OTTAWA, ON—Less than 24 hours after a late-night sitting of the Senate approved Bill C-38, a prickly political season came to a close July 20 when the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada gave Royal Assent to several controversial pieces of legislation and “marriage” was officially redefined to include same-sex couples.

Canada is the fourth country—after the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain—to legalize same-sex marriages.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), one of a number of Christian and socially conservative groups who have been working long and hard to preserve the historic definition of marriage both in the courts and before Parliament, is “deeply saddened” by the passage of bill “and its implications for family and religious freedom in Canada.”

According to EFC president Bruce Clemenger, Canada “has chosen to redefine the foundational institution of our society” without fully examining or understanding “the consequences of this massive social experiment.” The government “has reconfigured marriage as primarily an adult-centred institution, and surrendered its ability to champion the rights of children to know and be raised by a mother and a father.”

Both proponents and opponents of same-sex marriage are bracing for a new round of skirmishes as the limits of tolerance on all sides are tested on the frontlines of social change and the new law’s religious freedom protections become more clearly defined.

Clemenger is adamant that the EFC cannot accept this new definition of marriage. “Evangelical pastors and congregations will continue to celebrate and promote marriage as the exclusive and enduring union of one man and one woman.

“Evangelical Christians have engaged on this issue because it’s part of our deeply held religious belief, shared by many, that marriage as ordained by God is a union of one man and one woman,” says Clemenger. “The unique, distinct nature of heterosexual marriage is no longer recognized in our law and public policy, but we will continue to promote and teach the biblical understanding of marriage in our families and churches.”