1

To quote:

« Disestablishment of the Church and Voluntary Culture: The Case of

Francophone Roman Catholics in Canada »: Quebec Studies, Volume 52, Fall

2011/Winter 2012, p. 33-54.

Disestablishment of the Church and Casanovas’ Thesis, The case of Francophone

Roman Catholics

Solange Lefebvre

Chaire religion, culture et société

Faculté de théologie et de science des religions

Université de Montréal

This paper describes relationship between religions and civil society in Canada, with

special attention to the Francophone Roman Catholics. The primary purpose is to reflect

on the process of the Church disestablishment. Since Statistics Canada offers interesting

analyses of religion, I will draw upon their reports to describe the Canadian religious

landscape. After an overview, I will focus on Francophone Roman Catholics in Canada.

The Francophones are a special case in English-speaking North America, and exploration

of that matrix of communities opens a more detailed analysis of Canadian religious and

social structures in relation to the global secularization discussion, both in sociology and

theology. In particular, it illustrates positive and negative functions that the Catholic

Church can play in history and the multiple consequences of the current secularization

process.

Theoretically, this article considers sociological as well as Christian theological

reflections that address the religious institutional decline and the coping with diverse

forms of disestablishment in western countries. The work of two authors will be

particularly helpful: the sociologist Jose Casanova and the theologian David Fergusson1.

Fergusson is one representative of the so-called «Public theology» field. He reflects on

the relation between church, state, and civil society, and inevitably addresses issues of

disestablishment. Inspired by Casanova, he elaborates a combined theological and

sociological approach, taking into account the differentiation among diverse social

1 David Fergusson, Church, State and Civil Society, Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2004; Jose Casanova, Public Religions in the Modern World, Chicago: The University

of Chicago Press, 1994.

2

spheres and paying particular attention to civil society. His project, contextualized in

England and Scotland, is quite similar to my project in Quebec, even if the state-religion

relationship is quite different. At the end of his book, he argues in favour of

disestablishment in the two countries. Casanova also contributes to an understanding of

the conditions of a “relevant” disestablishment.

The first part of this paper describes the Canadian and Quebec religious context, and

gives a social and historical overview of the development of diverse Francophone Roman

Catholic minorities across Canada. The second part focuses on the province of Quebec as

a case study, seeking to understand the secularization and disestablishment processes.

1. Canadian Context

During the 20th

century, other world religions than Christianity and aboriginal

spiritualities came to enrich Canadian life, more intensively after the Second World War2.

These migrations came in the midst of a de-colonization movement, changes in Canada’s

immigration policy, and growing global mobility3. Furthermore, new religious

movements added to the dominant Christianities, even though a few of the rarer Christian

groups were already present before the 1960s, the Jehovah’s Witnesses for instance4.

Like the rest of the western world, Canada entered into a few decades of religious and

spiritual exploration. At the end of the 1970s, in the area of Montreal alone, hundreds of

new religious groups were active. Nevertheless, Canada remains a Christian country.

Here are the main conclusions of Statistics Canada after the last extensive national

Census of 2001:

2 Peter Beyer. «Transformations et pluralisme. Les données des recensements de 1981 à 2001». in ed. Solange

Lefebvre. La Religion dans la sphère publique. Montréal : Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 2005, 12-40. The

Canadian statistics from which Beyer is working concern religious identification, not actual religious practice or belief.

For other details, before the 2001 Census, see: Solange Lefebvre. «Socio-Religious Evolution and Practical Theology

in Quebec, Canada.» International Journal of Practical Theology 4 (2000): 284-303. 3 Jacques Henripin. La Métamorphose de la Population Canadienne. Montréal : Les Éditions Varia, 2003; Shiva S.

Halli/Leo Driedger (eds.). Immigrant Canada. Demographic, Economic, and Social Challenges. Toronto: University of

Toronto Press, 1999; Wayne W. McVey, Jr. & Warren E. Kalbach, Canadian Population, Toronto: Nelson Canada,

1995. 4 On new religious movements, see Élizabeth Campos et Jean-Guy Vaillancourt. «La régulation de la diversité et de

l’extrémisme religieux au Canada.» Sociologie et sociétés. Vol. XXXVIII No 1 (2006) : 113-37.

3

Seven out of every 10 Canadians identify themselves as either Roman Catholic or

Protestant, according to new data from the 2001 Census. The census showed a

continuation of a long-term downward trend in the population who report Protestant

denominations. The number of Roman Catholics increased slightly during the

1990s, but their share of the total population fell marginally. At the same time, the

number of Canadians who reported religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and

Buddhism has increased substantially. Much of the shift in the nation’s religious

make-up during the past several decades is the result of the changing sources of

immigrants, which has contributed to a more diverse religious profile5.

Within the Christian-identified population, several changes are taking place. The statistics

of 2001 reveal the following: (1) many major Protestant denominations, such as the

Anglican and United Church of Canada, are declining in numbers and attracting fewer

young people; (2) Protestants in general have declined from 35% to 29% of the

population; (3) Roman Catholics continue to be the largest religious group, but have

declined from 45% to 43% of the population; (4) Protestants and Roman Catholics

together represent 72% of the total population, which is still a majority but is down from

the 80% of ten years earlier; and (5) people reporting a “Christian” identification without

specifying a communion are 2.6% of the population, which is more than double the

percentage of ten years earlier. During the same time period, people reporting “no

religion” increased from 12% to 16%.

These figures represent considerable complexity. For example, the figures are based on

reported “affiliation” and not on participation in a particular denomination or group, so

they do not measure religious practice. Further, the people declaring that they have no

religion can be atheist, but most of them are, in reality, of Chinese origins. They are

mostly concentrated in the western part of Canada. They do not relate to the concept of

religion and are mostly practicing Confucianism. The portion of the population declaring

they are “Christian” may be members of certain Evangelical churches, or they may be

5 Statistics Canada. Religions in Canada, 2001 Census, Analysis series. 2001 Census, No. Catalogue

96F0030XIE2001015,

http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/analytic/companion/rel/contents.cfm.

