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Connection
REFLECTIONS
Repositioning the Church in a Post-Christendom Age
36
PRESBYTERIAN
SUMMER 2024
presbyterian.ca
Jiu-Jitsu students at a class held at First Independent Presbyterian Church in Ourinhos, Brazil.
few Canadians frequently engage in traditional religious practices. Two-thirds of Canadians say it is not necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values.
In this postmodern and post- Christendom context, the disap- pearance of an institutional and privileged Christian narrative seems to be inevitable. Never- theless, this secular age is not without the possibility of belief, transcendence and seeking deep forms of transformation. This does not necessarily indicate the end of the Christian faith.
A new reality is beginning to emerge, although we are only just beginning to glimpse it. Some scholars have identified this his- torical moment as a movement of shift for the Christian church. All the social transformations oc- curring at this moment are caus- ing us to be drawn away from “business as usual”; we are on a “threshold” between the familiar and the unknown, and this can be challenging, disorienting and unsettling.
According to the Canadian Census, although membership at Canadian churches increased after World War II, the popula- tion percentage decreased in the same period. The number of members was growing, but the proportion of churchgoers in the population was declining. This decline has been a significant topic of discussion for many Canadian churches, especially for the mainstream Protestant denominations that observed a decline both individually and col- lectively in terms of their share of the overall Protestant category over the four decennial Censuses between 1971 and 2001.
Presbyterians went from 9% to 4% in the same period while, be- tween 1991 and 2001, the num- ber of people who identify with the Presbyterian church declined by 35.6%. As well, the major Protestant denominations in Can- ada tend to have an older demo- graphic than the average popula- tion. This highlights the significant transformation that has taken place over the past half-century.
What could have happened to
Canada’s mainstream Protestant
Continuedon page 37
By Eugênio Anunciação, Pastor
at The Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil and international student at the Vancouver School of Theology—Denomination studies
The following is a condensed ver- sion of the paper, “Dialogue and Pluralism: A Challenge to Repo- sitioning the Church in a Post- Christendom Age.”
It is practically impossible to think about Western culture and not as- sociate it with the history of Chris- tendom. In most of the Western world, Christian religion helped shape the countries’ worldview and occupied a prominent place in many celebrations and public gatherings. However, the world in which we were created no longer exists; we are living in a moment of transition—the threshold of a new moment is unfolding.
This new moment, known as a “post-Christendom age,” es-
tablishes that Christian faith is no longer a crucial element in the dialogue between those who say they believe and the cul- ture in which they are inserted. There is evidence that much of contemporary culture is indiffer- ent to Christian faith, which is no longer appreciated or considered culturally important. The Christian church and its traditional religious practices no longer seem to make sense in a world of constant transformation and questioning.
The cultural significance of Christian religion was immense during Canada’s early years (see Boundless Dominion: Provi- dence, Politics, and the Early Canadian Presbyterian Worldview by Denis McKim, 2017, p. 9.). In Canadian Presbyterianism, Scot- tish influence has been particu- larly strong, and there has been a profound impact of Presbyterian ways of thinking, both positively and negatively, on the social, po-
litical, economic, intellectual and cultural aspects in Canada (see Burning Bush and A Few Acres of Snow: The Presbyterian Contribu- tion to Canadian Life and Culture by William Klempa, 1994, p. 4).
At one time, Canada identified itself as a religious country, and that religion was Christian. On July 1, 1967, in Ottawa, a crowd of 25,000 people gathered for the country’s centennial birthday celebration. Prayers were offered, hymns were sung. Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson read from the Bible. Her Majesty Queen Eliza- beth, accompanied by her hus- band, the Duke of Edinburgh, was greeted by eight members of the clergy.
Consider that event with one held on Sept. 14, 2001, also in Ottawa in front of the Parliament Buildings, three days after the events of 9/11. Around 100,000 people gathered to mourn those lost in the attacks. Representa-
tives from many religions were seated on the dais. Prime Minister Jean Chretien, American Ambas- sador Paul Celucci and Gover- nor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson delivered brief speech- es. There were no religious read- ings, hymns or prayers included.
We can see how much Canada has changed as a nation in just one generation. In the twenty- first century, no single religious faith, including Christianity, takes centre stage at times of national gatherings (see The Church in Exile: Living in Hope After Chris- tendom by Lee Beach and Walter Brueggemann, 2015, p. 17).
Based on data from Pew Re- search Center, there are facts about religion in Canada that point out that a declining share of Canadians identify as Christians, while an increasing share says they have no religion. Most Ca- nadians say religion’s influence in public life is waning, and relatively