Christians in a Secular World : The Canadian Experience

by Bowen, Kurt

• ISBN13: 9780773527119
• ISBN10: 0773527117
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-01-30
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ

Summary

Based on eighteen social surveys that explored the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours of over 100,000 Canadians, Christians in a Secular World assesses the state of Christians and their churches in Canada at the end of the twentieth century. Though the percentage of Canadians who are religiously committed continues to fall, Kurt Bowen argues that the religiously committed differ from other Canadians in many striking ways. These differences ranges from their general psychological profile to the stability and character of their family life, their willingness to volunteer in their local communities, their levels of charitable giving, and the political priorities they hold most dear. Bowen demonstrates that, as the ranks of the committed continue to diminish, we may anticipate a general weakening in the civility and social fabric of Canada He also takes issue with those who claim that on-going widespread involvement in various privatized forms of religiousness indicates that religion is changing rather than declining. Bowen clearly demonstrates that seekers who believe without belonging to an established religion practice a tepid, superficial form of religious commitment that rarely sets them apart from the non-religious.

Author Biography

Kurt Bowen is professor in the Department of Sociology at Acadia University.

Table of Contents

1 Secularization and Its Discontents: Theoretical and Historical Preliminaries	3	(20)
2 Religious Demography of Canadians	23	(43)
3 The Religious Individual: Well-Being and Personal Values	66	(35)
4 Intimate Relations: Sex, Marriage, Family, and Friends	101	(39)
5 Civic Sensibilities: Volunteering and Charitable Giving	140	(42)
6 Public Life and Social Values	182	(40)
7 Christians and Their Churches: Beliefs, Attachments, and Controversies	222	(50)
8 Conclusion	272	(17)
Notes	289	(30)
Bibliography	319	(14)
Index	333