This essay examines the relationship between Canadian evangelicals and political
neoconservatism. While some evangelicals support neoconservatism to advance a
socially conservative platform, neoconservatism as it developed in Canada is unable
to protect the traditional family as evangelicals desire, thereby creating a
political conundrum for evangelicals. Dynamics within the evangelical community
contribute to the dilemma, for key leaders espouse social and economic commitments
that are not neoconservative. The conundrum also demonstrates the degree to which
both Canadian neoconservatism and the Canadian “religious right” differ from their
American counterparts.
La relation entre les chrétiens évangéliques canadiens et le néoconservatisme
politique est l’objet de cet article. Les chrétiens évangéliques appuient le
néoconservatisme afin de promouvoir un programme social conservateur. Cependant, le
néoconservatisme n’arrive pas à protéger la famille traditionnelle, contrairement au
souhait des chrétiens évangéliques. Ce paradoxe politique est entretenu par une
tension interne de la communauté évangélique, notamment par le fait que certains
leaders ont des engagements socio-économiques qui ne cadrent pas avec le
néoconservatisme. Ce paradoxe montre en quoi le néoconservatisme canadien et la
droite religieuse canadienne diffèrent de leurs vis-à-dis états-uniens.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Beyer, Peter1994Religion and Globalization. London:
Sage.
2.
Boag, Keith2005 "Canada’s evangelical movement: political awakening " CBC News Indepth. From The National. June 14,
2005. Online at <www.cbc.ca>. Accessed
July 13, 2007.
3.
Campbell, Colin and William Christian1996Parties, Leaders, and Ideologies in Canada. McGraw-Hill Ryerson Series in
Canadian Politics. Toronto:
McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
4.
Casanova, José1994Public Religions in the Modern World.
Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
5.
Clarkson, Stephen2002Uncle Sam and Us: Globalization, Neoconservatism, and the Canadian State. Toronto and Washington, DC: University
of Toronto Press and Woodrow Wilson Center
Press.
6.
Clemenger, Bruce2006 "Of church, state and the political engagement of Evangelicals " Christianity.ca. Online at
<www.christianity.ca/news/commentary/2006/06.000html>
;. Accessed June 28, 2006.
7.
2004a "How and why Evangelicals vote" Christianity.ca. Online at
<www.christianity.ca/global/printer.html?/faith/christian-living/2004/06.001.html>.
Accessed July 7, 2007.
8.
2004b "There is no evangelical conspiracy" Christianity.ca. Online at
<www.christianity.ca/news/national/2004/04.003.html>
;. Accessed August 21, 2007.
9.
1999 "Bruce Clemenger" In Faith and Public Life:
Challenges, Choices, and Opportunities, 7-8. Conference proceedings.
Toronto: Citizens for Public
Justice and Queen’s Theological College.
10.
Dickerson, Mark O. and Thomas Flanagan2002An Introduction to Government & Politics: A Conceptual Approach.
6th ed. Scar-borough : Nelson
Thomson Learning.
11.
Dreher, Christopher2006 " Focus." Globe and Mail. September 23, F6.
12.
Drury, Shadia1997Leo Strauss and the American Right. New
York: St. Martin’s Press.
13.
Ellis, Faron and Keith Archer1997 "Reform at the crossroads" In Alan Frizzell and Jon H. Pammett (eds.), The Canadian General Election of 1997,
111-33. Toronto:
Dundrun Press.
14.
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada1992 " Submission by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada to the
Special Joint Committee on a renewed Canada" In Aileen Van Ginkel (ed.), Shaping a Christian Vision for Canada: Discussion Papers on
Canada’s Future, 85-92. Markham,
ON: Faith Today
Publications.
15.
Fieguth, Debra2004 "The EFC holds true to its roots" Online at
<www.evangelicalfellowship.ca>. Accessed July 7,
2007.
16.
Flanagan, Tom2007Harper’s Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power. Montreal and Kingston : McGill-Queen’s
University Press.
17.
2001 "From Reform to the Canadian Alliance." In Hugh G. Thorburn and Alan Whitehorn (eds.), Party Politics in Canada, 280-91.
