SUMANARIU ALEXANDRA-MARIANA, CCBCG, ANUL II, SEM.

II
Cultur i Civilizaie Canadian

For this course I chose to make the review for the second article Is Anyone in Canada
Secular? of William A. Stahl.
For starters I can say open-hearted that I would like to live in Canada because it is an
open-minded nation not only religiously speaking. In Canada, they have built a secular nation
that takes the idea of religious freedom seriously. People of all faiths can attend their houses
of worship, free from the fear they will be persecuted or killed for doing so. The inhabitants
are lucky regardless of what faith they follow, or if they are agnostics or atheists. Just as
important when it comes to fundamental freedoms is the fact Canada also protects the rights
of people who profess no faith, or are not part of any organized religion. As a secular and
democratic nation, Canada imposes no religion or religious laws on anyone.
Canada has many diverse and wonderful religious cultures, which make it a fun place
to live or visit. Canada is similar to the United States in the fact that it is a melting pot of
different cultures and religions but despite that it is a country without an official religion.
Although about 75 percent of Canadian citizens claim to be practitioners of Christianity,
religious pluralism is a valued part of Canada's culture. Unfortunately, many believe Canada
has entered a depressing "post-religious" period. This is a fancy why of saying that people
have become somehow ashamed and stopped displaying their Christianity.
However, other religions seem to be prevailing now: the increasing immigration
from areas such as Asia, Africa, and the Middle East has contributed to the expansive growth
of Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, and Hindu communities within the country of Canada. More
exclusive religious cultures also call Canada home. These include the Bah' Faith, Unitarian
Universalists, Judaism, Pagans and First Nations religions. This is the proof that in Canada,
religious sects and different adherents within the same religion who are at war with one
another in other countries, here live side by side in peace.
On the surface, the issue of the Canadian religion, it is much as it has been for the
last century. Although growing numbers disclaim religious affiliation, Christianity still claims

the subjection of the majority of Canadians and the Christian churches still dominate the
religious scene. Christian belief also thrives though it has been supplemented recently by
more exotic minority faiths. At a deeper level Canadian religion is dramatically different:
though secularization has not involved its destruction or abandonment, it has been
transformed from a social institution into a cultural resource in a manner typical for the
advanced industrial societies.