Religious Freedom in Canada

I am originally from Montréal, Canada. By the grace of God I married a beautiful and godly Texan girl, and am in the process of imigrating to the United States. One of the reasons why we decided to make our home in the U.S. rather than in Canada has to do with the fact that Canada does not uphold or respect the rights of its citizens.

An an english-speaking Canadian and graphic designer who grew up in a province with draconian language laws (ie: Quebec), there are plenty of examples I could provide to show that the Canadian government has little regard for upholding the rights of its citizens. Stores and businesses, for example, are liable to prosecution by the provincial government if they do not conform to language laws that prohibit advertising in english. In other words, businesses in Quebec cannot advertise in english without having to follow severe restrictions, even when that business largely caters to english-speaking clientele. Sadly, despite being an officially bilingual country, Canada did nothing to protect my rights. But language issues were only peripheral to our decision to remain in the United States. At the heart of our consideration was the issue of religious freedoms.

In point of fact, Canada abrogates the religious freedoms of its citizens whenever homosexuals or abortionists object to them. In almost every case where a Christian individual or organization has, on moral grounds, objected to providing a service to homosexual couples or organizations, they have been brought before the courts and either fined or jailed for their objection. In fact, the Christian moral objection to homosexuality has increasingly been regarded by the courts as a 'hate crime', and there is already legal precedent in Canadian courts for labelling the Bible as 'hate literature' for its condemnation of homosexual practice. A wonderful article written by Dr. Chris Kempling documenting some instances of this religious persecution can be found here.

But there are other examples not covered by that article. For instance, Canada has made it illegal to spank children, and has used the law to persecute Christians who believe that spanking is lawful. The government has even used the law to take children away from their parents. No doubt there are many cases in Canadian society where discipline turns into child abuse, which should be, and is, illegal and liable to prosecution in the courts. But the Canadian law now forbids all spanking. As a result, a group of Mennonites have fled Canada for the U.S. See the article here. If my wife and I had chosen to stay in Canada and raise children according to Biblical principles, which includes the possibility of spanking, we would be liable to be jailed and have our children taken away by the State. That, combined with the increasing tendency to force even homeschooled children to study government issued materials that promote a secular worldview that is antithetical to Christian, and which favors homosexual practices in particular, can you blame me for not wanting to live in Canada any longer?

As a socialist, or social-democratic state, it is inevitable that the rights of Canadian citizens will be increasingly taken away. It is part of the socialist worldview to abrogate the natural rights of its citizens whenever they come into conflict with the States' goals, or with the 'common good'.

Christians, of course, cannot share that worldview. We know that God alone is absolute, and that the State's authority is only derivative of God's. The State is part of God's good order of creation so long as it restricts itself to its proper sphere of authority, namely to the enforcement of just criminal law. The Canadian government has refused to accept this role, and has chosen to increasingly control all aspects of life and society, effectively annuling other God-ordained authorities such as the church, family, school, and business. If Canada continues to follow the path of rebellion, it will no longer be a safe haven for orthodox Christians. Apostates from the United, Anglican, and Presbyterian churches will, of course be quite safe, but only at the cost of their immortal souls.

May the Triune God have mercy on the Christians living in Canada. May He never allow Canada to fall completely away into sin and religious persecution. And may He keep the U.S. a country where religious liberties are protected so that Christians can worship God freely. Amen.