Religion and Multiculturalism in Canada La religion et le multiculturalisme au Canada

1
Religion and Multiculturalism in CanadaLa
religion et le multiculturalisme au Canada

• The Challenge of Religious Intolerance and
  Discrimination
• Le défi posé par lintolérance religieuse et la
  discrimination

2
Religion and Multiculturalism in Canada / La
religion et le multiculturalisme au Canada

• David Seljak, Department of Religious Studies
• St. Jeromes University in the University of
  Waterloo
• With
• Joanne Benham Rennick, University of Waterloo
• Andréa Schmidt, independent researcher, Toronto
• Kathryn Da Silva, University of Ottawa
• Paul Bramadat, University of Winnipeg

3
General conclusions

• Religious intolerance and discrimination pose
  significant barriers to achieving the goals of
  multiculturalism
• The nature of religious intolerance and
  discrimination in Canada is changing.
• The old intolerance and discrimination have not
  been sufficiently addressed.

4
General conclusions

• An emerging closed secularism has the potential
  to promote intolerance and discrimination.
• Transnational issues threaten to increase
  religious intolerance and discrimination in
  Canada.
• A positive, dynamic effort to promote religious
  freedom and tolerance will make Canada a more
  just, participatory and multicultural society.

5
Religious intolerance and discrimination
definitions

• Intolerance attitudes, values and beliefs
• Discrimination actions, practices, and
  structures
• Structural discrimination or religious
  disadvantage
• Often they go together, but often they do not.
  For example, Ontarios decision not to fund
  religiously based independent schools
  discriminates against non-Catholics but was made
  in the absence of malice.

6
Religion race ethnicity

• Difficult to isolate religion from race and
  ethnicity
• Examples of Jews and Sikhs.
• Difficult to isolate causes of intolerance and
  discrimination
• Anti-Semitism, like Islamophobia, can be a toxic
  cocktail of religious chauvinism, racism, ethnic
  prejudice, xenophobia, and anti-immigrant
  bigotry.

7
Religious intolerance and discrimination as
barriers to the goals of the Multiculturalism
Program

• Social justice
• Inclusion and participation
• Respect for cultural diversity

8
Sources of religious intolerance and
discrimination in Canada

1. Structural issues that demand long-term
   solutions
2. Secularization the solution that has become part
   of the problem
3. Globalization and religious intolerance and
   discrimination in Canada
4. Cultural sources of intolerance and
   discrimination

9
Structural issues that demand long-term solutions

• 1. Animosity that results from the social
  stratification based on religion
• 2. Intolerance and discrimination against
  minority religious traditions that arises from
  the history of Christian privilege
• 3. Disrespect for the traditional spiritual
  practices and beliefs of Canadas Aboriginal
  peoples

10
Secularization the solution that has become part
of the problem

• 4. A closed or ideological secularism with its
  assumption that all religions are essentially
  unenlightened, tribal, anti-egalitarian, and
  potentially violent.
• Anti-immigrant hostility is frequently fueled by
  feeling that they are not like us
• Earlier it mean that they were not Christian
  like us. Now it often means that they are not
  secular that is enlightened, democratic,
  liberal, rational, etc. like us

11
Globalization and religious intolerance and
discrimination in Canada

• 5. Transnational ethnic, political, and religious
  (and ethno-politico-religious) conflicts are now
  played out on Canadian soil.

12
Cultural sources of intolerance and discrimination

• 6. Mistrust and hostility towards so-called New
  Religious Movements fostered by the anti-cult
  movement and the media
• 7. Explicit or implicit chauvinism in the
  theology, ethics, or practices of religious
  communities
• 8. Religious intolerance and discrimination that
  are part of a wider ideology of racism and
  ethnocentrism

13
Challenge of religious intolerance and
discrimination to multiculturalism

• Ethnoracial diversity may adversely affect a
  societys cohesiveness in two ways. When
  diversity results in inequality, it may undermine
  the sense of fairness and inclusion among
  individuals and groups. Racial diversity may also
  weaken the commonality of values, commitments and
  social relations among individuals and groups,
  thereby affecting their capacity to cooperate in
  the pursuit of common objectives. Each dimension
  is important in its own right, and they may have
  a combined effect on social cohesion.
• Jeffrey G. Reitz and Rupa Banerjee, "Racial
  Inequality, Social Cohesion, and Policy Issues in
  Canada," in Belonging, Diversity, Recognition and
  Shared Citizenship in Canada, ed. Thomas J.
  Courchene, Keith Banting, and Wanda Wuttune
  (Montreal Institute of Research on Public
  Policy, 2007), 2.

