Comments on: Losing My Religion

By: Zhu

Zhu — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:34:47 +0000

You’re right, Canadians aren’t as religious as Americans… but still way more religious (at least openly religious) than most French! It really surprised me when I first came here. Even simple things like saying “God bless” were strange to me.

By: Laurel

Laurel — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:26:31 +0000

Such an interesting post, so glad you posted this on your 7 Links Project. I don’t find Canadians to be all that religious, but I was shocked when I lived in the US about how open Americans were about their religion and how often the subject came up. I rarely get asked about my religion in Germany either, which I like as it’s not something I openly want to discuss with people I don’t know very well. I do agree there are a LOT of different sects in Canada though and I still couldn’t tell how how a lot of them differed from each other.

By: Zhu

Zhu — Sun, 29 May 2011 03:45:55 +0000

Thank you for your input! The way you explain it, it makes a lot of sense. I’m going to have a look at the Wikipedia page.

By: Paula

Paula — Sat, 28 May 2011 13:24:14 +0000

Your question about why is North America religous has to do with the founding of the US. Many of the initial people who settled this continent move from Europe because of their religious beliefs which they were persecuted for. They were mostly protestant who initially settled in Holland before coming to America (specifically the Plymouth Colony). These people opposed state interference in religious matters, and founded their own churches, educational establishments, and communities. They lived in their beliefs.

The link below gives a good overview of the religious history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Dissenters

By: Mo

Mo — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:45:58 +0000

Actually I believe a lot of architecture is based on religion, just look at old castles and towers in Europe and how they were inspired from church architecture.
many palaces in turkey, the Arab world even Spain are inspired by mosques so religion did have a role in art.
even the pyramids of Giza were considered some sort of temples. so many things that constitute civilizations today(buildings, culinary habits…etc), were built on religious foundations!!

By: Andy Rodriguez

Andy Rodriguez — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:56:46 +0000

Hi, Zhu. I have not forgotten our due meeting. Keep the good work.

By: St-James United Church | Correr Es Mi Destino

St-James United Church | Correr Es Mi Destino — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:07:12 +0000

[…] as an atheist, I enjoy visiting places of worship, temples, churches or mosques. Some are beautiful work of art. […]

By: Zhu

Zhu — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:38:18 +0000

I can just imagine your Dad inviting Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons

I agree with you: Canada is quite secular. Well, much more than the U.S.A, for sure. But France is really tough on secularism that’s why the role of religion here surprised me a lot.

Are you studying at the U of O? I’m taking political science courses there.

By: Tammi

Tammi — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:19:34 +0000

In Canada, we actually consider ourselves to be pretty secular, too. Harper surprised just about everyone with his “family values” and religion, since no one really talked about that much in Canada. Religion is a lot more present in Canada, but then, we also have a lot of religions. We’ve had plenty of debates about it, too. Should you wear a helmet when you drive a motorcycle? How would you? Is it legal to carry around a knife with religious connotations?

In my Poli Sci class, we also discussed religion and looked at states such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands and one more (I’m blanking on which one) regarding laws on religious freedom. The anti-headscarf laws were such a surprise to many Canadians.

And the annoying religious telemarketers bother everyone. When my dad first came to Canada, he didn’t know what they were doing, so he made tea and talked to them for two hours. Heh. P:

By: Mardé

Mardé — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:10:28 +0000

Has Unitarian Universalism been mentioned? I have not searched the replies. Anyway, that's what I am, or rather that's the church I go to. And I like the UUs. In fact I've been one all my life. They're good well meaning people and are supposed to accept everyone, which they usually do. That includes atheists and agnostics of course. Hey, type UUA into Google and take a look at the UUA website. It's great! And here's the news aggregator: UU Updates. Mardés last great read...LATE BREAKING NEWS!