|
Have Faith: The Tories will move slowly on moral issues
By LORNA DUECK
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
For some of us, the best thing about sliding into a church pew is an
hour of sitting in a place where you don't do a thing except feel
loved. This past weekend there were other emotions stirred into that
routine. I'd bet the morning offering that every congregation in Canada
prayed for our new government. It was a moment where the country's
Constitution and its spiritual beliefs merged as we followed the
dedication of the Charter, and offered Parliament up to the supremacy
of God.
The microcosm of our society can be found in any place of worship --
rich, poor, single, family, blue-collar, professional, immigrant or
not, it's all there and the prayers are deep and sincere. These are the
places where moral concerns have varied from benign responses to
Supreme Court challenges, where members of Parliament and prime
ministers have had rough and smooth rides, where social policies range
from left to right, and where the bottom line is a high call to live
out love for our neighbour, especially when we disagree.
This election saw new evolutions of church and state talking, the most
notable when, just days prior to the vote, Canada's largest evangelical
magazine, Faith Today, published views of what party leaders believed
was the role of faith in developing public policy. In essence, their
statements were a green light welcoming religion into the political
process.
"A synergistic partnership working together to improve our social
tapestry for the greater good of all Canadians," said Paul Martin.
“It's perfectly legitimate for citizens and legislators to take
into account their own deeply held faith convictions in developing
public policy," said Stephen Harper.
"There will always be a role for Christians and for people of other
faiths, to speak out of their prophetic traditions, challenging the
rulers of their day to do justice, to love kindness and mercy," said
Jack Layton.
(Gilles Duceppe declined to answer the religious query, saying "matters
of faith and religion enter into the realm of private affairs." Full
statements are available at http://www.christianity.ca.)
Another evolution on the faith and political scene was a growing wisdom
among the faithful, said David Haskel, a journalism professor at
Wilfrid Laurier University who has an interest in religion and media.
Religiously motivated social conservatives, while they were busy
getting the vote out, remained non-partisan and "learned to keep their
mouth shut, and when they did, they survived," said Mr. Haskell. "I
know they feel the need to be light on a hill, but the parable that is
more apt in the political process is one where you get away from rocky
soil. It's got to be about cultivating good soil."
Politically and in the world of faith, Canada showed that any changes
in ideology have to be made through moderation, an increment at a time.
That's why we'll need faith groups, not politicians, to launch moral
ideas and discussions. In more than 15 years of attending conservative
churches, I've never heard a sermon on abortion -- so why should I
expect such a moral issue to be opened during an election if my own
community can't bring it up?
In the same way, it's wrong to continue to dismiss religious views on
changes being made to moral institutions -- which is why marriage will
surface once again for a House vote. Last week Imam Abdul Hai Patel,
co-ordinator of the Islamic Council of Imams, told me that same-sex
marriage continues to be his community's No. 1 political concern. He
said that rushing through a redefinition of marriage now causes
problems for how his community deals with polygamy as practised by its
Canadian-born members. For more than 10 years, he said, the council
controlled the problem by instructing imams not to perform any marriage
without a government licence. However, redefining marriage has given
some a green light to exercise their own preferences. "I shouldn't say
this on TV because it's not popular," he said, "but there are currently
Muslim men in Canada having more than one wife -- multiple, bigamous
relationships. As an Islamic marriage, this does not require
registration. It can be religiously consummated. It is happening in
small numbers and it was the Liberal government that opened up this
debate." But these are unions he expects could wind up in court in
cases of disputes over marital property rights.
Nothing short of the patience of Job will be needed for realizing that
if we do hold to a belief in the supremacy of God, these developments
are under God's timetable, not ours. There was a day when religious
folk were tied to stakes and set alight by their rulers (and later by
each other).
Imagine: Here we are, living in a land where you can slip into a place
of worship because you just want the love of God. Not politics, not
disagreement, just a cure for what ails the aching heart. That's the
cornerstone concept the faith community has to bring to Canada's new
government.
Lorna Dueck
produces Listen Up TV, a spiritual perspective on the news, seen on Global TV and CTS.
|
