Sam Reimer

Tolerant (In)Civility? A Longitudinal Analysis of White Conservative Protestants' Willingness to Grant Civil Liberties

Past research has found conservative Protestants to be less willing than most Americans to grant civil liberties to unpopular groups. In light of evidence of high and growing civility by Smith (2000) and Hunter (1984), there is god reason to believe that conservative Protestants are becoming less distinctive with regard to granting civil freedoms. We update and expand previous research on conservative Protestants and civil liberties by examining the civil liberties measures in the General Social Survey over a 26-year period, with special attention to explaining conservative Protestantisms rejection of civil liberties. In comparison to mainline Protestants and Catholics, we find that conservative Protestants are still less willing to grant civil liberties to unpopular groups, though important qualifications apply. Various explanations are examined.

Conservative Protestants and Religious Polarization in Canada

Reginald Bibby has recently argued that polarization is the best way to describe the religious reality in Canada. There is, in his view, a stable religiously active pole, a shrinking nominally religious middle, and a growing non-religious pole. Others have documented a similar trend in other Western countries. This paper examines evidence for religious polarization in Canada using data from Bibby’s Project Canada Surveys and other sources, with special attention paid to a prominent subset of the religiously committed: conservative Protestants. Evidence of polarization is weak for Canada as a whole. Instead, the data trends are consistent with religious decline. Even the conservative Protestants are not growing, nor showing evidence of increased conservativism.

The Rise of Part-time Employment in Canadian Christian Churches

Using data from Canada Revenue Agency’s charitable status (T3010) forms, this article demonstrates the increase in part-time staffing among Canada’s Christian churches over a nine-year period. The growth of part-time staffing and the decline of full-time staffing reflect the declining institutional participation and declining incomes of Catholic and Protestant churches. However, our data suggest that staffing changes are not simply due to tighter budgets, but mirror a societal trend toward part-time work, or the “feminization” of labour norms. We reflect on the implications of this change for clergy and other congregational staff, for churches, and for secularization theory.

The Gains/Losses of Canadian Religious Groups from Immigration: Immigration Flows, Attendance and Switching

Immigration is changing the religious landscape in Canada. It is estimated that 69% of the Canadian population growth is accounted for by immigration, and this is expected to increase to 90% in 2050. In addition, immigrants participate in institutional religion at higher rates than the Canadian-born. While the Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist populations are growing rapidly due to immigration, nearly half of all immigrants claim some type of Christian affiliation. There are also many non-religious immigrants. In this article, we look at the growth and decline of immigration flows, service attendance, and switching/retention to show which religious groups in Canada are benefitting from immigration.