I received the e-mail promoting this new debate series entitled: “The New Missionaries: Should Canada Promote Religious Freedom Abroad?” (http://www.opencanada.org/the_new_missionaries/). It certainly gets off on the wrong foot with the reference to “new missionaries.” The Government of Canada clearly has no intention to proselytize religion domestically or internationally.. So why is the CIC being so wrong-headed in framing the debate in this way?

I think the bottom line is that for the majority of the people of the world who are people of faith the importance of the freedom to practice their faith openly and without fear of harassment is self-evident. This is because for people of faith there is nothing more important than their faith. They are prepared to suffer imprisonment, deprivation, death rather than give up the precious belief that defines their lives, identities and souls. Nothing is more painful to them than the desecration of their holy places and the violation of their religious symbols and sacred objects.

These facts are evidently troubling to some who lack faith in their lives. They therefore deride the noble project of the Government of Canada to make promotion of religious freedom a central priority in Canadian foreign policy They attempt to reduce it to banal political motives.

They are wrong about this.

Religion should be treated as a menace to public health, just like smoking. Governments should actively ban the advertisement and public display of all religion, and tax the crap out of it to help remediate the physical and mental damage it causes. Like smoking, schools should indoctrinate children against belief in any of these archaic Stone Age superstitions. That’s the only sort of government funding that should be directed towards religion. Anything else is an insult to rational thought and human dignity.

As president of Secular Connexion Séculaire, I am concerned with discrimination against non-believers in theist-run countries. I must express disappointment with the Harper government’s narrow focus on religious freedom rather than on freedom of personal conviction. The Office of Religious Freedom (ORF) could be construed, as stated in the op-ed by Clifford Orwin (Globe & Mail, Jan. 9, 2012), as a defender of those who choose to lead secular lives, not just those who choose to be religious, but this appears not to be the case. And this should be a serious cause for concern.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/this-office-is-a-blessing-non-believers/article2294212/ (see also the comments responding to this article)

As soon as I read Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s address regarding the founding of the ORF, I wrote the Minister a letter expressing this concern and asking for clarification of the Harper government’s position regarding the mistreatment of non-believers in theocratic countries.
http://www.secularconnexion.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66
Neither Mr. Baird nor any of his staff has had the courtesy even to acknowledge receipt of my letter, let alone respond in any detail to my questions.

It appears that I am justified in doubting the propriety of this government’s agenda, that is, to promote religion under the guise of promoting religious freedom. The promotion of religious freedom is a desirable goal in itself, but it must also include defence of freedom and respectability to be non-religious.

Those doubts would be reduced somewhat if we non-believers had been included in the process and perhaps in the name or definition of the mission of the Office. But, this omission appears to have been intentional. Secular human beings are not of concern under the Harper government’s agenda. In the meantime, non-believers continue to be under threat of death in many countries for the simple reason that they do not share the dominant faith of their fellow citizens and their theocratic government.

Doug Thomas
President, Secular Connexion Séculaire
secularconnexion.ca

So, $5 million to promote ‘Jesus’ ** while Canada’s youth are short changed:

“Chance to Choose program in Port Moody to close its doors : Service Canada funding was cut to $412,000 this year from $432,000 last year.”

Religion DOES poison everything.

(** They always say they believe in freedom but it never works out that way).

CIC has been horribly biased on this issue. You have only talked to one reputable scholar on religion and international relations while ignoring people like Timothy Samuel Shah, Daniel Philpott and Monica Duffy Toft. The myopia of Canadian political scientists and policymakers is astounding. I’m sure 99% of them probably can’t explain Salafism or Salafi-Jihadism. It is no surprise that we’ve horribly failed in Afghanistan, considering that we haven’t bothered engaging religious actors there. Religion is a powerful source of legitimacy in most of the world outside of Canada and Scandinavia. It’s time we get past caricatures and our personal biases and engage with what is unarguably the resurgence of religion in most of the world.

Which religious freedom do we propose to promote/support? If the answer is all religious freedoms then Harper runs the risk of offending it’s commitment to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with Israel if it promotes/supports Islam and risks offending Muslims by promoting/supporting religious freedom of Jewry. Why is it our place to sort out the religious tolerance/intolerance in other countries. This kind of busy-body-ness is what makes the US a hated target. Perhaps an Office of Human Freedom (regardless of religious affiliation) is really what’s needed here. I know… It’s a radical idea isn’t it???

So exactly how will Canada promote religious freedom for $5 million? Will it print extra copies of the Bible and the Koran. Print texts to describe the purpose of BarMitsvahs. I feel sure you could not secure the release of people imprisoned by their Governments for their religious beliefs with so small a budget. It does not cost much to organise a Twitter rally, but there would certainly be much confusion if it is multi deominational.
We can therefore assume that the $5million is for letterhead and a mission statement which will allow the organisation to be an all-purpose storefront for various undisclosed activities. For that kind of money it is definitely not going to change anyones convictions of faith or comfort the martyrs.

Christians and Jews are compatible in many respects, regarding our religious beliefs. However, we have many immigrants with various religious practices, that are diametrically opposite to ours, especially with regard to how women are perceived.

Freedom of religion sometimes encompasses that which is in direct conflict with our laws; as with multipal wives including very young girls. Our judicial system is based on Western civilization and as such, cannot be usurped; by those of different cultures and religious beliefs.

Christians and Jews in some Eastern countries are murdered, based solely on their religious beliefs. Western civilization allows feedom to worship multiple Gods and to celebrate their feast days, as we have seen in Canada on many occasions. But only as long as our laws are obeyed, despite what is acceptable, in other religions.

If that is unacceptable to some, then they should have remained in their own country where the majority worship the same Gods. And by the same token, allow others the freedom to worship in their churches and synagogues, to whichever God they choose; without fear of death.