Toronto: Prentice
Hall.
18.
1995Waiting for the Wave: The Reform Party and Preston Manning .
Toronto:
Stoddart.
19.
Gairdner, William D.1998 "Democracy against the family." In William D. Gairdner (ed.), After Liberalism: Essays in Search of Freedom, Virtue, and
Order, 62-92. Toronto:
Stoddart.
20.
Galloway, Gloria2005 "Christian activists capturing Tory races" Globe and Mail May 27. Online at
<www.valleyskeptic.com/conservative_hijacked_by_zealots.html>
;. Accessed June 28, 2006.
21.
Gandesha, Samir2000 "Neo-conservatism: A ‘third way’ for Canada? " The European Legacy5, 2:
187-93.
Harris, Mike and Preston Manning2005A Canada Strong and Free. Vancouver, BC:
Fraser Institute.
24.
Harrison, Trevor.1995Of Passionate Intensity: Right-Wing Populism and the Reform Party of
Canada. Toronto: University of
Toronto Press.
25.
Hoover, Dennis2006 "Mr. Harper goes to Ottawa" Religion in the News9, 1 (Summer). Online at
<www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/Vol9No1/Mr.%20Harper%goes%to%20Ottawa.htm>.
Accessed July 19, 2007.
26.
2000 "A religious right arrives in Canada" Religion in the News3, 2 (Summer). The Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public
Life. Available online at
<www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol3No2/canada_religious_right.htm>
;. Accessed January 28, 2006.
27.
1997 "The Christian right under old glory and the maple
leaf" In Corwin E. Smidt and James E. Penning (eds.), Sojourners in the Wilderness: The Christian Right in Comparative
Perspectives, 193-215. Lanham,
ML: Towman &
Littlefield.
28.
Hoover, Dennis R., Michael D. Martinez, Samuel H. Reimer and Kenneth K. Walk2002 "Evangelicalism meets the continental divide: Moral and economic
conservatism in the United States and Canada." Political Research Quarterly55, 2 (June):
351-74.
29.
Jackson, Jenny2006"The fear of God: The religious right is afraid to speak and the left is
afraid to listen."The Ottawa Citizen. March 18. Online at
<www.canada.com>. Accessed October 10,
2007.
30.
Katerberg, William H.2000 "Consumers and citizens: religion, identity, and politics in
Canada and the United States" In David Lyon and Marguerite Van Die (eds.), Rethinking Church, State, and Modernity,
283-301. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.
31.
Laycock, David2002The New Right and Democracy in Canada: Understanding Reform and the Canadian
Alliance. Toronto: Oxford
University Press.
32.
LifeSiteNews2006a "Canada’s PM won’t try again on marriage and has no plan to protect
religious freedom" LifeSiteNews.com, Friday December 8, 2006. Online
at <www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/dec/06120805.html> ;.
Accessed August 22, 2007.
33.
2006 b "13 Conservatives opposed marriage motion, 13 Liberals
voted for motion" LifeSiteNews.com. Friday, December 8. Online at
<www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/dec/06120810.html> ;.
Accessed August 22, 2007.
34.
2005 "Conservative leader Stephen Harper’s Feb. 16 response to
same-sex marriage Bill C-38" LifeSiteNews.com. As reported by Hansard. Thursday February 17. Online at
<www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/050217b.html>. Accessed
August 22, 2007.
35.
Lusztig, Michael and J. Matthew Wilson2005 "A new right? Moral issues and partisan change in Canada " Social Science Quarterly86, 1 (March):
109-28.
36.
Mackey, Lloyd2003 "In the public square: Brian Stiller et al" Christianity.ca. Online at
<www.christiantiy.ca/entertainment/books/2003/06.004.html>
;. Accessed June 28, 2006.
37.
Manning, Hon. E. C.1967Political Realignment: A Challenge to Thoughtful Canadians .
Toronto: McClelland and
Stewart .
38.
Manning, Preston2002Think Big: Adventures in Life and Democracy.
Toronto: McClelland &
Stewart.
39.
1992The New Canada. Toronto:
Macmillan Canada.
