Religious Freedom

Humanitarian Crisis Adds to Burdens of Afghan Religious Minorities

Susan Korah

February 4, 2022

Media attention may have shifted away from Afghanistan, but suffering families and religious minorities remain in the country. On-the-ground relief efforts are in dire need of support, writes Susan Korah.

For Fawzia Shah, (not her real name), a middle-aged Hazara (Shia Muslim) woman from Central Afghanistan, the words “democracy”, “freedom,” and “women’s rights” mean nothing.

Those were the stirring slogans with which political leaders in Canada, the...

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Time to Challenge and Comply

Don Hutchinson

January 3, 2022

When it comes to Canada’s recently passed ban on “conversion therapy," Don Hutchinson argues that it’s bad legislation, not good faith religious counselling, that should be put on trial.

The provisions of Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), will be incorporated into the Criminal Code as law effective January 7, 2022. It may be poorly...

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Chief Concern With Conversion Therapy Law

André Schutten

December 8, 2021

Drawing on history and imagination, André Schutten “interviews” former Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker about Conservative Party failure to properly oppose the new legislation.

On December 1st, I watched in stunned disbelief as the Conservative Party of Canada proposed, and then unanimously supported, a motion to expedite the Liberal’s Bill C-4, an act to amend the criminal code in order to ban conversion therapy. In less than 30 ...

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Christian Women Doubly Vulnerable to Persecution

Susan Korah

December 6, 2021

On a day that will live in infamy to mark violence against Canadian women, Susan Korah reports on a global study of gendered religious persecution.

Aid to the Church in Need, a global Catholic charity has released a groundbreaking—and heartbreaking— report.

With the launch of Hear Her Cries—the first comprehensive report on gender-specific religious persecution—Aid to the Chur...

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The Christian’s Progress

Peter Copeland and Andrew P.W. Bennett

December 1, 2021

As Advent moves us toward the promise of Christmas, Peter Copeland and Fr. Deacon Andrew Bennett chart the Christian progressive vision against its static secular form. Part one of three.

In our heart of hearts, we know that we are not all that we can be, personally, or collectively. We cry out for more, not knowing where to go, or how to get there, but led forward by this flame that burns within.

Christians have long thought that tho...

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That All Faiths Feel At Home

Tim McCauley

November 1, 2021

Father Tim McCauley argues instead of claiming Islamophobia is entrenched in Canada, we must ensure Muslims and all believers are made welcome.

October was Islamic History Month in Canada. In a letter introducing the month, former of Diversity Minister Bardish Chagger wrote, “Today and everyday, I stand with Muslim communities, and indeed all Canadians, to denounce the hatred that fuels Islamophobi...

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Taking a Jab at Religious Freedom

Don Hutchinson

September 10, 2021

Despite contrary claims, sincerely held faith is a Charter-protected justification for declining to take the COVID shot, Don Hutchinson reports.

John Longhurst’s provocatively titled column Religious leaders should make it clear faith ...

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London Murders Wound Us All

Andrew P.W. Bennett

June 10, 2021

The killing of a Muslim family in the southwestern Ontario city demands empathy for the victims, but also renewed commitment to freedom of faith, Father Deacon Andrew Bennett writes.

The news from London, Ont. regarding a murdered Muslim family is horrifying. It is chilling even to write about a driver deliberately ram...

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COVID’s Cost in Liberty Lost

James Bryson

June 8, 2021

Theologian James Bryson surveys the historical landscape of Munich and finds troubling harbingers vis-a-vis his home province of Nova Scotia’s authoritarian response to the pandemic.

Born and raised in Halifax, I currently live in Munich, Germany. I have been monitoring the Nova Scotian response to the pandemic from abroad by reading the news and by keeping in touch with family and friends.

I write this article to lend some persp...

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Canada’s Common Spiritual Hunger

Ray Pennings

May 31, 2021

After last week’s online National Prayer Breakfast, Cardus Executive Vice President Ray Pennings reflected in his weekly Insights newsletter on how to pray in public – and pluralistic – spaces. Convivium reprints his text.

Cardus Insights strives to “connect the dots” among faith, business, and public life. Ray’s weekly reading summaries can catch you up or provide you with more insight into the headlines you may have seen this week. And you can look forward to a...