• In the same way, religious intolerance and
  discrimination may undermine the sense of justice
  and inclusion of significant portions of the
  population, weaken solidarity and mutual respect,
  and ultimately erode social cohesion.

14
International concern inspires a number of studies

• United Kingdom Paul Weller, Alice Feldman, and
  Kingsley Purdam, "Religious Discrimination in
  England and Wales, Home Office Research Study
  220," Home Office Research, Development and
  Statistics Directorate (2001).
• Australia Gary Bouma Desmond Cahill, Hass Dellal
  and Michael Leahy, "Religion Cultural Diversity
  and Safeguarding Australia," ed. Department of
  Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous
  Affairs (2004).
• European Union European Monitoring Centre on
  Racism and Xenophobia, "Muslims in the European
  Union Discrimination and Islamophobia," ed. EUMC
  (EUMC, 2006).

15
Putting religion back on the agenda

• No policy or program aimed at making Canada a
  more participatory, inclusive, democratic, just
  and culturally diverse society can afford to
  ignore religious intolerance and discrimination.

16

• The Making of a Christian Canada
• Some historical background on
• religion in Canada

17
Some background on religion in Canada

• Aboriginal peoples had their own spiritual
  traditions
• French attempted to transplant Christendom,
  that is, recreate in New France the condition of
  establishment in France.

18
Establishment

• Church and State are equally Christian
• Church and State cooperate in creating the
  framework for society, each acting in its sphere
  of competence
• State usually enforces a religious monopoly on
  behalf of the Church
• Theology usually justifies the established order
• Religion and culture are fused together

19
The British project of establishment

• After 1763, the British attempted to establish
  the Church of England in British North America.
• By 1854, this project is abandoned, but not the
  idea of a Christian Canada
• The creation of a plural establishment.

20
The Canadian project plural establishment

• Official recognition of non-denominational
  Christianity of the Protestant majority with
  concessions to large Roman Catholic population
• Cooperation with large, mainline, respectable
  denominations, especially Anglicans,
  Presbyterians and the United Church of Canada
• Maintenance of a social establishment Canadian
  culture and values are strongly formed by
  Christianity

21
We are not the United States

• When you are arrested, the police will not read
  you your Miranda rights.
• There is no separation of Church and State in
  Canada.

22
Historical consequences

• Education, health care, social services,
  immigrant integration, services to aboriginal
  peoples (including the residential school
  disaster) are shared Church/State intiatives.
• To be a good Canadian is to be a good Christian.
• Prohibition and control of alcohol
• Legislation on sexual morality, marriage, and
  abortion
• Lords Day Act (1905-1985)

23
To be a good Canadian, one had to be a good
Christian

• In 1913, the Assistant Superintendent of the
  Baptist Home Mission Board of Ontario and Quebec,
  C.J. Cameron wrote
• We must endeavor to assimilate the foreigner.
  If the Canadian civilization fails to assimilate
  the great mass of foreigners admitted to our
  country the result will be destruction to the
  ideals of a free and nominally Christian nation,
  which will be supplanted by a lower order of
  habits, customs and institutions. there is but
  one all sufficient method by which this goal is
  reached we shall Canadianize the foreigner by
  Christianizing him.

24
Consequences

• Dismissal and suppression of aboriginal
  spiritualities
• Anti-Catholicism
• Intolerance towards minority Christian groups
• Widespread anti-Semitism

• Religious intolerance added to bigotry towards
  members of visible minority groups
• Sikhs
• Hindus
• Buddhists
• Muslims
• Chinese

25
Solution secularization

• Autonomy and neutrality of the state in the face
  of religion
• For example legislation on same-sex unions
• Autonomy of the marketplace
• The Lords Day Act was first Charter issue under
  Section 2.
• State takes over education, healthcare, social
  services
• Gradually outside of Quebec
• Dramatically inside of Quebec la Révolution
  tranquille

26
Solution secularization

• Social disestablishment
• Cultural values formed by non-Christian sources
• Widespread cultural adoption of American-style
  separation of Church and State
• Religious diversity seen as a public good and
  tolerance or pluralism is embraced as a element
  of multiculturalism.

27
Some caveats re. secularization

• Decline of religious mentalities on individual
  level did not happen.
• Religion is privatized, de-institutionalized,
  dispersed, and subjectivated.
• The process is by no means complete. Canada is
  not a secular society but a secularizing society
  and, more precisely, a de-Christianizing society.

