John Milloy - Politics and Faith in a Polarized World: A Challenge for Catholics

John Milloy

Do you believe that being gay is a sin?

That question, posed by a reporter to Conservative leader Andrew Scheer just after the 2019 federal election, marked a low point in Canadian political discourse.

This is what its come to, I thought. Religion, in this case Scheers Catholicism, has been reduced to a silly gotcha question based on bad theology. Religious faith, something that helps form the identity of millions of Canadians and has a rich history of social justice advocacy, is now a punchline in Canadian politics.

How did this happen? What do we do about it? How do we ensure Canadians better understand the contribution that Catholicism and other faiths can make to the many challenges facing our nation? Can Catholics themselves reframe the debate about the role of religion in our society in helpful ways?

These are the themes of this book. As a practising Catholic who spent most of my adult life in politics, I believe that it is possible for Catholics as well as society as a whole to find a new understanding of politics and faith in our polarized world.

That we have reached a nadir in the religion-politics debate is not surprising. Growing suspicion of the role of faith in Canadian political life has been brewing for some time and came to a head during the 2019 federal election. Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer is a devout Catholic who appeared to identify with the more conservative elements of the Church. Questioning him about his beliefs on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage became an entertaining pastime for both the press and his political adversaries. After the being gay is a sin incident, another journalist even tried to rub salt in the wound by asking other party leaders the same question (they all quickly answered in the negative).

Although I inhabit a different place on the political spectrum from Scheer, I felt sorry for him. Incapable of explaining the relationship between his faith and his role as a potential prime minister, he became a caricature a poster child for all those who want to banish the religious from our public square.

It was an easy story to tell. According to Scheers critics, Catholicism is all about undermining a womans right to choose, with a bit of homophobia thrown in for good measure. Unless Scheer was prepared to distance himself from his faith, he obviously had a secret agenda to foist upon an unsuspecting nation. The idea that his religion could offer anything else to the conversation seemed to have crossed few peoples minds.

This was not the only guest appearance made by religion during an election campaign that will long be remembered as a bit of a train wreck. We learned that Elizabeth Mays hero was Jesus Christ. However, she didnt think she should discuss it publicly, as Canadian politicians should not put their religion on their sleeve. We spent a great deal of time talking about Jagmeet Singhs turban and sheathed kirpan, but next to nothing about the tenets of his Sikh faith and how it influences his role as an elected official.

We kind of heard that Justin Trudeau was a Roman Catholic, but he reassured everyone that his faith never interfered with his role as prime minister, especially when it came to abortion and LGBTQ rights. In 2011 he had explained that he was pro-choice but personally opposed to abortion. However, in 2019 he claimed that his views had changed: I continue to be, and will always be, pro-choice but I no longer feel that I can, or need, to say that Im against abortion. Thats not for me, as a man, to say.

Despite the negative treatment of religion in the campaign, polling conducted soon after yielded somewhat contradictory results. While over 60% of Canadians believed freedom of religion was a positive force in our nation, 53% felt that reducing its presence in public life was a sign of progress. Over 60% claimed that the personal faith of a politician was of no concern to them, while at the same time, over 50% indicated that media coverage of Andrew Scheers faith created a negative impression of him. When it came to the question of the appropriateness of the media covering the personal faith of party leaders, Canadians appear divided, with 55% believing it is off limits and 45% feeling it is appropriate.

Overall, most voters would probably like to forget the 2019 election. Marred by personal attacks, scandals and a lack of policy focus, it was not surprising that the result was a minority government. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has made memories of the campaign fade into the background as we struggled to survive the ravages of the virus and resulting lockdown.

As Canada prepares itself for another federal election, the question of faith and politics is certain to raise its head once again. Its almost exclusive association with abortion and, to a lesser extent, LGBTQ rights, makes someones faith an easy target. The Conservative Party will undoubtedly feel the brunt of this type of attack for several reasons. Not only do the ranks of its general membership contain a significant number of religiously inspired activists focused on issues related to abortion and sexuality, but its parliamentary caucus contains a number of MPs with strong faith convictions who are unafraid to speak out.

Despite efforts by the partys new leader, Erin OToole, to take a strong pro-choice position and sideline some of the more extreme voices in his ranks, his opponents have never let up in their criticism of social conservatives in his party. It will only get worse as the campaign begins. The war rooms of the opposing parties will spend hours systematically reviewing every single candidate, particularly Roman Catholic or Evangelical ones. Any evidence of a deviation from an absolute pro-choice position or non-mainstream views on other contentious issues will certainly be used to paint the party as anti-choice, homophobic and harbouring a secret agenda.

Aware of their own vulnerabilities, parties will also devote considerable time reviewing the background of their own potential candidates and eyeing any with a strong faith conviction, including Catholics, with suspicion. Although a politician can be vaguely associated with the Catholic faith, they need to make clear that it is only something they do on Sunday mornings and it wont creep into their political lives.

How did religious faith, particularly the Catholic faith, which has been such a source of strength and comfort to so many Canadians, assume such a negative connotation? Why is anyone associated with public life encouraged to keep a major part of their identity separate from their public work? Why has the wisdom of Canadas faith communities been prevented from even being discussed in the public square? How has the rich faith of denominations like Catholicism been boiled down to abortion and a handful of other issues mainly related to sexuality?

There are many explanations.

Religious literacy in our society is not particularly high. Although millions of Canadians either practise a religion or are open to faith and spirituality, this doesnt necessarily translate into a detailed understanding of the teachings of many mainline denominations and their history of progressive activism.