COUNTRY
CanadaPOPULATION
34,300,083 (July 2012 est.)GDP PER CAPITA
$41,100 (2011 est.)RELIGIONS
Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census)AT THE CENTER
Matthew Scherer on 9/11, the Financial Crisis, and Climate Change as Conversion Events (Full Screen)
Canada
Publications (2)
Canada is an overwhelmingly Christian country, though the role of religion in public life has waned in recent decades. French settlement beginning in the 17th century established a Roman Catholic francophone population in Lower Canada, now Quebec, followed by English settlement that brought Anglicans and other Protestants to Upper Canada, now Ontario. The religious, cultural, and political antagonism between Canadian Protestants and Catholics remained a central theme of Canadian history. The most recent vote for Quebec’s secession from Canada, held in 1995, was defeated by only 1%. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of religion and prohibits religiously based discrimination. Provinces are permitted to fund religious education in public schools, leading to funding of Catholic education in Catholic-majority areas like Quebec, and funding of Protestant education in much of the rest of the country.
In this edited volume, edited by Paul Bramadat, eleven scholars explore the intersection of Christianity and ethnic identity in Canada. Each of its essays focuses on one of nine Christian denominations, including Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Evangelicalism. They examine how shifts in the ethnic makeup of their membership impacts churches, as well as how churches shape ethnic identities and practices. Authors point out that ethnic identity has been central to the religious life of many...
The essays compiled in Religion and Public Life in Canada: Historical and Comparative Perspectives address the historical and continuing influence of religion on Canada's modern institutions. Contemporary Canada's high level of secularization has led many to dismiss the role and importance of religion in the country. In contrast, the authors argue that religion served as one of the early foundations of the public sphere and that its continuing importance, despite being more subtle, should not...