28

• The Multi-faith Future
• The new religious landscape

29

30
What stayed the same

• Canada still predominantly Christian, 76.6.
• 70 are either Roman Catholic (largest
  denomination) or Protestant.
• Jews and Roman Catholics experienced moderate
  growth (about 4-5).
• http//www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/
  Analytic/companion/rel/canada.cfmoverview

31
What changed since 1991

• Number of no religion, grew from 12.3 to 16.2
• We have no idea what this means because this
  figure includes atheists, agnostics, many Chinese
  Canadians, and young people who may return to
  religious practice later.
• Increase in Muslim (128.9), Hindu (89.3),
  Buddhist (83.8) and Sikh communities (88.8)
• Still altogether, they make up only 6.3 of the
  population
• Increased in non-mainline Christian population
  (121).

32
Protestant decline 1991-2001

• Decline in mainline Protestant denominations
  (-8)
• Most dramatic for Presbyterians (-35.6)
• Pentecostals dropped 15 to about 369,500

33
The multi-faith future why we can expect more
religious diversity in Canada

• Based on the proposed projection scenarios,
  persons who are members of non Christian
  denominations should represent between 9.2 and
  11.2 of the Canadian population in 2017, or
  between 3,049,000 and 4,107,000 people.
• Compare to 2001 when 6.3 of the population
  (1,922,000 people) identified themselves as
  Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh or other
  non-Christian religions.
• Compare to 1991 when approximately 4 of the
  population did the same.
• Bélanger and Malenfant, "Population Projections
  of Visible Minority Groups, Canada, Provinces and
  Regions, 2001-2017," 19. http//www.statcan.ca/eng
  lish/freepub/91-541-XIE/91-541-XIE2005001.pdf.
  Emphasis in the original.

34
Religious Composition of Immigrant Cohorts,
1961-2001 ()

Number of immigrants before 1961 - 1.76 million 1961-1970 - 927 thousand 1971-1980 - 1.11 million 1981-1990 - 1.15 million 1991-2001 - 1.83 million

35
Potential for growth of religious intolerance and
discrimination

• Statistics Canada has recently projected growth
  in the populations most likely to experience
  discrimination.
• Increased immigration will bring greater
  potential for increase of religious intolerance
  and discrimination rooted in transnational
  issues.

36
Potential for growth of religious intolerance and
discrimination

• Growth in the population of non-Christian
  Canadians will be tied mostly to increased
  immigration.
• These groups will be concentrated in Montreal,
  Toronto, and Vancouver
• Their concentration will likely mean new demands
  for structural change and accommodation
• For example, in March 2007, the Toronto Star
  reported a controversy over the Hindu practice of
  dispersing cremated human remains in moving
  water, that is to say, rivers and lakes in the
  Mississauga area.

37
Potential for growth of religious intolerance and
discrimination

• The Census data show a marked increase in the
  number of Canadians adopting non-mainstream
  religious identities, such as Wicca and other New
  Religious Movements.
• The only Christian denominations showing signs of
  growth are evangelical Protestants, whose
  inclination is to express their form of
  Christianity in public.
• Even mainline Christian churches may become more
  conservative and more like their evangelical
  counterparts.
• These groups may also demand greater
  accommodation and participation, challenging
  other Canadians to change the way we interact in
  the public sphere.

38

• Religious Intolerance and
• Discrimination in Canada Today
• Attitudes and Practices

39
Religious IntoleranceWhat polls and surveys say

• Canadians have a generally positive view of most
  religious groups
• However, a significant minority are suspicious of
  Muslims and Jews
• In 1991, an Angus Reid poll found that Sikhs were
  the group with which Canadians felt least
  comfortable

40
Only 13 of EDS respondents identified religion
as the source of perceived discrimination
Table 4. Religion as Source of Discrimination
from Respondents who Perceived Discrimination,
Ethnic Diversity Survey, 2003 The population
that was taken into account by the EDS consisted
of Canadians over 15 years of age who were not
aboriginals.
41
However, 43 of reported hate crimes have a
religious motivation (vs. Race 57)
Table 5. Hate crime incidents by motivation in 12
major police forces in Canada. Pilot study
project by Statistics Canada 2002
42
Socio-economic impact of religious intolerance

• Jewish Canadian families, who are victims of
  religious intolerance and discrimination, on
  average are wealthier and better educated than
  the average Canadian family
• Morton Weinfeld points out that, in 1991, about
  22 of Jews lived in households with an income
  over 100,000, three times the rate for other
  Canadians.
• See also N. Tomes, "Religion and Rate Returns to
  Human Capital Evidence from Canada," Canadian
  Journal of Economics 16 (1983), R. Meng and J.
  Sentance, "Religion and the Determination of
  Earnings Further Results," The Canadian Journal
  of Economics 17, no. 3 (1984). 

