“A Mari usque ad Mare,” Canada’s national motto, means “from sea to sea.” The motto comes from Psalm 72:8, which reads in full: “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” This verse also inspired the name Dominion of Canada at Confederation. My purpose in pointing this out is to demonstrate the depths of Canada’s Christian inheritance. Increasingly, however, this Christian character is being intentionally diminished. Whether it is the prime minister denouncing expressions of faith as “Christian nationalism,” Parliament proposing legislation that could allow the Bible to be labelled hate speech, or the widespread apathy toward repeated arson attacks on churches, the pattern is difficult to ignore. Taken together, these developments suggest a growing effort to undermine the religious foundations of our country.This fervent devotion to secularism is not a new phenomenon either. Canada has already witnessed a province abandon the religious foundations upon which it was built. The Quebec Act shaped Quebec’s modern political structure. Considered one of the “Intolerable Acts” by the American colonists, it explicitly protected the free practice of Catholicism in the province. However, this preservation was not destined to be eternal, as in the 1960s, Quebec would undergo the “Quiet Revolution.” During this period, the government — led by Liberal premier Jean Lesage — systematically dug up the deeply rooted influence of the Catholic Church in Québécois society. Throughout the Quiet Revolution, the preceding 400 years of French Catholic settlement in North America were demonized, and the reign of Quebec’s former premier Maurice Duplessis was decried as a “Great Darkness.” Religiosity was portrayed as medieval and incompatible with modern Quebec. The Catholic Church was increasingly depicted as tyrannical and blamed for stunting the development of Québécois society. Faced with this onslaught against Catholicism — and Christianity more broadly — what was the response of the Church at the centre of it all? Nothing..Thus, the revolution was successful in its goal of toppling the dominance of Christianity over Quebecois culture and society. Since then, Quebec has become one of the most stringent provinces in Canada regarding secularism laws, enforcing policies that even clash with elements of Canada’s broader multicultural framework. Exemplified by their prohibition of public employees donning hijabs.Which brings us back to today’s current bid of secularization, where, by and large, we see the same tendency as those Bishops in Quebec among Christian religious leaders today. Silence. Attacks on faith do not hurt the faith; time and again throughout Christian history, we see that the most fiery attacks are those which embolden Christians the greatest. However, these attacks must come with emboldenment, galvanization against our attackers.Canada is a Christian country. Canada’s Christian heritage is evident in our motto, our anthem, and even the coins we carry, which proclaim that our head of state rules “by the grace of God.” Yet even these are not assured, for so much has already been demonized, erased, altered, or burnt away. The Lord’s Day Act was overturned. The Lord’s Prayer was removed from classrooms. The monarch’s title was altered to exclude “Defender of the Faith,” and the cross was replaced by a snowflake on the Canadian crown. Christian symbology and practice are receiving an inordinate attack with little recourse.Some may be inclined to say: “So what? These are little things, they carry no weight.” To that I quote, Revelation 3:15-16, which states: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” It will be apathy that will cause the death of Canada’s Christian heritage; it is not these little things themselves which harm the faith, but the failure of its adherents to defend them. A Quebecker in the 1960s may be inclined to say: “So what if Lesage makes healthcare and education public? That’s not the place of a church anyhow.” Yet now Quebec becomes less religious each year, and we see its courts actively mandate the removal of Christian symbols in public life.Ultimately, Canadians must decide whether they are willing to defend the religious heritage that shaped their country. If we silently follow the path of our government towards total secularization, we would have nothing to point towards to counter the lies of leaders and ideologues who say that Canada is not — and never has been — a Christian country.
