Some Problematic Aspects of Religion in Canada

Abstract

Tl he kindling of interest among sociologists and other social scientists in recent years in the place of in Canadian society has two broad implications. To begin with, it represents a renewal of the classical notion that a knowledge of religious beliefs and practices is necessary for an understanding of the historical and cultural roots of a society. Religion contributes in important ways to the formation, maintenance, and modification of the distinctive values and norms, collective sentiments, and structures both formal and informal that characterize a society (Weber 1905, 1922; Durkheim 1912; Berger and Luckmann 1966; Berger 1967; Luckmann 1967). Again, increased attention to the classical enquiry into indicates that religionboth institutional and individualwhich in the middle decades of the 20th century was largely taken for granted by detached observers, is now seen to be greatly varied, having complex interrelations with other social institutions and holding different meanings for various groups. In short, it is recognized as problematic and therefore needs to be explained. For one thing, traditional forms in church orders and courts, in worship, in teaching, and in theology are being widely challenged and alternative forms have appeared and are gaining limited acceptance, both within church and in the less permanent sects and cults. More profoundly, conventional or orthodox beliefs and practices have been questioned by large numbers of persons, resulting in the erosion of accustomed observances such as frequent church attendance, in the privatizing of faith, and in the decline in the influence of formal in other spheres such as politics, economics, education, the arts, entertainment, and family life. Finally, is problematic in the sense that alternative ideologies have gained ground in the search for meaning and direction in a secular, urbanized, pluralistic, and pragmatic age. The rise of other ideologies has led to the reconsideration of the definition of religion. Until very recently in North America, religion meant to most people, including social scientists, a system of practices, beliefs, and attitudes relating to sacred ends and objects which brought together a group of persons who thought of themselves as believers or members of a religious body in distinction from others