43
Socio-economic impact of religious intolerance

• Muslim Canadian families, who also suffer
  significant levels of religious intolerance and
  discrimination, have among the lowest individual
  income levels among all Canadians.
• This is odd because Muslim Canadians as a group
  have the second highest educational attainment in
  the country (after Jewish Canadians) and some 10
  above the Canadian average.

44
Appendix D, Chart 3 Individual Income Levels and
Religious Identity, Adults, 21 years old,
Canada, 2001

Graph provided by Dr. P. Beyer, University of
Ottawa and used with permission.
45
Appendix D, Chart 6 Comparative Income Level and
Educational Attainment according to Religious
Identity
Non-Immigrant 21-30 year-olds, Selected Ethnic
Identities, Canada, 2001 () Source Statistics
Canada, 2004. Graph provided by Dr. P. Beyer,
University of Ottawa and used with permission.
46
Other arenas of discrimination and intolerance

• Workplace issues tolerance and accommodation
• Education structures, practices and culture
• Women and religious intolerance and discrimination

47
Other arenas of discrimination and intolerance

• Local politics, accommodation and conflict
• Media coverage and bias
• Religious intolerance on the Internet
• Healthcare the extent and limits of tolerance

48
Symbolic belonging what and who is Canadian?

• Religious holiday accommodation practical and
  symbolic importance
• The battle over haberdashery (turbans, kirpans,
  hijabs, etc.)
• The importance of symbols as markers of
  boundaries, identity and solidarity

49

• Addressing Religious Intolerance and
  Discrimination
• Some Ideas for Discussion

50
Protection of religious freedom and diversity
today

• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982)
  Section 2
• Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms
• a) freedom of conscience and religion
• b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and
  expression, including freedom of the press and
  other media of communication
• c) freedom of peaceful assembly and
• d) freedom of association.
• Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1988)
• Canadian Human Rights Act (1985) along with the
  myriad provincial human rights codes

51
Protection of religious freedom and diversity
today

• Supreme Court decisions
• R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd., 1985 established
  principles of neutrality of the state and law.
• Ont. Human Rights Comm. v. Simpsons-Sears, 1985
  established obligation of reasonable
  accommodation for employer.

52
Protection of religious freedom and diversity
today

• Non-discrimination and reasonable accommodation
  in the workplace
• Employment Equity Act (1995)
• Canada Labour Code (R.S., 1985, c. L-2)

53
Foundational principles

• State must not favour any one religion
• Practices cannot discriminate indirectly
• Individuals must be accommodated
• However, religious freedom in not unlimited

54
Structural issues not yet addressed by
legislative, judicial and administrative changes

• What is religion? What is religious freedom?
• Case of traditional aboriginal spirituality
• The invisibility of Chinese religion

55
Some ideas on addressing religious intolerance
and discrimination

1. Commit to making the issue a priority
2. Allow religious diversity to inspire us to
   question the structures of Canadian society
3. Promote education and dialogue

56
I. Making addressing intolerance and
discrimination a priority

1. Making religious intolerance and discrimination a
   priority by promoting religious rights and
   freedoms and integrating them more fully into all
   initiatives to promote multiculturalism.In a
   study of 546 research projects sponsored by the
   Multiculturalism Program from 2000-2004, only 19
   related to religion in any significant fashion.
   Six of these dealt with the after-effects of
   9/11.
2. Conducting more extensive study on the economic
   disadvantages faced by Muslim Canadians.

57
II. Questioning structures

• Addressing the issue of Christian privilege more
  thoroughly, both on the practical and structural
  levels.
• Adopting an open secularism (la laïcité ouverte)
  that accepts the participation of religious
  communities in public debates.
• Recognizing traditional Aboriginal spirituality
  in a way that would allow Aboriginal peoples to
  control more aspects of their own lives and
  communities.

58
III. Public education at all levels

• Promoting unbiased education about religion for
  all students, and also for policy-makers, media
  representatives and other stake-holders in public
  debates.
• Sponsoring interfaith dialogue and cooperation,
  capitalizing on existing ecumenical and
  interfaith movements.

59
Direct inquiries to

• David Seljak
• Department of Religious Studies
• St. Jeromes University
• in the University of Waterloo
• dseljak_at_uwaterloo.ca
• 519-884-8111, ext. 28232