Oh Canada - The comfortable Pew and The Rise of the Nones

I admit it, I am a bit of a nerd.  So that being the case, I can sometimes get stuck on a question or thought, not be able to let it go and thus have to begin some research to try to find answers.  Most recently I have been thinking about Canada, its relationship with Christianity, and the rapid change in that relationship since the 1960s.  Historian Mark Noll indicates that:

In 1950 Canadian church attendance as a proportion of the total population exceeded church attendance in the United States by one-third to one-half, and church attendance in in Quebec may have been highest in the world.  Today Church attendance in the United States is probably one-half to two-thirds greater in Canada, and attendance in Quebec is the lowest of any state or province in North America. 

(Noll, "What Happened To Christian Canada": 15)

Such a change in such a short period of time can only be described as a seismic social shift.  What lies behind such dramatic change?  There is no one easy answer to be sure, and no lack of scholarly attention has been focused on the question.  I came across one particular nugget this past week, however,  that caught my attention. 

 In a book first published in the early 1960's entitled The Comfortable Pew, Canadian journalist and author Pierre Burton offered a critique of the contemporary church (at the invitation of the Anglican Church).  One critique he offers is that the church, rather than being a prophetic voice commenting on culture, simply became the socially acceptable norm.  Rather than a deeply spiritual and counter-cultural community it became an important social club to which to belong.  The effect was "to increase the hypocrisy of thousands who are forced to pretend to a religious faith in order to gain a practical end."(Burton, 88)  Burton goes on to suggest that "if Christianity becomes merely a passport to status and prestige in various societies, then it will surely wither away."  (Burton, 89)  Could this be a part of the answer?  Did the church cease to be a radical Christ following, discipling community and become a simple requirement for social standing and personal social gain?  If yes,  then as society rapidly changed in the 1960's,  moral, social and ethical norms were challenged and Christianity began to become unfashionable there was very little social gain to be had by associating with the church.  For those with only a nominal connection to the church, whose beliefs were little shaped by the teachings of Christ, there would be little reason to maintain a connection to church.  The opposite may have been true, that there was a growing social cost to incur.

Interestingly, I came across this video interview with Ed Stetzer, Missiologist and President of Lifeway Research, in which he talks of a more recent trend in American religious life.  Discussing the rise of the "nones," those who would indicate none or none of the above with regards to religious affiliation he makes some interesting interpretations regarding this growing demographic.  Can we see in these observations, some ideas that may be applicable to the trends that began in Canada in the last half of the twentieth century?    

Have a look, it is well worth the time.