Rank the Republican contenders by order of craziness.

[bush_cheney2004]

If you're arguing that in Canada, religion holds as much importance as in the US, you know little to nothing about Canada.

No, it's so much not important as in the US that religious preferences (and resulting government funding) is enshrined in the frickin' Constitution Act! So busy trying to point out the "insane" American body politic that they completely ignore the very embodiment of religion in their own constitution....complete with "God". Amazing.....

[guyser]

I know that Canada will never be as open about how much importance religion holds - that would be too much like the U.S.

Not to sure about that AW.

According to this article , http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Half+Canadians+think+religion+more+harmful+than+good+poll+finds/5410599/story.html

it would appear we are open to saying.

And this article goes into it a bit more.

http://www.faithandmedia.org/articles/show/61

And of course this is anecdotal so....but I know of nowhere in Canada where the upon moving into the new neighbourhood one is asked "which church you attend?' but I do know and have witnessed it when my friends moved to S Carolina and others moved to Georgia.Of course it is the bible belt and may be one offs but I doubt it.

[Guest American Woman]

No, it's so much not important as in the US that religious preferences (and resulting government funding) is enshrined in the frickin' Constitution Act! So busy trying to point out the "insane" American body politic that they completely ignore the very embodiment of religion in their own constitution....complete with "God". Amazing.....

The reference to God has been used in court rulings in Canada, too:

This is the preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law …” Recently, a Quebec Superior Court Judge Gérard Dugré relied on these words to stop the Quebec government from blocking one private school’s religious curriculum.

Supremacy of God and the Canadian Charter

[Smallc]

Religion holds little to no importance in most of Canada. It's that simple.

[bush_cheney2004]

Religion holds little to no importance in most of Canada. It's that simple.

Ergo...the Constitution Act holds little to no importance in most of Canada. It's that silly.

Do Canadians attend church on a regular or semi-regular basis? Yes

Do Canadians get married in churches? Yes

Do Canadians receive other sacraments (Catholics)? Yes

Are there many places of worship in Canada? Yes

Edited November 16, 2011 by bush_cheney2004

[Guest American Woman]

Not to sure about that AW.

According to this article , http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Half+Canadians+think+religion+more+harmful+than+good+poll+finds/5410599/story.html

it would appear we are open to saying.

I don't see any reference to how open the religious in Canada are to speaking about it. Also, Canadian candidates, from what I've read, are more careful about referring to their religious beliefs when campaigning. I do think the U.S. is more open in that regard.

And this article goes into it a bit more.

http://www.faithandmedia.org/articles/show/61

This is what that article has to say:

-Canada's faith groups cooperate with each other; American faith groups compete with each other.

-The Catholic, liberal Protestant, Orthodox and evangelical churches and occasionally non-Christian faiths in Canada regularly combine forces to speak out on topics like poverty and the federal budget; that rarely happens in the U.S.

Where is that coming from?

And of course this is anecdotal so....but I know of nowhere in Canada where the upon moving into the new neighbourhood one is asked "which church you attend?' but I do know and have witnessed it when my friends moved to S Carolina and others moved to Georgia.Of course it is the bible belt and may be one offs but I doubt it.

"Your friends" vs. 310 million other Americans? In the same light, what you personally "know of" regarding what happens in all of Canada just doesn't prove anything. And yes, "the Bible Belt" is a bit different from the rest of the U.S., hence the nickname. Also, that can be perceived as a friendly question, not as an "importance of faith" question; or it could be perceived as the Americans in question being more open about their faith than Canadians.

[guyser]

Ergo...the Constitution Act holds little to no importance in most of Canada. It's that silly.

Your point a few posts back is not lost on me, however what we do in each respective house is the reality.

The Constitution holds great relevance in both our respective countries, and we are btoh guilty of ignoring it as we see fit.

We, on the whole, ignore the religious part up here.

[Smallc]

Canada's numbers are actually higher than I would have assumed, but still, pretty much a reverse of the US numbers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Importance_of_religion_by_country

[Smallc]

And that leads to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence#Studies_comparing_religious_belief_and_I.Q

[Guest American Woman]

Your point a few posts back is not lost on me, however what we do in each respective house is the reality.

The Constitution holds great relevance in both our respective countries, and we are btoh guilty of ignoring it as we see fit.

We, on the whole, ignore the religious part up here.

Your head of state cannot be a Catholic, or even married to a Catholic.

There may be more noise made about religion in the U.S., as Canada tries not to make noise (too American-like), but our laws are not based on religion any more or less than yours are.

