One of the problems with the census data is that it is still using categories from a century ago, which do not reflect current categories. In particular, the older categories do not reflect the current divide between evangelical and mainline Protestant churches. Over the past quarter-century, there has been a massive shift within ‘Protestantism.’
The State of the Canadian Church — Part I: A Nation of Believers?
Church attendance in Canada is declining rapidly. Atheism is rising. Christian moral values are being replaced by secular ones. Canada is no longer a Christian nation, and Canadian Christians will soon be a persecuted minority. These are among some of the understandings — and, in some cases, misunderstandings — prevalent among Canadians.
Conservative Anglicans to establish new Canadian denomination
The Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) has followed through on its plans to set up an alternative Anglican structure for conservatives “who find themselves unable to stay in the Anglican Church of Canada but want to stay connected to the Anglican communion.” At its conference last week in Burlington, Ontario, the ANiC made a formal […]
Anglican Church in “full-blown schism”
The Anglican Church of Canada is in “full-blown schism,” said Michael Ingham, controversial Bishop of New Westminster, to the Anglican Journal this week. Ingham was responding to the November 15 resignation of Donald Harvey, retired Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, from the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC). Harvey has been accepted as a bishop with the Southern Cone province of […]
Open houses help Lutherans connect with their neighbours
A recent cross-country ‘open house’ project achieved “exactly what we wanted,” said Ian Adnams — namely, helping Lutheran congregations “connect with their communities.” The project essentially encouraged local congregations to invite people to open houses on the last weekend of September. The denomination is still receiving feedback from the congregations, but initial indications are that […]
To veil or not to veil
A federal bill requiring all voters — including Muslim women — to uncover their faces before they vote is a lot of hype over nothing, and may reflect an increasingly bigoted approach to visible signs of religious faith, according to one prominent Muslim. Sameer Zuberi, a spokesman for the Canadian branch of the Council on American-Islamic […]
Closed college continues to raise questions of accountability
Allegations of abuse at a Christian school have raised difficult issues of accountability. Grenville Christian College began operating as a private Christian boarding school in Brockville, Ontario in 1970 but closed this year after former students began making allegations of abusive practices. According to a series of articles by Michael Valpy in the Globe and […]
Quebec struggles with accommodation of minorities
A widespread debate on the “reasonable accommodation” of minorities has convulsed Quebec society and could set precedents that impact all of Canada. Some observers have even suggested the debate could lead to “serious persecution of minorities,” particularly religious minorities. The debate began with a series of somewhat minor incidents over the past two years. A […]
Amnesty International’s abortion position draws criticism
Amnesty International has approved a new policy on abortion that may cost it the support of the Roman Catholic Church. At its biennial meeting — which concluded August 17 in Cocoyoc, Mexico — the International Council of the human rights organization “affirmed the organization’s policy on selected aspects on abortion”. AI launched a ‘Stop Violence […]
Canadians split on creation/evolution
A Canadian Press-Decima Research poll has revealed that Canadians are strongly divided on the question of human origins. Asked to choose the statement which “comes closest” to their views, 26 percent of those polled said: “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.” […]