May 27/2010