Christianity and Ethnicity in Canada (review)

Christianity and Ethnicity in Canada is a companion volume to the anthology Religion and Ethnicity in Canada (2005), also edited by Paul Bramadat and David Seljak. Both are published under the auspices of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria. A third volume on Aboriginal religiosity in Canada is anticipated.

The collected essays on Christianity are an impressive addition to scholarly writings about religion in Canada. Each of the eleven chapters runs about 35 pages in length and shares a common format and conceptual discourse with the others. As a whole, the collection observes the way ethnicity is "emerging as one of the most important dimensions of modern religious phenomena" (xi), while surveying the significance of ethnicity in the most populace Christian communities across Canada. The emphasis is primarily historical and sociological, punctuated with ethnographic details. In my view, the anthology strikes just the right balance of academic erudition and ease of reference. It is a timely and valuable collection. Coverage includes: Roman Catholicism, with separate chapters on Anglophone and Allophone (Mark McGowan) and Francophone (Solange Lefebvre) communities; Anglicanism (Wendy Fletcher); Presbyterianism and Reformed Christians (Stuart MacDonald); the United Church of Canada (Greer Anne Wenh-in Ng); Lutheranism (Bryan Hillis); Eastern Christians (Myroslaw Tataryn); Mennonites (Royden Loewen); and Evangelical Protestants (Bruce Guenther).

Due to the thoughtful planning of the editors, the essays have several features in common. Each chapter begins with an often poignant narrative, typically serving as a signpost for roads since traveled or future roads to come. The contributions each offer concise surveys of the often complex histories of the Christian denominations in Canada, identifying key figures and controversies within that history, providing an outline of perceived present and future challenges (particularly concerning gender and sexuality), and describing the role of immigration and ethnicity as constitutive of past and existing membership. In terms of concepts and topics, the editors and contributors manage to come quite close to creating an evenly keeled monograph. The essays are similarly structured and address the "institutional completeness" of the denomination within the Canadian context and examine responses to "discourses of loss" pertaining to dwindling resources and membership. The common themes and shared vocabulary is a real strength given the usual haphazard nature of collected writings. This facet gives the anthology a comfortable flow from one section to the next, making it more than ideal for use as an undergraduate textbook, as well as a nodal point for future research in the field.

As each of the contributions shows, there are no easy correlations between ethnicity and denominational affiliation in Canada. Many of the essays clarify past misconceptions about the relation between ethnicity and denomination and clearly show that the future of Christianity in Canada will readily thwart stereotypes of denominational ethnic alignment.

Although the declared emphasis of these writings is elsewhere, there is very little in the anthology about theological doctrine or the perceived relation that religious adherents have to the supernatural. As a scholar of religion, I think this is one of the most salient features of any religious tradition—how religious adherents articulate their religious cosmology, sacramental rituals, as well as negotiate their interactions between this world and the supernatural realm. However, if the overarching thesis of this anthology is correct, perhaps the place of the supernatural within religious traditions is becoming less important, with a more predominant emphasis on effective community organization. This prompts the question: is the religious aspect of religion changing in Canada? One suspects so, as churches increasingly become involved in social, rather than metaphysical, issues. Discussions about languages, schooling, soup kitchens, and rights for minority communities appear to be far more common than discussions about original sin, miracles, or the resurrection of the dead. This is fitting given the nature of secularization discussed by Bramadat and Seljak in their introduction. Furthermore, as the editors and many of the contributors note, Christianity is undoubtedly going through a "discourse of loss" (415-33). Even...