While peace, order, and good government remain part of Canadian culture, there was a shift away from seeking the communal good to seeking individual good when the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was adopted. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness). peace, order, and good government), in contrast to the United States which emphasized the individualistic values (e.g. Noll argues that Canada, in its early years (late 1800s) always had an emphasis on the state and community values (e.g. Noll identifies the primary shift in Canadian Christian thinking as happening post-World War II (249 – 250). Thus, this paper will analytically examine Noll’s article to try to come to a better understanding of whatever happened to Christian Canada. This is even true in recent Canadian history: in 1950 church attendance in Quebec may have been the highest in the world (249). However, as Noll points out in his article, for a good portion of Canada’s history it was much more Christian than the United States. In contrast, the United States is viewed as the great Christian state and religious dialogue is quite often a part of public debate and political policy. Indeed, many Canadians take the fact that they are a tolerant, individualistic, and multicultural nation quite proudly.
Hardly anyone will deny that modern Canada is a largely secular nation. Mark Noll has written an article in the periodical: Church History, asking the question: “What Happened to Christian Canada?” This is an intriguing question because it implies that Canada at one time was a Christian nation. “What Happened to Christian Canada?”Ĭhurch History 75, no. He wrote an article back in June 2006 entitled “ What Happened to Christian Canada?” In this blog post, I try to summarize some of his main arguments, but I highly suggest you give his entire article a read. He has written an excellent book entitled A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. Mark Noll is a church historian with a special emphasis on North American Christianity.
So whatever happened to Christian Canada? To list just a few obvious places: the national anthem, Canada’s motto from Psalm 72:8 (a mari usque ad mare), and the motto of many of our universities (a topic which we plan to discuss in the near future). Indeed, Canada was a Christian nation throughout much of its history. It unmistakably implies that Canada was at one time a Christian nation.
I kind of hope that title catches you by surprise – I certainly had to take a second look at it.
0 kommentar(er)
