“Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law …”
So opens the Constitution Act of 1982. And while the understanding of God is vague, it is clear that our laws are largely built on Judeo-Christian principles of care and compassion, concern for the poor and a responsibility to look after creation.
Mainline Christians can take a certain pride that their Martha-like efforts to create a better country for everyone have been largely successful.
The evidence of success can be measured in part by the adoption today of our faith principles by Canadians of all or no beliefs.
A recent Angus Reid survey of attitudes toward religion and faith reveals a broad correlation on many social issues between the views of mainline Christians and those who are either ambivalent about religion or reject it altogether.
Along with helping to establish the very rule of law itself, as well as the other non-religious social institutions we take for granted, we can say that Christians in the past were great Marthas.
But here’s the rub. Today, as the Angus Reid poll observes: “Canadians are more likely to self-identify as spiritual rather than religious by a margin approaching two-to-one.”
There’s more: Of the 44 per cent of the population that is ambivalent about religion, 42 per cent say they are open to greater involvement with religious groups. Forty per cent of them pray on a regular basis; and 64 per cent said they believe in a God who cares about them personally.
Perhaps the most positive statistic from a missional perspective is that almost 90 per cent of them continue to identify with a religious tradition.
That suggests there is a large untapped market for the church to reach out to, not by inviting them to be Marthas but to become Marys.
The evidence suggests these people would be more likely to respond to well-crafted spiritual formation programs that would help them deepen their relationship with God.
Here’s the other thing. As Maclean’s magazine reported in April, an American scholar has shown that “an intensely felt, transcendental sense of a relationship with God” is “more protective than any other factor against the big three adolescent dangers.
“Spiritually connected teens are … 60 per cent less likely to suffer from depression than adolescents who are not spiritually oriented.” They are also “40 per cent less likely to abuse alcohol or other substances, and 80 per cent less likely to engage in unprotected sex. Spiritually oriented children, raised to not shy from hard questions or difficult situations … also tend to excel academically.”
One final note: The Angus Reid survey (conducted in association with Alberta sociologist Reginald Bibby) also puts a final nail in the coffin of the idea that “liberal” trends, primarily in the area of sexuality, were and are responsible for the decline of mainline Protestant and Anglican denominational numbers.
This survey shows clearly that Roman Catholics and Evangelical Christians have been the beneficiaries of immigration over the past decade or so, the way mainline churches were in previous decades.
A major revival is not necessarily in the offing, but concrete possibilities exist. It remains to be seen who will grasp them.
