Slide 1:Religion and Multiculturalism in Canada La religion et le multiculturalisme au Canada
The Challenge of Religious Intolerance and Discrimination
Le dfi pos par lintolrance religieuse et la discrimination
Slide 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
Andra Schmidt, independent researcher, Toronto
Kathryn Da Silva, University of Ottawa
Paul Bramadat, University of Winnipeg
Slide 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.
Slide 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.
Slide 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.
Slide 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.
Slide 7:Religious intolerance and discrimination as barriers to the goals of the Multiculturalism Program
Social justice
Inclusion and participation
Respect for cultural diversity
Slide 8:Sources of religious intolerance and discrimination in Canada
Structural issues that demand long-term solutions
Secularization: the solution that has become part of the problem
Globalization and religious intolerance and discrimination in Canada
Cultural sources of intolerance and discrimination
Slide 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
Slide 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
Slide 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.
Slide 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
Slide 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.
Slide 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).
Slide 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.
Slide 16:
The Making of a Christian Canada
Some historical background on
religion in Canada
Slide 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.
Slide 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
Slide 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.
Slide 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
Slide 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.
Slide 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)
Slide 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.
Slide 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
Slide 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 Rvolution tranquille
Slide 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.
Slide 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.
Slide 28:
The Multi-faith Future
The new religious landscape
Slide 29:
Slide 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.cfm#overview
Slide 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%).
Slide 32:Protestant decline 1991-2001
Decline in mainline Protestant denominations (-8%)
Most dramatic for Presbyterians (-35.6%)
Pentecostals dropped 15% to about 369,500
Slide 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.
Blanger and Malenfant, "Population Projections of Visible Minority Groups, Canada, Provinces and Regions, 2001-2017," 19. http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/91-541-XIE/91-541-XIE2005001.pdf. Emphasis in the original.
Slide 34:Religious Composition of Immigrant Cohorts, 1961-2001 (%)
Slide 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.
Slide 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.
Slide 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.
Slide 38:
Religious Intolerance and
Discrimination in Canada Today
Attitudes and Practices
Slide 39:Religious Intolerance What 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
Slide 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.
Slide 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
Slide 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).
Slide 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.
Slide 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.
Slide 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.
Slide 46:Other arenas of discrimination and intolerance
Workplace issues: tolerance and accommodation
Education: structures, practices and culture
Women and religious intolerance and discrimination
Slide 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
Slide 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
Slide 49:
Addressing Religious Intolerance and Discrimination
Some Ideas for Discussion
Slide 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
Slide 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.
Slide 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)
Slide 53:Foundational principles
State must not favour any one religion
Practices cannot discriminate indirectly
Individuals must be accommodated
However, religious freedom in not unlimited
Slide 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
Slide 55:Some ideas on addressing religious intolerance and discrimination
Commit to making the issue a priority
Allow religious diversity to inspire us to question the structures of Canadian society
Promote education and dialogue
Slide 56:I. Making addressing intolerance and discrimination a priority
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.
Conducting more extensive study on the economic disadvantages faced by Muslim Canadians.
Slide 57:II. Questioning structures
Addressing the issue of Christian privilege more thoroughly, both on the practical and structural levels.
Adopting an open secularism (la lacit 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.
Slide 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.
Slide 59:Direct inquiries to
David Seljak
Department of Religious Studies
St. Jeromes University
in the University of Waterloo
dseljak@uwaterloo.ca
519-884-8111, ext. 28232