[Michael Hardner]

To add:

The influence of religion on American politics is difficult to valuate from an outsider's point of view. People do talk a lot about such things during election time, but there are also big drawbacks to being seen as a fringe candidate: to win 51% of the vote you need broad appeal.

Not every religious person votes Republican, as many Canadians I have spoken to assume.

[Smallc]

Not every religious person votes Republican, as many Canadians I have spoken to assume.

There are Canadians that assume that? Really? That said, there probably aren't as many atheists voting Republican as Democrats. There are, but those are the ones that are there for monetary issues.

[guyser]

I don't see any reference to how open the religious in Canada are to speaking about it. Also, Canadian candidates, from what I've read, are more careful about referring to their religious beliefs when campaigning. I do think the U.S. is more open in that regard.

I used the 84% who feared religion as the basis for the question to speaking about it. I dont think it makes sense to to admit in a survey one thing but not speak about it anywhere else. There is no exact science in this I grant you, it just would appear to be true.

This is what that article has to say:

-Canada's faith groups cooperate with each other; American faith groups compete with each other.

-The Catholic, liberal Protestant, Orthodox and evangelical churches and occasionally non-Christian faiths in Canada regularly combine forces to speak out on topics like poverty and the federal budget; that rarely happens in the U.S.

Where is that coming from?

No idea to be honest. I read that too and went hmm....but it would seem it is a legit site from what I could glean.

If I were to hazard a guess, the only thing I can think of is a distinct lack of cult of personality as respects religious leaders in Canada. I doubt you would disagree.

We can all name Falwell,Sharpton (grr..)and so on , but apart from Aloyisuis I cant name another one in Canada.(maybe I just dont know and care to remember-not sure)

"Your friends" vs. 310 million other Americans? In the same light, what you personally "know of" regarding what happens in all of Canada just doesn't prove anything. And yes, "the Bible Belt" is a bit different from the rest of the U.S., hence the nickname. Also, that can be perceived as a friendly question, not as an "importance of faith" question; or it could be perceived as the Americans in question being more open about their faith than Canadians.

Maybe it is the 10% rule in play here.

I do know it was said in a friendly tone, but the underlying relevance was not. If it wasnt 'their' church it was going to be short visit/welcome to the neighbourhood.Dont call us, we may call you sort of thing.

I would have no doubts this is not an occurrence in Chicago, NY LA or any other big metropolitan area, and could very well only happen in pockets like the bible belt, mormon states (but I guess they wouldnt ask 'which' religion would they )

But we can look at our respective leaders and see that reference to God is not so uncommon in your country, but rare is it heard here. So in a sense that does get to the heart of the matter.

I have another link one can look at that may explain it . It is a Gallup site, so I trust the veracity of it.

When asked about the importance of religion in their own lives, 83% of Americans said it is either "very important" (60%) or "fairly important" (23%). Those numbers take a dive north of the border: 62% of Canadians said religion is very important (28%) or fairly important (34%) to them. In Great Britain, however, less than a majority -- 47% -- said that religion is important in their lives. Only 17% of Britons consider it very important, and 30% feel it is fairly important.

Church attendance and the lack of it here is menionted in the article.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/9016/worlds-apart-religion-canada-britain-us.aspx

[Guest American Woman]

There are Canadians that assume that? Really?

Evidently there are.

That said, there probably aren't as many atheists voting Republican as Democrats.

What's your point? There probably aren't as many atheists voting Conservative in Canada, either.

There are, but those are the ones that are there for monetary issues.

Ditto for Canada.

[guyser]

Your head of state cannot be a Catholic, or even married to a Catholic.

There may be more noise made about religion in the U.S., as Canada tries not to make noise (too American-like), but our laws are not based on religion any more or less than yours are.

I know that, and I didnt say otherwise about basing laws on any religion AW. Liuttle unsure where that comes from.

[Smallc]

What's your point? There probably aren't as many atheists voting Conservative in Canada, either.

Maybe not...maybe so. Canada is a very different country. Our political discourse is on a very different level and deals with very different subjects. Social issues don't really come to the forefront very often. Regionalism, and government spending...that's what it's mostly about up here (regionalism, less so in the last 5 years or so).

[bush_cheney2004]

Canada's numbers are actually higher than I would have assumed, but still, pretty much a reverse of the US numbers:

This does not jibe with "little to no importance".

[bush_cheney2004]

....The influence of religion on American politics is difficult to valuate from an outsider's point of view. People do talk a lot about such things during election time, but there are also big drawbacks to being seen as a fringe candidate: to win 51% of the vote you need broad appeal.

