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THE FUTURE FOR CHRISTIANITY IN CANADA

It is now a well-established fact that Christians are targeted in Canada, perhaps not for physical extinction, but at least for marginalization. Little respect is extended to them in the public marketplace, and there is only a grudging admission of the value of religious input to the public debate.

This situation has been caused, to a considerable extent, by decisions made under the Charter of Rights by the courts and the Human Rights Commissions. These commissions have wide powers to adjudicate and award heavy penalties - even though they are not required to follow the rule of law in deciding cases. The courts and the commissions together have carried out their work with precision, sometimes moving incrementally, and at other times, moving boldly, to emasculate the voice of faithful Christians in Canada.

Political Manoeuvring

Added to this political manoeuvering by the courts and Human Rights Commissions, is the control of the political process by our federal government, especially during the last decade under Prime Ministers Chrétien and Martin. Legislation on same-sex marriage, marijuana decriminalization, drug injection sites, and increased homosexual rights and benefits have all been relentlessly promoted by them, with only minimal public consultation.

The power of the federal government was demonstrated in early March, for example, when Janet Buckingham, Legal Counsel for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and Jennifer Leddy, Legal Counsel for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, were called in to a meeting by senior bureaucrats in the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA). The purpose of the meeting was to warn them that their churches must remove themselves from any political activity on the same-sex marriage issue during the 2004 federal election campaign. The two lawyers were warned that officials in the department would be watching their church's activities during the election, with the object of removing their tax-exempt status should these churches become involved in "partisan" political activity. This constituted a warning shot across the bow. The warning was made because the Liberal government wanted to intimidate the churches into silence on the crucial issue of same-sex marriage in the 2004 election.

Pressure on Churches Just Beginning

This warning to the churches is just the beginning of the pressure that is to be placed on them in the future. For example, it is known that senior officials in CCRA are planning to hold a meeting shortly to discuss the issue of charitable status for religious institutions. We can be certain that one result of this meeting will be to increase pressure and intimidation on the churches to silence them on moral issues that touch on political matters.

The purpose of this intimidation is to create a post-Christian society, with a diminishing connection to Christian traditions and historic values. Many churches are already becoming vestiges of a prior civilization. This is especially evident in Quebec, where churches are being renovated into condominiums because Quebecois seldom use the churches, other than for baptism and burial, and do not even bother to marry, as common-law relationships are just fine for many.

According to the 2001 Census, the majority of Canadians (76.67%) continue to identify themselves as belonging to the Christian faith. Adherents to the different religious faiths are as follows:

United Church of Canada

The number of adherents to the United Church has declined by 8% in recent years. The decline became most perceptible when the church began to adjust its teachings to the social and cultural values of the day by becoming more "relevant" and abandoning supposedly outmoded doctrines and moral assumptions. This change in the United Church commenced in 1972 with its support of abortion on demand. The declining membership has been accelerated in recent years with the church's full support of homosexuality and same-sex marriages. (The United Church is an intervenor in the Supreme Court of Canada Reference on behalf of same-sex partners.)

The Anglican Church

The two million-member Anglican Church of Canada is rapidly following in the footsteps of the United Church and will ultimately reach a similar fate unless it changes its course.

The Anglican Synod

On May 31, 2004, the Anglican General Synod elected its national leader, Montreal Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, one of the church's most liberal bishops, who supports the blessing of same-sex unions. He insists, however, that he does not support same-sex marriage (presumably that will come later). His election followed hard on the heels of the election of Peter Elliott, dean of Vancouver's Christ Church Cathedral, who is openly homosexual, as prolocutor or chairman of the Anglican General Synod. On June 2, 2004 the General Synod decided to defer a vote for three years on whether to permit individual bishops and their dioceses to authorize the blessing in churches of homosexual unions. Instead, a national theological commission is to study the issue for a three-year period, and bring back its recommendations to the General Synod in 2007. Presumably, by then, some within the Anglican Communion hope the issue will be settled by the courts, and the Canadian church would then proceed in all earnestness on the grounds that the church had "no choice" in view of the law.

However, the following day, on June 3, 2004, under pressure from homosexual activists at the Synod, it passed a controversial motion "affirming the integrity and sanctity of committed adult same-sex relationships". Although it was a close vote, reached through an uncounted show of hands, it blew the top off the tense situation, not just within Canada, but also internationally. This resolution exacerbated the crisis already raging within the Anglican communion, and will have devastating consequences. The numbers of Anglican faithful are declining in Canada, but the church has fast growing churches in Africa, Asia and South America, which vehemently oppose the blessings of same-sex unions. The latter have already threatened to cut their ties with the Canadian church, and the June 3rd resolution to "sanctify" (which means bless, make holy or sacred) same-sex relationships, is the beginning of the end. This resolution will create two rival churches within the Anglican community. Nothing will now stop individual bishops and dioceses from their blessing of same-sex unions, as has already been done by Bishop Michael Ingham of New Westminster, BC, despite the resolution to delay such activity for a three-year period.

Other Christian Churches in Canada Growing

In sharp contrast to the disintegration of these two mainstream Protestant churches is the growth of the evangelical churches in Canada that have remained faithful to their fundamental beliefs and the Scriptures. Membership in these churches is growing at an incredible rate, and it now constitutes 9% of the Canadian population. Similarly, the Catholic church, which has also remained faithful to its foundational beliefs, is exceedingly alive and well in Canada. Its membership grew 4.87% to just under 12.8 million adherents, according to the 2001 Census. The strength of the evangelical and Catholic churches lies in their insistence in maintaining the truth of Christianity. Similarly, the Church of Latter Day Saints (11 million world-wide) is growing quickly, since it, too, adheres to strong moral principles - the importance of the family, opposition to abortion and homosexual practices.

The Light Will Endure and Shine Brightly

It is the stalwart faiths of the Evangelical and Catholic churches and the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) in Canada which will, in the end, eventually win out and save Canada from its present abysmal birth rate loss, which is already causing the disintegration of our social network, owing to too few taxpayers to pay for it. Members of these faithful churches are already turning their backs on the negative momentum created by couples who find it too strenuous, too expensive or too troublesome to raise children. According to Philip Longman, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, there is a strong correlation between religious conviction and high fertility. He asserts:

… people with strong religious convictions are now beginning to enjoy a profound "evolutionary advantage" over nonreligious people, since the "clean living" of the religious boosts fertility and overall health. … Current demographic trends work against modernity in another way as well. Not only is the spread of urbanization and industrialization itself a major cause of falling fertility, it is also a major cause of so-called diseases of affluence, such as overeating, lack of exercise, and substance abuse, which leave a higher and higher percentage of the population stricken by chronic medical conditions. Those who reject modernity would thus seem to have an evolutionary advantage, whether they are clean-living Mormons or Muslims.

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