4

Christians who refuse to identify with a specific church. In Canada, there are provincial

differences; however, according to Beyer, “differences in metropolitan areas are of far

greater significance because that is where most of the religious diversity, not to mention

the majority of the overall population, is located6.” Both the greater metropolitain areas

of Toronto (Ontario) and Vancouver (British Columbia) present a stronger representation

of people in the non-Christian categories (each with 14% of respondents’ aligning with

religions other than Christianity), and a declining Christian majority. The other big

Canadian city, Montreal, shows a weaker religious diversity in comparison with Toronto

and Vancouver, having more Roman Catholics and fewer people reporting no religious

affiliation or affiliation with non-Christian world religions.

Statistics Canada also tried to grasp another dimension of the Canadian religious

landscape, its religiosity. First, attendance at religious services has fallen dramatically

across the country over the past 15 years. Nationally, only one-fifth (20%) of individuals

aged 15 and over attended religious services on a weekly basis in 2001, compared with

28% in 1986. In 2001, four out of 10 adults (43%) reported that they had not attended

religious services during the last 12 months, compared with only 26% in 1986. Religious

attendance is influenced by factors like demographics, immigration patterns, and cultural

backgrounds. Warren and Schellenberg did further analysis, taking into account four

dimensions of religiosity: religious affiliation, frequency of attendance at religious

services, frequency of private religious practices, and the importance of religion to the

respondent7. The general conclusion is as follows. On a scale of 0 to 13, they measured

the intensity of religiosity, from a no religious to a high religious profile. On the four

dimensions of religiosity, they found that 40% of Canadians have a low degree of

religiosity, 31% are moderately religious, and 29% are highly religious. Globally, the

religiosity is lowest among young people (15-29) and highest among individuals in older

age groups (over 60). Men are also much more likely to have low religiosity than women.

Among the factors related to higher religiosity are the facts of having both parents from

6 Beyer, 17. 7 Warren Clark & Grant Schellenberg. «Who’s Religious?.» Canadian Social Trends (Summer 2006) 81. Published by

authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada,

http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/11-008-XIE/11-008-XIE2006001.pdf.

5

the same religion and a religious education. Also people who immigrated between 1981

and 2000 showed a higher general level of religiosity (41%), compared with 26% of

persons born in Canada. Among immigrants, the researchers found important differences

in relation to the countries of origin:

High levels of religiosity are most prevalent among immigrants from South Asia

(e.g. India and Pakistan), South East Asia (e.g. the Philippines), and the Caribbean

and Central and South America. In contrast, high levels of religiosity are least

prevalent among immigrants from East Asia (e.g. China and Japan) and

Western/Northern Europe (e.g. France and the United Kingdom) and Eastern

Europe (e.g. Hungary)8.

This means that some religions may gain active members through immigration; this is

certainly true for Catholicism, but less for mainline Protestantism, which benefits less

from the immigration from non-western countries9. Beyond the growing interest for

research on ethnicity and Christianity and interreligious dialogue, the growing pluralism,

along the individualization of religion, provokes the diverse institutions and organizations

in Canada to go from a unique “Christian” perspective to a “spiritual” or “interreligious”

perspective. Furthermore, diverse public “pastoral ministries” have taken the name of

“spiritual services” in Canada. The Quebec version of the Canadian Association for

Pastoral Practice and Education recently changed its name to the Association of Spiritual

Care Professionals of Quebec (ASCPQ – www.aiissq.net), and we will show similar

developments in the public school system. There is also a new challenge of religious

pluralism in the Canadian Forces Chaplaincy10

. With this general picture of religion in

Canada, we shall now focus on Francophone Roman Catholics.

2. The Francophone Roman Catholics in Canada

8 Ibid. 9 I participated in a study on Christianities and ethnicities in Canada which gives an overview of the historical and

present situation of diverse churches. See Paul Bramadat & David Seljak (eds.). Christianity and Ethnicity in Canada.

Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 10 See Ron P. Bourque. Religious Pluralism and the Current and Future Structure of the Canadian Forces Chaplaincy.»

Chaplains in War and Peace. Community Seminar 12. Centre for Studies in Religion and Society. Victoria: University

of Victoria (2006): 81-109.

6

The seeds of this community were sown over 400 years ago with the arrival of French

explorers in the new world. For a time, during the 17th century, the Diocese of Quebec

covered all of North America and ministered to a great variety of communities11

. That is

why, throughout the United States, we find so many traces of French culture, as in city

names, such as Detroit and New Orleans. However, historical events have dramatically

altered this French iteration of the North American story. Today, most people living in

Canada and the United States claim English as their mother tongue, no matter what their

ethnic origins. Moreover, English is the lingua franca of the continent’s business, social,

and cultural affairs. However, the Francophone presence is still alive – most obviously in

Quebec, with its French-speaking majority, but also in small enclaves such as Ponteix

and Gravelburg in Saskatchewan, where visitors are fascinated to discover villages whose

local inhabitants of French ancestry now speak only English. There are also sizeable

French-language communities in Canadian cities with English-speaking majorities, such

as St. Boniface in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Ottawa in Ontario; and Fredericton in New

Brunswick. Scattered across the Canadian landscape, we also find mixed communities

where people of French ancestry live in both official languages, some of them, especially

in urban areas, progressively losing the command of their mother tongue. On top of this

diversity, an influx of more recent French-speaking immigrants from other parts of the

world has changed the traditional ethnic homogeneity of French-speaking Canadians.

This has implications for the Church because these French-speaking communities of

other origins – albeit fewer in number (sometimes a few hundred or less) – are often more

fervent in their religious practices. Despite historical developments and recent trends in

immigration, Catholics of French European origin who have been here for over three

generations are, without dispute, still in the majority. Canadian statistics for 2001 inform

us that a large majority of French-speaking Catholics declare French to be their mother

11 The next two paragraphs are taken from my text, «The Francophone Roman Catholic Church». in Paul Bramadat &

David Seljak. Christianity and Ethnicity in Canada. Loc. Cit.: 101-37.

7

tongue: 6,164,138 out of a statistical total of 6,324,307 Catholics declare that French is

their mother tongue or their first official language (Table 1)12

.

