The state of Christianity in Canada.

As part of reflecting on what to do in the future it would seem necessary to think about the strength of the Christian community in Canada.--Editor

National Post survey

From December 23 through December 30, 2006 the National Post ran a five-article survey on the state of Canadian Christianity.

The primary point of this series showed that while churches in Canada are not exploding in growth, those which are showing a modest increase or at least maintaining membership, are the churches which eschew the prevailing dogma of 'modernization' of belief and morals. The 'liberalized' churches are the ones in freefall, due in large part to the instability of their message.

Second, one gleans from this series anecdotal details highlighting the tacit tenets which together constitute Canada's modern landscape: the privatization of religion, the stigma of religion in the public forum, and, yet, nevertheless, the surprising resilience of Christianity across the nation.

Wave of the future?

The findings of the authors suggest something that would have been unthinkable to the fathers of 21st-century secularism. The current trend of Canadian Christianity strongly suggests that conservative churches, both Catholic and Evangelical, are the wave of the future, whereas the erstwhile progressive churches are quickly progressing down the cliff of self-annihilation.

The question here is: are we speaking of growth for one section and the decline of another within the Christian community itself? Or are we speaking of the future growth of the Christian community within society at large?

Is there anything new?

Some may ask, "Does this series tell us anything we did not already know?" At the moment there remains a pronounced gap between the proclaimed spiritual ideals of Canadians and their lack of observance of said ideals.

However, another answer to this question may be found in perusing any directory listing new religious communities within, for example, the Catholic Church. One cannot find any new community there which is unorthodox and 'progressive.' In fact, the trend is in the opposite direction, as is evident in the case of the liberal, dissenting Catholic New Times; after thirty years of publication, its last edition went to print in November 2006. To put it briefly: orthodoxy within Catholicism has survived while the dissenters are being phased out.

Just after the CNT closed, the Post series gave an account of the meteoric growth of the Miracle Evangelical TV Channel out of Alberta and how it has successfully broadcast its evangelical message against the considerable odds of Canadian TV regulations.

A note on the Catholic Church

The popular media wisdom that religion, particularly Christianity, is in decline was challenged in the National Post (Jan. 20, 2007) by Conrad Black, the former owner of that newspaper. Focusing particularly on Catholicism, Black pointed out that it has not only "as many adherents as all branches of Islam combined," but that Catholics enjoyed a "higher standard of living and education" in most fields. He cited numbers such as attendance figures at Pope John Paul II's funeral in support of his point and also percentages of popular trust of the Church in South America (74%, as against 43% trust in national presidents, for example). In Latin America, the Church has survived such challenges as the failed onslaught of Liberation Theology as well as aggressive evangelisation tactics of sectarian Pentecostal Protestantism. [Editor: Which, foolishly, regards Catholics as not even Christians.]

Black does note the religious decline in Europe but links it to the birth dearth there, "a continental death wish." This, he says, does not apply in North America, Asia or Africa, where Christianity is experiencing a steady growth. "Rome and all the West," he concludes, speaking about Islam, "have seen off more serious challenges than this."

Prominent sociologist sees future growth

Lethbridge University sociology professor Reginald Bibby has studied demographic patterns in Canada for over 30 years, mostly of Protestant Evangelism. In his latest book, The Boomer Factor: What Canada's Most Famous Generation is Leaving Behind, Bibby reinforces and extends Black's ideas of Christianity's future.

While noting that the Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1965) were deeply affected by secularism, Bibby contends that the next generation, the post-boomers, are open to religion; they have "a freshness toward spirituality." They are not just looking for "the latest spiritual fad. They want structure." In other words, the door is open for a resurgence in the growth of organized religion. The Church continues to be very important to people. (Prairie Messenger, Jan. 17 and 28, 2007).