A candidate is instantly "fringe" should he or she declare as an atheist. There is nothing "insane" about what these Republican candidates are doing for their party's nomination.

[Hudson Jones]

to win 51% of the vote you need broad appeal.

To add to that, we should also take into account the voter turnout which is around 60%.

[Guest American Woman]

I used the 84% who feared religion as the basis for the question to speaking about it. I dont think it makes sense to to admit in a survey one thing but not speak about it anywhere else. There is no exact science in this I grant you, it just would appear to be true.

I would disagree. I would say that answering an anonymous survey is quite different from "speaking out" about the same issue.

No idea to be honest. I read that too and went hmm....but it would seem it is a legit site from what I could glean.

Just because it's "legit" doesn't mean it's correct.

If I were to hazard a guess, the only thing I can think of is a distinct lack of cult of personality as respects religious leaders in Canada. I doubt you would disagree.

I'm not sure what you're speaking of when you say "cult." Could you clarify/elaborate please?

We can all name Falwell,Sharpton (grr..)and so on , but apart from Aloyisuis I cant name another one in Canada.(maybe I just dont know and care to remember-not sure)

I do think Americans get more press, not only from Americans, but from the rest of the world. How many people pay as much attention to Canada's religiously zealous as to America's? Even in this thread we have people downplaying what we have cited re: the part religion plays/has played in Canada - while hyping it all up re: the U.S. That's what I think the article I cited is saying, too, and I believe it's true.

Maybe it is the 10% rule in play here.

I do know it was said in a friendly tone, but the underlying relevance was not. If it wasnt 'their' church it was going to be short visit/welcome to the neighbourhood.Dont call us, we may call you sort of thing. I would have no doubts this is not an occurrence in Chicago, NY LA or any other big metropolitan area, and could very well only happen in pockets like the bible belt, mormon states (but I guess they wouldnt ask 'which' religion would they )

I have never, ever encountered such a question myself, and seriously know of no one who has, other than in a friendly way. Seriously. I would wager Canada has regions that are similar to "the Bible Belt" in nature too, but as you said, would be much smaller in scale. Also, as I said, the press that the U.S. gets is so much greater. I doubt you would disagree.

But we can look at our respective leaders and see that reference to God is not so uncommon in your country, but rare is it heard here. So in a sense that does get to the heart of the matter.

The reference is there, but I see Harper toning it down through the years. I doubt his beliefs or the importance of religion in his life has diminished, so I attribute it to being more 'hush hush.' His former deputy chief of staff was certainly vocal about it though.

I do seriously see it as an attempt to distance from the U.S., too - as if believing in God, and talking about it, is somehow bad. If one prays in silence and never talks about it while another prays publicly, is religion less important to the former, or is the latter just more open about it?

I have another link one can look at that may explain it . It is a Gallup site, so I trust the veracity of it.

Church attendance and the lack of it here is menionted in the article.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/9016/worlds-apart-religion-canada-britain-us.aspx

I have actually already read that article. I don't think "importance of religion in one's life" and "church attendance" are synonymous by any means.

Also, notice the first paragraph says:

President Bush talks openly about his faith and punctuates his speeches with "God Bless America."

He "speaks openly," which really verifies what I've been saying. Also, Harper has ended his speeches with "God bless Canada," but I've read that he was criticized for being too much like the U.S., and of course there is "God save the Queen."

It goes on to say:

Religion's presence in British and Canadian culture is somewhat subdued in comparison to the United States.

Again, that pretty much verifies what I've been saying; just because something is "more subdued," doesn't mean it's of less importance.

Edited November 16, 2011 by American Woman

[bush_cheney2004]

Canada has its own little spotty Bible Belt, though many are loathe to admit it.

What's an atheist to do?

http://www.atheistparents.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=21194

[bush_cheney2004]

...Again, that pretty much verifies what I've been saying; just because something is "more subdued," doesn't mean it's of less importance.

Indeed...one must always remember that the perception of difference is of paramount importance to many a Canadian psyche.

It is fundamental to the Canadian identity as !American.

[BubberMiley]

Now that Oleg's gone, I've had to revise my list of MLW posters by order of craziness.

[GostHacked]

Now that Oleg's gone, I've had to revise my list of MLW posters by order of craziness.

To be honest I liked Oleg.

[guyser]

Canada has its own little spotty Bible Belt, though many are loathe to admit it.

What's an atheist to do?

http://www.atheistparents.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=21194

good job!

That had to be hard to find. There will always be religious pockets, but I doubt belts.