I was a little surprised to leaf through my Globe and Mail this fine morning and find an article by columnist Margaret Wente about religious freedom. When she writes about the current state of the church in Canada I find her to be mildly demeaning, relegating us to the role of quaint anachronism. In this article she notes a number of disturbing stories about ther persecution of Christians and points out that billions live in countries where religious freedom does not exist. She even defends the intentions of the federal government and the newly established Office of Religious Freedom.
Regular readers know that I have written about issues of religious persecution, particularly for Christians. I am often puzzled that this is an area our United Church says little about, even though the blood of brothers and sisters in Christ is shed in many places while we live without fear of reprisal. Go to the UCC website and try to find anything about the serious attacks on Christians in Nigeria which began on Christmas day. Why wouldn't we be encouraged to pray for those beleaguered communities of faith?
Take a look at Wente's article and share what you think. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/margaret-wente/we-need-more-not-less-about-religious-freedom/article2294454/
2 comments:
I think the media has shaped the debate on religious freedom into several inter-related spheres: there's the international, Christian v. Muslim dynamic; the faithful v. the secular in the West; and how church and state should interact in the 21st century.
Outside of these narratives, I think many of us (myself included) are somewhat 'in the dark' about the kinds of issues raised by Wente. Perhaps it is something we should be paying more attention to.
An insightful breakdown Ian, and I would have to agree.
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