What Happened to Christian Canada?

Abstract

By asking “what happened to Christian Canada,” I begin with an assumption that there once was a Christian Canada which is now gone. That assumption is intentional. It is intended to highlight not only the dramatic changes that have taken place in Canadian religious life over the last sixty years, but also substantial contrasts between the religious histories of Canada and the United States, which otherwise are so similar in so many respects. This paper explores the question primarily with American observers in mind, for whom the Canadian past is often as much a shadowy mystery as the great expanse of Canadian geography. But I hope Canadians who read this account may benefit from observing how one sympathetic American views their history and also from realizing that the splendid array of marvelous historical studies that have been produced by a splendid array of marvelous Canadian historians have reached at least some appreciative readers in the United States.

Jesus Q. Politician: Religious Rhetoric in the United States, Australia, and Canada

“…Since the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom came into effect in 1982, the notwithstanding clause has rarely been invoked. The historian Mark Noll (2006, 258) writes, “The most consequential long-term effect of the new Charter was to push Canadian jurisprudence into an increasingly American pattern where activistic judges become the promoters of social change.”…”

Clinical Implications of Research on Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health

“…This perspective is important for a population such as Canada's, where, during the last decades, the percentage of Canadians who report regular church attendance has decreased dramatically. 7 Fifty years ago, Canada had a larger proportion of its population attending religious services than the United States; this proportion has since noticeably dropped, positioning Canada about halfway between the United States and European countries. 7 The relation between religion and (or) spirituality (RS), and mental health has shown generally positive associations; however, it is a complex and often emotion-laden field of study.…”

“…7 Fifty years ago, Canada had a larger proportion of its population attending religious services than the United States; this proportion has since noticeably dropped, positioning Canada about halfway between the United States and European countries. 7 The relation between religion and (or) spirituality (RS), and mental health has shown generally positive associations; however, it is a complex and often emotion-laden field of study. We attempt to examine potential mechanisms that have been proposed as mediators for the RS and mental health relation.…”

Canadian and American Religion Redux: Revisiting America’s Religious Exceptionalism and Persistence Compared to Canada

“…In contrast, Canada's religious organizations-its Protestant denominations in English Canada and Catholicism in Quebec-are thought to constitute a quasi-or "shadow" establishment (Martin, 2000) and thus a kind of mid-way point between the 'true' state-churches of Europe and the denominational structures of America (Lyon and Van Die, 2000). The consensus view is that Canada's limited number of large Protestant denominations-Anglicans, the United Church, Presbyterians and Baptists-while not having an official status, did function as a quasi-state 'church' because of their close ties to Canada's political and economic establishments (Beyer, 2000;Martin, 2000;Noll, 2007;O'Toole, 2000).…”

“…The core argument then is that Canada's religious culture-despite liberalization in Canada's Protestant churches in the decades prior to and after the sixties (Masters, 1969;Noll 2007)-never experienced the kinds of changes noted below in which the potential of the individual life in this world came to be affirmed in a religious way in America. 9 The result was an expansion of the optional understandings of the Christian message broadly available to Americans.…”