Tableau 1: Total Population of Roman Catholics and Mother Tongue, Provinces and

Territories, 2001

Province et

Territoires

Mother

Tongue

1re

official

language

Francophone

Roman Catholics

(sample 20%)

Francophone

Roman Catholics

(sample 2.7%)

Francophone

Roman Catholics

(sample 2.7%)

Quebec 5 318 230 5 334 315 5 502 846

Ontario 424 090 425 019 424 834

Manitoba 38 935 39 799 38 361

Saskatchewan 15 390 15 800 14 462

Alberta 47 060 46 913 44 399

British-Columbia 35 195 35 261 33 374

New-Brunswick 226 100 226 544 227 211

Nova Scotia 31 100 31 739 30 703

Prince Edward Island 5 220 5 413 4 967

Newfoundland and Labrador 1 940 1 482 1 519

Yukon Territory 570

1 853 1 631 Northwest Territories 760

Nunavut 300

Total 6 144 890 6 164 138 6 324 307

A general portrait of first generation immigrants (aged 15 and over and born outside of

Canada) may be described as follows: in all the provinces reporting, Roman Catholics

born outside Canada are still mostly natives of France. Those who are not members of a

“visible minority” form a strong majority, representing at least 97% of the Francophone

Roman Catholics in the provinces13

. Despite this persistent homogeneity, several

12 Statistics Canada, 2001. Note that Statistics Canada defines “mother tongue” as that “language learned at home in

infancy and still understood by the respondent at the time of census.” The public data of Statistic Canada are based on

a sample of 20%, and a deeper analysis of microdata is based on a sample of 2.7%. 13 For Statistics Canada, “the concept of visible minority applies to persons who are identified according to the

Employment Equity Act as being non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour. Under the Act, Aboriginal persons are

8

changes are taking place, however. Before the 1960s, Franco-Catholic communities

across Canada were little concerned with ethno-cultural and religious diversity. There

were two principal reasons for this indifference: the small number of French-speaking

immigrants who were not of French stock and the assimilation of allophones into the

English-speaking majority. A third reason stems from the fact that the Catholic Church

has traditionally tried, whenever possible, to provide its diverse minority communities

with services in their own language. Immigrants themselves have requested such

services, and the various ethnic parishes set up in response often conserve rites or

religious traits derived from their region of origin14

. As a rule, minority groups usually

maintain distinctive characteristics such as language and religion15

. Many people pray in

their native language even if they speak another language in their daily affairs. With this

general Francophone picture in mind, we will now consider a few trends within the main

Francophone populations across Canada.

2.1 Compared Religious Trends

There is much research on Catholicism in Quebec, from a historical point of view,16

and

also on recent religious transformations. If historical research is quite strong for the other

Francophone minorities across Canada, contemporary analyses are fragmented and rare17

.

One of the only comparative studies on this topic is quite interesting. For the 1987

Canadian Synod, on the laity mission, the Catholic bishops tried to define the profile of

practicing Catholics with the help of a survey. Gingras offers a synthesis of the results,

not considered to be members of visible minority groups.” (see http://www.statcan.ca/english/concepts/defi

nitions/visminorit.htm). Note that the United Nations just rejected this expression in a recent report. 14 Roberto Perin, L’Église des immigrants. Les allophones au sein du Catholicisme canadien, 1880-1920. Ontario : La

Société Historique du Canada/Les Groupes Ethniques du Canada, 1998. 15 Deirdre Meintel et Sylvie Fortin (eds.), The New French Fact in Montreal. Francization, Diversity, Globalization, in:

Canadian Ethnic Studies/Études ethniques au Canada 34, no 3 (2002) 1-4. 16 Nive Voisine et al. Histoire du catholicisme québécois. 3 t. 4 vol. Montréal : Boréal, 1984; Rousseau, Louis

Rousseau and Frank W. Remiggi. Atlas historique des pratiques religieuses. Le Sud-Ouest du Québec au 19ème siècle.

Ottawa : Université d’Ottawa, 1998; Lucia Ferreti. Brève histoire de l’Église catholique au Québec. Montréal: Boréal,

1999. Raymond Lemieux et Jean-Paul Montminy Le catholicisme québécois, Québec : Les éditions de l’IQRC, 2000. 17 Robert Choquette. Language and Religion: A History of English-French Conflict in Ontario. Ottawa : University of

Ottawa Press, 1975; L’Église catholique dans l’Ontario français du dix-neuvième siècle. Ottawa : Presses de

l’Université d’Ottawa, 1984; Anne Gagnon. «The Pensionnat Assomption: Religious Nationalism in a Franco-Albertan

Boarding School for Girls.» Historical Studies in Education 1926-1960, 1.1 (1989): 95-117; Chad Gaffield. Language,

Schooling and Cultural Conflict: The Origins of the French Language Controversy in Ontario. Montréal-Kingston :

McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1987.

9

comparing the Anglophones and the Francophones, and taking into account the four big

Canadian regions. (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, West) (1993)18

.

The first group of chosen indicators was composed of nine possible ways to live one’s

faith to which the respondents ascribed a lesser or greater degree of importance. Apart

from social engagement and personal prayer, practicing Francophones regarded the other

methods as less important when compared to Anglophones (for example, mass, the

sacraments of penance and confession, the donation of time and money to the Church,

religious readings, etc.). The Canadian regions exhibited a number of differences. Quebec

found itself at the bottom of the scale six times out of nine. Catholics from the West came

out on top for eight out of nine methods, notably for the importance ascribed to personal

prayer, books, magazines, and out-of-parish courses in addition to various ways to live

one’s faith. Another group of indicators reflected similar results in terms of the

perception of the influence of faith in diverse milieus from the family to politics. There as

well, Quebecers felt that their faith had little influence while western Catholics were most

optimistic in this regard. In a general way, Quebecers ascribed the most importance to

social justice. They felt that the Catholic Church has not changed sufficiently since

Vatican Council II. They prove to be the most demanding in terms of the involvement of

laypeople in ecclesial structures. The Atlantic region is characterized by a more positive

vision of the general state of Catholicism. A recent study nevertheless observed a

disaffection from younger generations19

.

The sociologist of religion, Martin Geoffroy, has successively taught at two Francophone

universities, one in Manitoba and the other in New Brunswick. He observes a

particularity among the Francophone Catholics of these regions in the sense that they

favour the integration of other religious minorities that result from immigration, such as

Muslims. It reinforces their struggle against the prevailing secularism while maintaining

18 François-Pierre Gingras, Divergences ou Convergences? Les Laïcs Anglophones et Francophones dans le

Catholicisme Canadien. Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 22, no 1 (1993): 75-92. 19 Donald Poirier, Norma et Sébastien Poirier. «Rapports intergénérationnels en matière religieuse entre jeunes adultes

et aînés francophones et anglophones du grand Moncton. Étude exploratoire.» Francophonies d’Amérique No 16

(2003): 107-17.

