Fighting over God
What is the place of religion in a pluralistic society challenged by secularism, where religious people often feel marginalized?
In my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador in the late 1990s, the debate over constitutional protections for denominational schools was a big deal. I remember vividly the sense of righteous indignation when then Premier Clyde Wells oversaw the amending of Term 17 of the Terms of Union, thereby bringing an end to the denominational school system.
Memories of this battle royal came back to me while reading Fighting Over God, written by Janet Epp Buckingham. Published in McGill-Queen’s Studies in the History of Religion Series in 2014, the book reminds us that religious freedom has long been a defining force in Canada’s narrative.
As the author puts it, “Religion has been a subject of debate and conflict from the days of the first European settlement to the present day.”
Buckingham is a lawyer by training who has a deep love of history. She is associate professor of political studies and history at Trinity Western University. She draws on two decades of reflection on and experience with her chosen topic.
You can’t help but be impressed by her encyclopedic scope–she surveys over 600 legal conflicts, including those that have set precedents in the development of religious rights. It makes for exhaustive and, perhaps at times, exhausting, reading. (It could have been much more exhaustive, as more than 4,000 cases involving religion have been litigated in Canada.)
In a judicious introduction, Buckingham traces the development of legal protection for religious freedom. Three themes inform her work: (1) religious conflicts along the fault lines of the French Roman Catholic / British Protestant divide, (2) the position of religious minorities in Canada, and (3) the rise of secularization in the nation. All three remain contemporary issues.
The author arranges the chapters under the themes of education, broadcasting, freedom of religious expression, employment, religious practices, family life and religious institutions, “areas where religious freedom came to the forefront of Canadian dialogue, conflicts, and values.”
What is the place of religion in a pluralistic society challenged by secularism, where religious people often feel marginalized? Buckingham suggests a course of action that creates “space for diversity and for diverse expressions of what constitutes ‘right living.’ ”
Anything less is inadequate. Negotiation, she suggests, is preferable to imposition. Dissenting parties that are amenable to dialogue will accomplish far more than engaging in legal action when striving towards the common good.
The key to understanding Fighting Over God is its subtitle, A Legal and Political History of Religions Freedom in Canada. Buckingham’s intent is to review, rather than analyze, the historical background to religious expression in the country.
Incidentally, this is the very reason the book has been criticized, because of its relatively short-range historical context. It has been regarded in some quarters as a missed opportunity. But this is unfair to the author, who succeeds in fulfilling her stated mandate of surveying a vast array of religious conflicts over more than 150 years, which provides sufficient data to plot propitious steps for the future.
In her opinion,
“Canadians need to find ways of living together and accommodating each other to ensure a just and peaceful society, one that truly respects religious freedom.”
Without putting words into Buckingham’s mouth, this sounds a lot like the apostle Paul’s injunction to the members of the church in Rome, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Rom. 12:18, NASB).
The great Swiss Reformed theologian, Karl Barth, comments in his The Epistle to the Romans, “The preservation of peace can be an admirable demonstration.”
Canadian society, Buckingham concludes presciently, only impoverishes itself if it banishes “religion when it is perceived to be a source of conflict.”
Elsewhere, she observes, “Canada is a diverse, multi-cultural and multi-religious society. Understanding our past helps us to frame the current religious conflicts as part of our ongoing struggle to find ways to get along. The more we can dialogue and seek understanding, the more likely we are to be able to find positive, affirming ways forward.”
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