40.
Manning, Preston and Mike Harris2006 "Good government: A promise within reach" Globe and Mail June 7, 2006.
41.
Marshall, Paul1992 " Religion and Canadian culture" In Aileen Van Ginkel (ed.), Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Shaping a Christian Vision for
Canada: Discussion Papers on Canada’s Future, 1-24. Markham, ON: Faith Today Publications .
42.
McBride Stephen and John Shields1993Dismantling a Nation: Canada and the New World Order.
Halifax: Fernwood
Publishing.
43.
McDonald, Marci2006 "Stephen Harper and the Theo-cons: The rising clout of Canada’s religious
right." The Walrus3, 8 (October):
45-61.
44.
Page, Don2001 "From a private to a public religion: The history of the Public
Service Christian Fellowship" In Marguerite Van Die (ed.), Religion and Public Life in Canada,
294-310. Toronto :
University of Toronto Press.
45.
Patten, Steve2001 "‘Toryism’ and the Conservative Party in a neo-liberal
era." In Hugh G. Thorburn and Alan Whitehorn (eds.), Party Politics in Canada, 135-47.
Toronto: Prentice
Hall.
46.
1999 "The Reform Party’s re-imagining of the Canadian nation" Journal of Canadian Studies34, 1 (Spring): 27-51.
47.
Plamondon, Bob2006Full Circle: Death and Resurrection in Canadian Conservative Politics.
Toronto: Key Porter
Books .
48.
Reimer, Sam2003Evangelicals and the Continental Divide: The Conservative Protestant Subculture
in Canada and the United States. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s
University Press.
49.
Roundtable on Poverty and Homelessness2006 "Ottawa Manifesto" Ottawa, Canada. Online at
<www.theseed.ca/communityinvolve/new/newdetails/ottawamanifesto/ottawamanifesto.htm>
;. Accessed August 22, 2007.
50.
Segal, Hugh2006The Long Road Back: The Conservative Journey in Canada, 1993-2006.
Toronto:
HarperCollins .
51.
Simmie, Scott.2006"Is [sic] religious right poised to set Harper’s agenda?"Toronto Star Jan. 20. Online at
<www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Print>
;. Accessed June 28, 2006.
52.
Simpson, Jeffrey2005"Why Stephen Harper is going to lose more sleep."Globe and Mail May 27. Online at
<www.valleyskeptic.com/conservative_hijacked_by_zealots.html>.
Accessed June 28, 2006.
53.
Stackhouse, John G. Jr.2004"What place does religion have in politics?"Christianity.ca. Online at
<www.christianity.ca/news/social-issues/2004/01.002.html>
;. Accessed August 22, 2007.
54.
2000 "Bearing witness: Christian groups engage Canadian
politics since the 1960s" In David Lyon and Marguerite Van Die (eds.), Rethinking Church, State, and Modernity, 113-30.
Toronto: University of Toronto
Press.
55.
1999 "John G. Stackhouse Jr" In Faith and Public
Life: Challenges, Choices, and Opportunities, 55-58. Conference
proceedings . Toronto: Citizens for
Public Justice and Queen’s Theological
College.
56.
1994 "More than a hyphen: Twentieth-century Canadian
evangelicalism in Anglo-American context" In George A. Rawlyk and Mark A. Noll (eds.), Amazing Grace: Evangelicalism in Australia, Britain, Canada, and
the United States, 375-400. Montreal and Kingston : McGill-Queen’s
University Press.
57.
Stiller, Brian2003Jesus and Caesar: Christians in the Public Square.
Oakville, ON: Castle Quay
Books.
58.
1994Don’t Let Canada Die by Neglect. Markham,
ON: Faith Today
Publications.
59.
N.d. " Evangelicals in their quest for justice" Online at
<www.brianstiller.com>. Accessed March 16,
2006.
60.
N.d. " Canadian and American Evangelicals: Viva la difference!"
Online at <www.brianstiller.com>. Accessed January 28,
2006.
61.
VanderVennen, Robert E., ed. 1991Church & Canadian Culture. Lanham
MD: University of America
Press.