10

a strong connection between Catholicism and their French-Canadian identity20

. The rate

of religious practice in these areas has remained high – at more than 40%. We must

nonetheless remember that the detailed analyses of the Statistics Canada data from 1990

revealed a rate of religious practice generally weaker among Francophone Catholics as

compared to Anglophone Catholics (27% versus 32%)21

. In non-denominational schools,

certain religious practices such as prayer are quite common. The same trend can be

discerned within the Francophone populations of Ontario.

Reginald Bibby mentions the overall collapse of religious practice in Quebec that

occurred as of the 1970s, falling from 88% in the middle of the 1950s to 42% in 1975 and

28% in 1990 and which continues to fall ever since. The rate of weekly practice oscillates

between 5 and 20% depending on the region. In the other provinces, all populations taken

together, he observes a similar disillusionment, but the collapse in practice is less

dramatic and stark (37% in 1990)22

. This sociologist also notes a persistent infatuation

with spirituality among Canadians, a need that is often satisfied by the churches, but

Quebec reveals itself as an exception, yet again, in this regard; we note hardly any

enthusiasm for religion23

.

2.2 Transformations of Francophone Catholicism in Canada

This comparative section of Francophone and Roman Catholic groups in Canada reveals

several interesting aspects. On the one hand, this population which is dispersed through

multiple provincial sub-groups has remained remarkably homogenous because it

regroups a majority third generation Francophone population. In its survey on ethnic

diversity, Statistics Canada notes that French-Canadians are among those that expressed

the greatest sense of belonging to their ethnic group24

. On the other hand, the same

survey reports that provincial and region identities were also strongly expressed, such as

“Quebecois” or “Acadian”.

20 Martin Geoffroy. «Catholicism as Identity Factor among the French Canadian Minority.» ARSR 21.1 (2008): 6-16. 21 Gingras 1993, 78. 22 Reginald Bibby. Restless Gods. The Renaissance of Religion in Canada. Toronto: Studdart, 2002: 17-8. 23 Ibid. 90. 24 Statistics Canada 2003.

11

Consequently, the Francophone minorities have until today maintained a close

connection between their ethnic identity and Roman Catholicism. In general, minority

groups tend to maintain distinct particularities, such as language and religion25

. Beyond

these interesting phenomena, the maintenance of a profound link between ethnic identity

and religion among Francophones is of greater importance in provinces other than

Quebec if we refer to the indicators of the degree of religious practice and socio-religious

mobilization. Although Quebec has always consisted of a strong Catholic ethno-religious

majority of French-Canadian origin, Franco-Catholic pluriethnic immigration in addition

to the immigration of Francophones who belong to other religions or to the non-religious

group considerably transforms the context. In the aforementioned study, Gingras

concludes that the Quebecois Church boasts a distinct character. For 28 indicators out of

36, the opinions of practicing Catholics in Quebec are systematically polarized (1993 :

92)26

. In addition to the ethno-religious homogeneity that has endured longer than

elsewhere, we must refer to other aspects to clarify this uniqueness, above all the

disillusionment with certain practices. The following section will provide an account of

the internal struggles in Quebec between the advocates for the maintenance of a socio-

political Catholic culture and the defenders of a more neutral state structure that

guarantees the egalitarian recognition of the convictions of pluralism.

Globally, the Catholic Church played a positive role for the French populations of

Canada. Outside Quebec, the shockwaves of the 1960s movement toward secularization

were not felt as directly as they were inside Quebec. We will now turn to a brief analysis

of the very specific decline of the Francophone Roman Catholic Church in Quebec, based

on Jose Casanova and David Fergusson’s works.

3. Crisis in Quebec

25 Deirdre Meintel et Sylvie Fortin. Op. cit; Anctil, Pierre. «Double majorité et multiplicité et ethnoculturelle à

Montréal.» Recherches sociographiques. Vol. 25 No 3 (1984) : 441-56. 26 Gingras 1993 : 92.

12

Within the larger Canadian context, Quebec offers a unique case study to illumine the

processes of secularization and disestablishment. In this section, we explore the earlier

description of Quebec in more detail, then analyze Quebec as a case study in dialogue

with theories and theological reflections on secularization and disestablishment,

especially those proffered by Casanova and Fergusson. Let us start with Table 2 revealing

the patterns of religious affiliation in Quebec.

Table 2: Major religious denominations, Quebec, 1991 and 2001

2001 1991

Percentage change 1991-

2001

Number % Number %

Roman Catholic 5,930,385 83.2 5,855,980 86.0 1.3

Protestant 335,595 4.7 359,750 5.3 -6.7

Christian Orthodox 100,370 1.4 89,285 1.3 12.4

Christian** 56,750 0.8 38,975 0.6 45.6

Muslim 108,620 1.5 44,930 0.7 141.8

Jewish 89,915 1.3 97,730 1.4 -8.0

Buddhist 41,380 0.6 31,640 0.5 30.8

Hindu 24,530 0.3 14,120 0.2 73.7

Sikhs 8,220 0.1 4,525 0.1 81.7

No religion 400,325 5.6 257,270 3.8 55.6

** Includes persons who report “Christian,” as well as those who report “Apostolic,”

“Born-again Christian,” and “Evangelical.”

Quebec is still the province with the highest proportion of Roman Catholics, mostly from

French origins, even if the percentage is diminishing (2001, 83%; 1991, 86%). As stated

13

previously, the world religions are mostly concentrated in the area of Montreal. As far

back as 1986, Montreal’s estimated 1,500,000 Catholics already included more than

350,000 people (20%) whose mother tongue was other than French; of these, 225,000

were of Italian origin27

. Each Sunday, mass is celebrated in more than 25 languages. In

2005, the diocese of Montreal had a list of forty cultural and worshiping communities in

its territory: Italian, Cambodian, Congolese, Laotian, Latvian, Latin American, Coptic,

Haitian, Lithuanian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Polish,

Croatian, Japanese, Korean, Chaldean, Tamil, Philippine, Slovak, and Czech missions.

The question is: will these ethnic communities compensate for the decline of the Catholic

Church? They do if we have in mind the Canadian statistics reported in the first section.

