An Uneasy Relationship: Religion and Politics in Canada

Abstract

Religion and politics have had an uneasy relationship in Canada since before Confederation in 1867. The first 100 years of Canada’s history were characterized by conflicts between the French Catholic population and the majority English Protestant population. In the 1960s, the Quiet Revolution in the French Catholic province of Quebec witnessed in effect a divorce from the Roman Catholic church. This dramatic secularization was echoed in the rest of Canada by a more gradual secularization, evidenced by marked decline in church attendance. The adoption of the Charter of Rights in 1982 gave rise to a series of court decisions removing even the vestiges of the Christian ethos that dominated for over a century. The increasing presence of religious minorities, due largely to immigration, has given rise to a new focus on accommodating religious practices. Yet a new law in Quebec shows that province preferring to impose a laicity form of secularism rather than accommodating religious difference. As this law prohibits wearing religious symbols when working for the government, it has had a very negative impact on religious minorities in the province. Religious organizations continue to have an impact on politics and public policy in Canada.