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PERSONAL OPINION
The MB Church in a changing Canada

John H. Redekop

During recent decades, Canadian Mennonite Brethren churches have encountered at least five major changes in society.

The emergence of religious pluralism. Until the late 1960s, religious minority groups in Canada were mainly small and unassertive. Because of immigration patterns and increased interest among Canadians in alternative faiths, some of these groups have grown and become very vocal. With the judicial and political shift away from collective rights and towards individual rights, largely because of the 1982 entrenchment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, activists have managed to change the religious climate in Canada. Religion, especially Christianity, has been marginalized. In the courts, the media, governmental arenas and public education – from kindergarten to graduate school – Christianity has been largely sidelined and privatized. It has become trendy among many academics, politicians, bureaucrats, media people and teachers to treat Christianity as if it were merely one of many faiths, all equally valid. This is illogical given the fact that often the religious claims are contradictory. Christians – at work, in society, in schools, etc. – have increasingly been put on the defensive. This fundamental shift has occurred despite the fact that Christians still constitute a massive majority. A 1999 Statistics Canada report states that the religious composition of Canada is as follows: Christians 82% (Roman Catholics 46%; Protestants 36%), Buddhists 0.6%, Hindus 0.58%. Sikhs 0.54%, etc. This new pluralism reminds us that Christianity began as a minority faith and requires neither status nor power to thrive. We view the growing numbers of adherents in other faith groups as people to whom we can bring the gospel. Increasing multiculturalism. Religious pluralism and multiculturalism are not synonymous. Germany and Ireland each have only one significant cultural group but two major faiths. Canada today is peopled with more than 50 significant ethnic or cultural groups. For many Mennonite (including Mennonite Brethren) congregations, this new reality has major consequences. First, it forces us to re-examine how we want to nurture and present our own dual ethnic and religious identity. No ethnic group, including “Mennonites”, should ever be ashamed of its ethnic identity, but Christians with a distinctive ethnic background must be very careful not to proclaim their own fusion of ethnicity and faith as normative for newcomers. Second, because of membership transfers, intermarriage and evangelism, many Mennonite Brethren congregations are becoming highly multicultural. Not only are these congregations becoming more like the early Jerusalem church, but the new multicultural reality enables our churches to model acceptance and kindness. Increasing secularization. While religious self-identification and affiliation remain strong, religious attendance has declined sharply, especially for younger people. Among Canadians over 55 years of age, 52% attend a religious service at least once a month. For those aged 25–34, the figure is 24% (it was 34% in 1986), while for those aged 15–24, it is 34% (it was 43% in 1986). Simultaneously, there is mounting evidence of widespread biblical illiteracy and widespread rejection of traditional Christian ethics. Secularization often turns out to be specifically anti-Christian. We recall that at the Swissair memorial service at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, government authorities invited a Christian clergyman to participate, but he was not allowed to mention Jesus. According to press reports, representatives of other faiths faced no parallel restrictions. As secularization proceeds, the distinction between Christian believers and non-believers becomes clearer. That’s not altogether bad. True Christians see this new reality as a time to re-emphasize essentials. The impact of television. To a considerable extent, television dominates the lives of many Canadians. While TV has great potential for good, many shows have no redeeming qualities. Television can also be a great time-waster. Parental monitoring and guidance are obviously crucial. Christian denominations and para-church organizations do well to spell out guidelines and to counteract the frequently negative messages of the advertising as well as of the programs themselves. The sexual revolution, including the increasing affirmation of homosexual behaviour. Society, the media and even some educators are increasingly accepting as normative premarital sex, extramarital sex, sexual promiscuity and homosexual behaviour. Canadian society is witnessing nothing less than an assault on biblical ethical standards. Often the pressure is not merely for acceptance but for affirmation. The challenge is clear. Christian homes must teach and model that which is right. Christians also need to strongly support advocacy groups, such as the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, which seek to roll back the advances of the “new morality”.

Christians must not become discouraged by the range and complexity of these challenges. If we do what we can, then we are part of the solution. We recall Edmund Burke’s classic observation that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

John H. Redekop is on the faculty of Trinity Western University and is a member of Bakerview MB Church in Abbotsford, B.C.

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Last modified July 8, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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