But the numerical importance of the French Catholics and the brief comparison we have

made between the diverse French Canadian minorities open a specific reflection on the

complex reasons for numerical decline. Because of the complexity, theoretical analysis is

vital for full understanding. Thus, we now turn to a theoretical discussion on

secularization.

3.1 Casanova’s Thesis

Jose Casanova’s celebrated contribution to this field has been to elucidate the concept of

secularization and three core meanings thereof: differentiation, decline of religious

practices and beliefs, and privatization and marginalization. In addition to this

contribution, he has also described religion’s departure from the private sphere and into

the public arena as “deprivatization28

.” All of his case studies are characterized by a

dynamic civic movement, one supported by the churches. Casanova praises the churches’

contributions to civil society, suggesting that the way to succeed within modernity or

postmodernity is to accept disestablishment and support the differentiation of the spheres.

Indeed, this is one meaning of the concept of secularization: “secularization as

differentiation remains the valid core of the theory of secularization” as well as the

27 Mario Paquette. «Les communautés ethniques et rituelles dans le Diocèse de Montréal.» L’Église de Montréal 1836-

1986. Montréal: Fides, 1986: 342-365. 28 Jose Casanova. Public Religions in the Modern World. I have exposed this discussion in Solange Lefebvre.

«International Report: Disestablishment of the Church: Discussion with Jose Casanova from a Canadian Point of

View.» International Journal of Practical Theology 11 (2007) 285-309.

14

modern notion of citizenship29

. Looking at the United States, for example, and a few

European countries, Casanova writes, after Tocqueville and Marx:

[I]t was the caesaropapist embrace of throne and altar under absolutism that

perhaps more than anything else determined the decline of church (the second

meaning of secularization – religious decline of religious practice and beliefs)

religion in Europe (exceptions being in this regard France, Spain, Ireland,

Poland). … One may say that it was the very attempt to preserve and prolong

Christendom in every nation-state and thus to resist modern differentiation

that nearly destroyed the churches in Europe30

.

I might add that people perceived the churches as performing a number of negative public

functions throughout the course of various national histories, in Quebec and Ireland for

instance. Casanova offers five case studies that signify five unique patterns in the

separation of church and state: Poland, Spain (which tragically resisted the modern trend

of differentiation), Brazil, and the United States (Catholicism and Evangelicals). Three of

these cases involve national churches that maintain quasi-monopolistic control over the

religious market in their countries, while the other two are present in the context of a

highly pluralistic religious market, the Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States. I

will assess what seems to be Casanova’s central idea, even if he includes it only as a

hypothesis at the end of his book. He writes: “[W]hen a religion becomes disestablished

… it becomes a voluntary religious association, either a sect or a free church (and) and

turns into denomination(s): ‘a general modern structural trend’ similar to Tocqueville’s

democratization, Marx’s proletarianization, and Weber’s bureaucratization”31

.

If Casanova’s study communicates relatively little about the types and nature of modern

private religions or the character and modes of the self-reproduction of the modern

differentiated religious sphere, he tentatively suggests that those religions that embrace

the modern principle of differentiation will usually accept the modern denominational

29 Casanova 212-213. 30 Casanova 29. 31 Casanova 212.

15

principle of voluntarism. Furthermore, they will find themselves in a position better

suited to survive the modern process of differentiation and adopt a form of evangelical

revivalism as a successful method of religious self-reproduction in a free religious

market32

.

Casanova formulates three conditions that justify the deprivatization of religion: (1) when

religion contributes to public debates to improve modern freedoms, rights, and

democracy against an authoritarian state; (2) when it struggles against the pretension of

the secular spheres to be independent from external ethical considerations or principles;

and (3) “when religion enters the public sphere to protect the traditional life-world from

administrative or juridical state penetration”33

. The first way for religion to enter the

public sphere serves “in the very constitution of a liberal political and social order.” In

the second and third ways, religion serves “to show, question, and contest the very

‘limits’ of the liberal political and social order”34

.

This brief summary of Casanova’s thesis paves the way to reflect on the challenges

presented by voluntary culture, particularly for Francophone Roman Catholics in Canada.

3.2 Voluntary Culture as a Religious Challenge

“Voluntary religious culture” as well as civil society are central to problems we are

currently facing in Canada, which is itself in a process of secularization at all of

Casanova’s three levels: differentiation, decline, and privatization. The process is

stronger in some areas, weaker in others. Statistical data on voluntary culture are

important at this point, so we turn to a governmental study called “Formal and Informal

Volunteering and Giving in Different Regions of Canada.”35

32 Casanova 214. 33 Casanova 57-58. 34 Casanova 58. 35 Paul B. Reed & L. Kevin Selbee. Formal and Informal Volunteering and Giving. Regional and Community Patterns

in Canada, Statistics Canada. Catalogue No 75F0048MIE – No. 05, 2000.

16

In 2000, the lowest rates of voluntary giving were found in Quebec and British Columbia,

with the lowest average annual donation in Quebec ($117). Quebec also had the lowest

rate of volunteering (19%) and, along with the Prairies, the lowest median hours

volunteered (69 and 68 hours, respectively). Paul Reed and Kevin Selbee explain this

trend in terms of the disaffinity of Quebecers for formal organizations, both in their

contributory behaviour and in their participation in community organizations.

One perspective … suggests the aversion to formal organizations in Quebec may be

symptomatic of the weaker development of civic culture among Francophones.36

Alternatively, aversion to organizations may be an adjunct of Quebecois culture.37

Simply put, one consequence of the traditional dominance of the Catholic Church

and the English economic elite in Quebec society is that Quebecers place less trust

in formal organizations than is the case elsewhere in Canada. As a result Quebecers

place more emphasis on informal as opposed to formal means of helping than other

Canadians do38

.

We should add that Quebec Francophones were more involved in the reformist

momentum following Vatican II, influenced by a strong movement of lay participation.

This was somewhat broken by the project of re-centralization and re-clericalization under

the pontificate of John Paul II. To understand the dynamics, however, we need to inquire

into the qualities and power of voluntary culture: for what kind of organization do people

get involved, and why do they put their confidence in such an organisation? The data

collected by Statistics Canada helps explain the need to reflect theologically on this weak

civic culture, and to go beyond it. If we look at the big religious brother down south, the

civic culture seems to be one key of the churches’ success in a secularized society,

inspired by Puritan theology for instance. Whether or not we agree with Casanova’s

thesis, it is true that civic culture, or voluntary culture, is a key to the churches’ survival.

