“God has not given up on Canada’s churches”

A sociologist considers the evangelical factor in the resurgence of religion and spirituality

Reginald W. Bibby
Special to ChristianWeek

After attempting for some 25 years to make sense of religious developments in Canada, I think I finally have figured things out! And what many readers might find interesting is that I believe the activity and experiences of Canadian evangelical churches provide at least two significant keys to understanding what has been happening and what can take place.

In The Boomer Factor, I maintain that we have made a serious mistake in assuming that organized religion in Canada has been in a downward free-fall since the 1960s. Of course there are some problem areas, notably in Quebec. But overall, religion in Canada today on both the individual and collective levels is exhibiting remarkably good health for an institution that was supposed to be pretty much a thing of the past by now.

And evangelicals have helped to show us where we went wrong.

For decades we have been looking at Canada through European glasses—listening to the likes of thinkers including Durkheim, Marx, and Freud, who assumed that religion’s influence would diminish as societies became more advanced.

Often with little or no actual data in hand, Canadian academics in university and theological settings who had been trained in Europe or had been influenced by European thinking spread such a secularization mindset across Canada. I was among them. Our students subsequently carried the outlook into their careers in media, education, government, business and churches, as well as into their homes in their roles as partners and parents.

The perception that organized religion was in serious trouble in Canada—fuelled in part by my own data showing that national weekly attendance had dropped from 60 per cent in 1945 to 30 per cent in 1975 to 20 per cent by 1990—had some devastating consequences for morale, creativity, risk-taking and policies.

If one believed that the church had a precarious future, it was a short step to move into retreat mode and call on one’s group to be a significant remnant, as the United Church was inclined to do; or to believe that the Church would eventually prevail and therefore simply keep one’s seatbelt on the plane tightly fastened, not get up, and wait for the turbulence to subside—as many Roman Catholic leaders seemed to do.

In short, the creative energies of many leaders and laity were bottled up by what one Presbyterian friend has aptly described as “the psychological shackles of the secularization mindset.”

Radical response In the face of the news that participation in organized religion was both irreversible and inevitable, evangelicals tended to respond radically: they decried such a trend, and felt they needed to do everything they could to turn things around.

Between the late 1960s and the end of the 20th century, they succeeded in maintaining a national “market share” of about eight per cent, which translated into around 1.8 million people in 1971 and some 2.5 million by 2001. Over the same period, mainline Protestants declined from about eight million to six million, leaving sociologists puzzled as to how “conservative Protestants,” as evangelical groups were dubbed, could swim against the tide.

What observers of the Canadian religious scene have been painfully slow to grasp is what evangelical groups have been demonstrating for some time: to the extent that religious groups do things that add significance to people’s lives, ministering to their spiritual, personal, and relational needs, individuals are receptive to faith and involvement.

I’m not merely speculating: our 2005 national survey has found that no less than 62 per cent of Canadians who identify with religious groups, yet attend services less than once a month, say they are receptive to being more involved—if they can find it to be worthwhile for themselves or their families.

And what does “worthwhile” entail? Primarily the meeting of spiritual, personal and relational needs.

The primary reason evangelical churches have not only kept up with population growth but also have seen a significant jump in the participation levels of their own people is that they are doing things that touch their lives. As a result, if evangelicals have ever known “a golden era” in Canadian life, this is probably it.

In the course of exhibiting such vitality, evangelicals have brought a critically important message to mainline Protestants, Roman Catholics and other religious groups: secularization and numerical decline is neither inevitable nor necessary in Canada, any more than in places like the United States.

People continue to have spiritual longings and other needs that require the response of religious groups. God has not given up on Canada’s churches, at least not yet. On the contrary, God is calling churches to minister—to shed the shackles of the secularization mindset and “get in the game.”

Family matters

A second conservative Protestant contribution: evangelicals have also understood the importance of solid family ministry. In The Boomer Factor, I summarize research that shows there is nothing more important to Canadians than family life. Family hopes and dreams may be elusive. But they continue to be pursued by virtually everyone.

The implication for religious groups is obvious: if they want to touch Canadian lives, they need to touch their families, from the time that babies arrive through the time elderly parents live out their final months in nursing homes.

Here evangelicals have often excelled. I think of Ellerslie Road Baptist Church in Edmonton where we attend frequently, and my Power Point slide of the toddlers’ toilet six inches from the floor that I have showing in presentations across the country—a poignant symbol of a church that has thought about children and is ready for their arrival.

A major reason evangelicals have succeeded in retaining their children as they move through their teens into adulthood is because of their excellent ministries to people of all ages. Such a strong emphasis on family life resonates well with Canadians, and is an emphasis that other groups, which aspire to connect with their people, need to emulate.

My research spanning 1975 through 2005 documents what most readers know well, that religion and spirituality are still very much with us. Evangelicals have helped to remind everyone that, contrary to secularization rumours, significant numbers of people are responsive to a faith that can speak to both their spiritual and social longings.

What remains to be seen is how effective evangelicals and others will be in responding to the opportunity and responsibility at hand.

For decades we have been looking at Canada through European glasses—listening to the likes of thinkers including Durkheim, Marx, and Freud, who assumed that religion’s influence would diminish as societies became more advanced.

Reginald W. Bibby, a sociologist at the University of Lethbridge, has been surveying Canadians throughout the country about religion every five years since 1975. He is the author of 10 bestselling books, including Fragmented Gods, Unknown Gods and Restless Gods. His most recent book, The Boomer Factor (Bastian Books, 2006) was released in October.