Religion in Canada: Facts, Figures, and Futures

Abstract

Canada, unlike the U.S., did not experience a formal separation of church and state. Nonetheless, religion, especially Christianity, has been barred from the Canadian public policy arena. Rather than to deal with the sensitive nature of religion and risk firing up heated debates, we choose to avoid the issue altogether, dismissing in the process the fact that religion is an important element of personal identification, social life, and international politics. This decision, the author warns, fosters the cultivation of religious illiteracy.