36 John Goyder & Timothy I. McCutcheon. «Francophone Life Satisfaction and Civic Culture. A Meta-analysis of the

Canadian Case.» Social Indicators Research 34 (1995): 377-94. 37 The authors refer to a similar aversion to organizations in the Italian-American community of Boston, in: Herbert J.

Gans, The Urban Villagers. Group and Class in the Life of Italian-Americans, NewYork: Free Press of Glencoe, 1962. 38 Reed & Selbee, par. n. 37.

17

In theological terms, the church relies on the capacity of people to stand up for their faith,

regardless of the relevance of the hierarchy.

3.3 Disestablishment

But what does disestablishment mean? The prior question is to define an “established

church.” Fergusson offers a few perspectives. One perspective emerged in the time of

Thomas Erastus; “Erastianism” means that the State controls the Church. More generally,

however, establishment means a partnership: a partnership between church and state that

recognises the integration of civil and church life. This can be marked in a variety of

ways … establishment is not a univocal concept. It has different meanings across space

and time. The same applies to ‘disestablishment.’39

In this regard, establishment can include:

Privileges in return for services rendered (church taxes, financial privileges),

ministry for rites of passage, chaplaincy in civic bodies;

Ratification of some church decisions by the state, or approval in making pastors’

appointments; head-of-state in a ceremonial relationship with the church;

Civil citizenship and religious baptism interrelated; also civil and religious

marriage;

Monarch as the Church Head or special member (as in England; the Queen of

England still being the Head of State in Canada);

Privileges for church regarding careers in Parliament, municipal office, etc.

Regarding Canada and more specifically Quebec, even if the Protestant and Catholic

Churches did not have an official status in the Canadian constitution, they had lots of

privileges, and they still have some. The Supreme Court of Canada declared in 1955 that

“in our country, there is no state religion.”40

Indeed, the Canadian constitution does not

attribute privileged status to any religion; nevertheless, the constitutional and legislative

39 Fergusson, 168-169. 40 Legal reference, Chaput c. Romain, [1955] R.C.S. 834, 840 (M. le juge Taschereau).

18

texts do not treat all religions equally.41

Let us look at a few examples of the integration

of civil and church life, past or present:

In 2000, the Quebec government decided to secularize the public school system

which provided denominational religious education for Catholics and Protestants;

each Canadian province can decide whether or not they maintain this privilege,

established in the 1867 Canadian Constitution;

Until the 1960s, religious communities often gave public services to the State

(health and social services, education), a practice that continued in many cases

until recently, but has declined rapidly since then; a Christian-labelled

organization can hardly be financed by the state since the 1980’s, except the

private sector composed, for instance, of hospitals, private schools and

universities;

Some religious symbols and practices have been present in the political arena,

such as: prayer in political assemblies, oaths on the Bible, Christian symbols in

government buildings (like the crucifix). To eliminate these symbols and

practices, some groups have gone to court, and some have won, appealing to the

religious freedom embedded in the Canadian (1982) and Quebec Charter of rights.

The Charters have major consequences in the process of disestablishment. A thin frontier

exists between the cultural and religious meanings of any symbol or expression. For

example, after the secularization of the public school system, the remaining religious

symbols in the schools are to be considered carefully with respect to their historical and

cultural meaning. At the same time, these symbols should not impair the religious

freedom of any student or teacher. How do we maintain balance between history and the

growing pluralism of our society? How do we balance between the majority and

minority? These are common issues in all Western countries. Some say that Canada is

ahead of the movement. Certainly, Christianity still has an influence but its privileges are

disappearing, maybe more quickly than elsewhere. Moreover, many recent institutional

and juridical decisions enhance people’s rights to express minority religious faith

41 See for example: Pierre Bosset et Paul Eid. «Droit et religion. De l’Accommodement Raisonnable à un Dialogue

Internormatif.» Actes de la XVIIe Conférence des Juristes de l’État, Cowansville : Éditions Yvon Blais, 2006 : 63-95.

19

publicly, as in wearing a religious symbol or respecting religious holidays in the

workplace or at school. What should the Churches position be?

3.3 The Disestablishment Churches Option

We could consider a counter-hypothesis. Could establishment be a protection against

secularism? This counter argument is quite important, even if Fergusson sees it as

“residual support.” A pluralistic social vision, with a strong argument in favour of

equality, may promote, in reality a «new form of establishment, the establishment of the

secular which prohibits the intrusion of religious convictions in public debate. It is partly

on account of this fear, that leaders of other churches and faith communities express a

preference for something like current forms of establishment.»42

In England, for instance, some would prefer an inclusive Anglicanism to an intolerant

secularism. In Canada, and especially in Quebec, the same attitude is present. Groups and

individuals who plead for the recognition of pluralism (consequently secularizing the

public school system and religious education, removing prayers from the public sphere,

and so on) are often implicitly or explicitly secularist, in the name of religious pluralism.

They can also be religious people with strong convictions that religion should be strictly

separated from public institutions. Many religious people, however, would prefer to keep

a few elements of their religious traditions in the public sphere. France is seen as an

example of secular monism in this regard.

The anthropologist Talal Asad criticizes sociological theories of secularization, especially

Casanova’s thesis for neglecting the fact that secularization is more than a structural

trend; it is a political ideology. Recalling the debates in France on “laïcité,” he argues that

secularism attempts to redefine the “practices of the self that are articulated through class,

gender, and religion, in order to create in people an identity that transcends local

identities.”43

Modern people must think of themselves as “citizens” first and act

42 Fergusson, 187-188. 43 Talal Asad. Formations of the Secular. Christianity, Islam, Modernity, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003, 5.

See similar arguments in my article: Solange Lefebvre. «Origines et Actualité de la Laïcité. Lecture Socio-

20

accordingly. This requires them to relativize and privatize their religious identity. Indeed,

the interconnected emergence of nation-states, capitalism, and colonialism gave shape to

secularism. Secularism was defined in light of a particular conception of the world and its

problems. The Canadian theologian Douglas Farrow also critiques Casanova’s view:

Christianity understands the concept of secularity precisely as a principle of

modesty, even if it hasn’t always lived by that modesty itself. The present age, it

insists, contains nothing final or ultimate except the promise of the gospel itself.

