Religion and politics do mix
Religion and politics, it is often said, don’t mix. Just because it’s said, doesn’t mean it’s true — and in Canada, it’s not true.
Freshly released poll numbers collected by the Angus Reid Institute ( ARI) and Faith in Canada 150, in collaboration with think- tank Cardus, suggest faith and religious belief do indeed play a hefty role in our views on politics and the world.
A majority of respondents — 52 per cent — told the pollster that personal faith or religious beliefs were an important factor in how they thought “about public issues and problems facing society.” Segregate the most religious respondents — the one-fifth of Canadians that ARI calls “religiously committed” — and you’ll see that faith is important for a full 88 per cent of them in how they think about public issues.
Given the Canadian propensity to privatize religion and leave it out of polite conversation, many may be surprised at that. Still, there’s simply no getting around the fact that Canadians, to varying degrees that depend on their level of belief, more often than not see the world through the lens of faith.
Things actually go even deeper. The poll indicates 54 per cent of Canadians draw their own personal identity from their faith and religious belief. That jumps to 94 per cent when you consider only the swath of Canadians who are religiously committed. That’s statistical backing for something that we all intuitively know: Religion is more than mere worship. It brings identity and worldview with it, every bit as impactful on public life as sexuality does.
But we act as if that’s not true. In fact, one Ontario political leader even told his caucus members shortly before Christmas that they can hold whatever “private religious views” they want, but that such views are neither their party’s nor the government’s interest. In other words, keep your religion in the closet.
But that kind of approach can’t work when majorities of Canadians are affected so deeply by their personal faith and religious beliefs. If we’re to have true tolerance in Canada, it will involve respectful exchanges of views. Some of those views will be religiously inspired. Others will not be. No view should be discounted simply because of its religious grounding or lack thereof — not if we’re to be respectful of each other’s deeply held convictions and identity.
Some will fear, no doubt, that opening the door to religion in our conversation about public issues will lead to extremism of some sort. The numbers, however, don’t back such fears. Fifty-four per cent of Canadians say they’re “in the middle” politically. The rest are almost equally divided among the left-leaning and very left on the one hand, and the right- leaning or very right on the other.
What about the most religious amongst us? Just over half identified as middle- ofthe road politically — not significantly different than Canadians as a whole, and no different than what nonbelievers said about themselves. It’s true that just over one- third of the “religiously committed” self-identified as being on the political right, while 14 per cent said they were leftist.
But non- believers were the mirror image: Just over one-third were leftist, with 14 per cent on the political right. So, just as we see with those who take a negative view of religion, religious belief leads neither to homogeneous views, nor to political extremes.
However, bringing religiously inspired perspectives to public issues will help us create a more caring Canada. On the question of which was the best way to live life — achieving our own dreams or being concerned about helping others — religiosity was the clear dividing line among Canadians. Fully two- thirds of the religiously committed prioritized helping others. An almost equal proportion of non- believers chose taking care of yourself first.
We also asked Canadians whether “rich people” should enjoy spending their money as they wished or should share the wealth with the less fortunate. Almost 70 per cent of the religiously committed said that those with wealth had a responsibility to share it. Only 54 per cent of nonbelievers said the same.
Religious faith has a role to play in Canada’s public life. It’s key to personal identity for most of us and helps us to make sense of the world. It doesn’t push us to the extremes. It impels us to care for others. That’s worth thinking about when we consider the next 150 years of Canadian society.