Politicians and judges, and clerics too, must not imagine that they are competent to

introduce true freedom and peace on earth. That is sheer hubris and self-deception

… Casanova, however, appears content to ignore most of this, since it does not

conform to Enlightenment canons.44

I agree with Farrow and Asad on the theoretical aspect of differentiation; however, I

question whether Casanova endorses the Enlightenment so extensively. I think, as

Fergusson does, that Casanova’s central hypothesis is insightful: that the civil society

constitutes the new theological and ecclesiological locus of the churches.45

Fergusson

gives three reasons for new interest in this concept:

1. the necessity in a post-communist and post-totalitarian era to recreate the semi-

autonomous institutions of civil society: diverse community groups, unions, and

religious organizations;

2. the state’s need to act “in partnership with the private sector” to provide welfare

and to support living communities (in which churches have long experience);

3. the social crisis in western societies due to fragmentation, individualism, and

consumerism, which causes a crisis in all institutions, especially in churches (and

the diverse religious groups of Canada). ”These require the health of households

and civic groups organized on a non-market, non contractual basis.”46

Théologique.» Théologiques, ed. Solange Lefebvre, 6, no 1, March (1998) : 63-79. See also : Richard Figuier. Dieux en

Sociétés. Le Religieux et le Politique. Paris : Autrement, 1992. 44 Douglas Farrow. «Quel Sécularisme?» La religion dans la sphère publique, ed. Solange Lefebvre. Montreal : Les

Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 2005, 344-45. 45 Fergusson, 158-165. 46 Ibid.

21

The concept of secularization underscores the importance of a transnational civil society

for dealing with global problems (economic, rights abuses, and so forth). In this regard,

religions “occupy social spaces that are protected.”47

Fergusson notes Casanova’s

contribution on secularization and describes ways in which churches can make a public

contribution in secularized contexts. Public effectiveness and private appeal will require

the distancing of the church from the state. In a more pluralist setting, citizens wish to

choose their political, moral, and spiritual identity rather than have this imposed.

If I consider the history of the Canadian French Roman Catholic minorities, I tend to

agree with Fergusson and Casanova. As mentioned before, one consequence of the past

dominance of the Catholic Church and the English economic elite in Quebec society is

that Quebecers are defiant of formal organizations. Elsewhere in Canada, Catholicism

was less a power and more of an ally in the French minorities’ struggle to survive. Which

dimension of establishment we talk about remains an open question. And how can a

process of disestablishment succeed in such conditions?

3.4 The Function of Churches after disestablishment

After disestablishment, what is left? According to Buchanan, several functions and

resources persist: nationwide organization, standing of the episcopate, the church’s

material resources, custodianship of church buildings, and concerns for life in society.48

Significant sectors of the population need some spiritual facility. If just a few people

identify themselves with traditional churches through membership and attendance, others

might connect with Christian churches through public funerals as civic events. The

church is also present in hospitals and armed forces (chaplaincy services) and educational

institutions (private ones). The churches, reflecting on the process of secularization and

on the continuing and changing roles of religious communities, responds to society’s

need for deeper understanding of these trends and for discernment of new directions.

47 Fergusson, 144-147. 48 Colin Buchanan. Cut the Connexion. Disestablishment and the Church of England. London: Darton, Longman &

Todd, 1994. Quoted by Fergusson, 169.

22

They do this by reflecting on ministries in the new pluralistic context. A good example is

to be found in the public school system.

The school system has been the main issue in debates around the remaining influence of

the Catholic Church in Francophone Canada. Education is officially a provincial

jurisdiction and so the situation varies from province to province.49

Before talking about

the Quebec context, let us examine a few provinces, just to appreciate the difference.

Ontario runs a bilingual (though predominantly Anglophone) public school system

alongside a strong Roman Catholic school system that operates in both English and

French. The Boards of Education of these two separate school systems are responsible for

religious education. In Manitoba and Alberta, we also find separate publicly funded

schools, including French-language Catholic schools. Therefore the private Catholic

Universities and the Faculties are greatly involved in the formation of future teachers, for

instance St-Jerome Colleges in Waterloo, Sudburry French University, St-Michael

College in Toronto University; and the French Collège Saint-Jean in Alberta.50

In Quebec, until recently, Catholic and Protestant churches enjoyed the privilege of

offering denominational instruction within their separate public systems. Then, adoption

of the 1977 French Language Charter ushered in a period of growing diversity in

Quebec’s French-language schools, especially in greater Montreal. With the charters of

rights and freedoms (Quebec in 1975 and Canada in 1982), respect for freedom of

conscience and religion became a matter of greater concern. After several years of

debate,51

the government succeeded in redefining the schools along linguistic lines

(French and English) rather than religious lines (Catholic and Protestant). In fall 2008,

religious education took the form of a series of courses entitled "Ethics and Religious

Culture." As for now, each school should already be offering a neutral “Spiritual Care

49 Sonia Pratte. La place de la religion dans les Écoles publiques des provinces anglo-canadiennes. Rapport de

recherche du Groupe de Travail sur la Place de la Religion à l’École. Étude 4, Québec: Ministère de l’éducation,

Gouvernement du Québec, 1999. 50 David Seljak. «Education, Multiculturalism, and Religion.» Religion and Ethnicity in Canada. eds. Paul Bramadat &

David Seljak. Toronto: Pearson Longman, 2005, 178-200; David Seljak. «Multiculturalism and Funding for Ontario's

Islamic Schools.» Canadian Diversity 4, no 3 (2005): 63-6. 51 Ministère de l’Éducation. Laïcité et Religions. Perspective Nouvelle pour l’École Québécoise. Rapport de recherche

du Groupe de Travail sur la Place de la Religion à l’École. Québec : Gouvernement du Québec, 1999.

23

and Guidance and Community Involvement Service” addressed to the various groups of

religious and non-religious students; which means that there is no more denominational

chaplaincy allowed. This reform in Quebec has huge consequences on churches in

Quebec, since many theology graduates have been working in the public denominational

school system, in collaboration with the churches. We now have to deal with new

professions: teachers of religious culture and spiritual care, which will be interreligious

and neutral at the same time. The field is now under redefinition.

A few difficulties exist in a post-Christian era, however: secularizing the faith by

adapting too much to society (to maintain national significance); diluting religious

education in the pluralistic school system; maintaining religious rites of passage, despite

the non-religious significance it has for numerous people; and quieting political critiques

to keep harmonious relations with political and social authorities. Debates of the last

thirty years in Christian communities are related to these matters, notably in religious

education. Especially around the rites of passage, theologians are divided between those

who think we should restrict access to the sacraments to people ready to live a full

Christian life and those who positively interpret the basic anthropological need for rituals

and thus recognize the social function of the Church.

In 1989, the Catholic Bishops of Quebec decided to organize an action research project

among Quebec Catholic communities to define future directions for the Church. In the

final document, they offered the following diagnosis: “Too many Catholics are acting in

the Church as simple consumers of the services a particular religious institution can offer

to them, without feeling themselves as full members of a communion, a family, one

people.”52

They recommended that Christian communities impose more demanding

criteria for access to the sacraments, predicting that this change would provoke conflicts

and tensions for Catholics accustomed to having easy access to any church service.53

The

spirit of this proposal was well expressed in the report’s title: Risking the Future. The

52 Comité de recherche de l’Assemblée des Évêques du Québec sur les communautés chrétiennes locales. Risquer

l’avenir. Bilan d’enquête et prospective., Montréal : Fides, 1992, 9. My translation from the French: «Trop de

catholiques se situent encore dans l’Église comme de simples consommateurs des services d’une institution religieuse

particulière, sans se sentir membres à part entière d’une communion, d’une famille, d’un peuple.» 53 Risquer l’avenir, 171.

24

action research was conducted by a team from my faculty, and it actually took a different

stance, declaring that pastoral ministers needed anthropological and sociological tools to

understand the meaning of rites of passage and consequently to infuse Christian meaning

into the process of Christian initiation.54

This is just one example of the diverse debates

that occur in a disestablishment process.

Many sociological and theological issues are raised regarding the new functions and

resources of the Churches in the context of disestablishment:

1. The meaning of custodianship of religious buildings versus a critical theology of

the temple, a strong issue in ecclesiological reflection in Quebec;55

2. Interpretation of the chaplaincy in a religiously pluralistic context and in a society

that often considers itself as “not religious but spiritual”;56

3. New forms of engagement in public theology: conflict resolution and public

support of diverse faiths, notably in the ways they deal with symbolic expressions

against secularist ideology;

4. The signification of “Catholicism,” beyond national citizenship, as a transnational

network that is not compromised by political power and is a leader in

contemporary visions of civil society (Liberation and Contextual Theologies);

5. The crisis in the Catholic Church around ministry and leadership, mostly limited

to priesthood until today;

6. Tensions between the innerwordly vocation (“to seek the welfare of the city”) and

the spiritual mission of Christians. A tension exists regarding fundamental

vocation. In the Bible and Christian history, we find similar tensions between the

sacred functions and worldly vocation of Christianity. In Quebec, for example,

54 Jacques Grand’Maison, Lise Baroni et Jean-Marc Gauthier (eds.). Le défi des générations. Montreal: Fides, 1995.

See a resume and other references in: Solange Lefebvre, Socio-Religious Evolution and Practical Theology in Quebec,

Canada. Loc. cit. 55 My Chair on Religion, Culture and Society organized a conference on the religious and theological challenges of

Quebec’s religious heritage (proceedings to be published in 2009: Solange Lefebvre (ed.). Le patrimoine religieux du

Québec. Éducation et transmission du sens. Québec. Presses de l’Université Laval. This took place after a

governmental commission published a final report on the subject. See Assemblée Nationale du Québec. Croire au

patrimoine religieux du Québec. Mandat d’Initiative entrepris par la Commission de la Culture. Québec :

Gouvernement du Québec, Juin 2006. 56 See : Ministère de l’Éducation. Laicité et Religions, loc. cit.; Guy Lapointe (ed.). La pastorale en milieu de santé:

Une question de crédibilité? Montreal : Fides, 1991; Comité sur les Affaires Religieuses. Le développement spirituel en

Éducation. Québec : Gouvernement du Québec, 2004.

25

where Catholic Action has been strong, few sociologists think that it has devalued

liturgy, prayer, or spiritual expressions.57

At the same time, only a few younger

generations integrate the traditional Christian practices and movements.

Conclusion: A theology of Civil Society

The theological significance of civil society can be found in the concepts of solidarity and

subsidiarity. In ecclesiology, one can say that local congregations are the primary form of

the body of Christ. One of David Fergusson’s primary arguments is that diverse examples

of local communities’ dynamism show that a significant contribution to society does not

depend upon national status or the model of Christendom. Christian dynamism is linked

to voluntary societies. Indeed, the United States of America represents a powerful

example of this dynamism.

Other societies are still seeking the way to constitute a voluntary culture, especially in the

face of decreasing membership and decreasing resources. This is the case for Canada, and

especially for French Catholics in the province of Quebec. The remaining question is

critical: since a voluntary culture, like the one in the United States, results from a long

tradition and a history of fundamental choices over centuries: can any society dream to

build such a culture in just a few decades? Beyond the civic culture hypothesis, we must

consider other ones. In Canada, since the 1980’s, the Churches function became more

and more spiritual. Before, they used to play diverse social and cultural roles that they no

longer play, mainly because they were replaced by secular organisations. In the United

States, the churches still support social networks and many levels of the civic life.

Nevertheless, the challenge is still the same: get through the disestablishing processes by

finding new ways of partnership, within a growing pluralistic context.

57 I reported this debate in: Solange Lefebvre. Théologie pratique et questions de transmission. Laval Théologique et

Philosophique 60, no 2 (June 2004): 251-68; and my book Cultures et spiritualités des jeunes, Montréal: Bellarmin,

2008.

26

Abstract

This paper describes the Canadian relationship between religions and civil society, with

special attention to the Francophone Roman Catholics. The primary purpose is to

interpret the social process of disestablishment. The author presents statistical reports on

religious affiliation in Canada and a social-historical description of Francophone Roman

Catholics. Drawing upon this data, she analyzes the complex relationships between

religion, particularly Christianity, and civil society in Canada, with particular attention to

Quebec. This discussion opens into an analysis of Jose Casanova’s secularization theories

within the context of French Canada. This analysis reveals some of the positive and

negative functions that the Catholic Church can play in history and the multiple

consequences of the current secularization process. It also uncovers some of the resources

needed to face the decline in religious institutions and to cope with the disestablishment

process in Canada and elsewhere.

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