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Talking Turkey About Tulips

Susan Korah

May 11, 2021

Ottawa’s annual Tulip Festival owes its origins to a Turkish refugee and Canada going Dutch during the Second World War, Susan Korah discovers.

The transformation couldn’t be more dramatic. Each May, thousands of tulips in full bloom turn Ottawa’s parks and public gardens into bursts of vibrant colour, ranging from fiery reds and yellows to delicate pastels—all the more striking after the dreary gr...

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Calling Genocide By Its Name

Susan Korah

April 23, 2021

On April 24, 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden will acknowledge the 1915 genocide of Armenians. Canadian descendants now want Turkey to own its historic crime, Susan Korah reports.

April 24 is a day of deeply felt and often turbulent emotions, say members of the Canadian Armenian community.

Designated Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, it brings back tortured memories of a painful past mingled with a sense of gratitude for their ...

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Religious Freedom Equals Educational Freedom

David Hunt

March 31, 2021

The latest call to defund Ontario’s Catholic schools both rewrites Canadian history and goes counter to international schooling norms, Cardus Education Program Director David Hunt argues.

In terms of cultural insensitivity, the latest call for ending Ontario’s Catholic school funding wins the shamrock, coming...

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Heeding Shahbaz Bhatti’s Call

Susan Korah

March 26, 2021

A decade after the religious freedom fighter’s murder, Pakistani Canadians call on Ottawa to renew his work, Susan Korah reports.

Ten years ago, the world lost a hero, a soldier who fought courageously in the treacherous terrain of Pakistani politics, for the fundamental rights of that country’s oppressed faith minorities. And the Canadian government needs to pay more than lip service...

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Conversion Therapy Bill Off Target

Andrew P.W. Bennett

March 22, 2021

The Liberal government’s Bill C-6 aims so wide that it threatens freedom rather than criminalizing abuse, Cardus’ Father Deacon Andrew Bennett argues.

Parliament needs to find the courage to stand up for Canadians’ fundamental freedoms instead of allowing Bill C-6 to trample them. While the intent of the bill to criminalize harmful practices under the banner of “conversion therapy” is right and good, the ...

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When Calls to Service Call Us Back

Peter Stockland

March 15, 2021

The Cardus Religious Freedom Institute’s Diakonia Project moved its two researchers to faith-based service themselves, Peter Stockland reports.

When Father Deacon Andrew Bennett and researcher Johanna Lewis began planning the Cardus Religious Freedom Institute’s Diakonia project last year, their aim was to tell the stories of Canadi...

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10 Highlights of the Year for Cardus

Daniel Proussalidis and Monica Ratra

December 28, 2020

Daniel Proussalidis and Monica Ratra write that while 2020 was a forgettable year for many reasons, Cardus initiatives throughout the year provided memorable highlights for the organization and our supporters.

It’s cliché at this point, but 2020 is surely a year most of us would like to forget. And not just because of the pandemic or the brutally polarized political rhetoric of the past year. But, as we think back on the past year at Cardus, there’s actually a lo...

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Santa Serves the War-Torn, Too

Susan Korah

December 21, 2020

Saint Nicholas lives in the spirit of all who give gifts and life to those in the darkness of violence and poverty, Susan Korah writes.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.

Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousan...

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Religious Persecution’s Red Letter Day

Susan Korah

December 2, 2020

Canadian churches turned red recently hoping to open Canada’s eyes to violence against believers, Susan Korah reports.

The red-lit facades of Mary Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal, St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto, and the Embassy of Hungary in Ottawa stood silhouetted against the dark November sky, in silent tribute to the 260 million Christians around the world ...

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Justin Trudeau's Words to the Wise

Peter Stockland

November 4, 2020

The Prime Minister got it right the first time on the limits of free speech. His mistake was backing down in the face of vociferous criticism, Peter Stockland writes.

As a Westerner who’s lived in Quebec for 20 years, one of my great challenges is using the proper noun Trudeau and the adjective “correct” in the same sentence.

It was so with the father. So it is also with the son. Yet right is right. It must be sai...

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Lest We Forget Lebanon

Susan Korah

September 25, 2020

Despite historic pacts between Israel and its Arab neighbours, Middle East peace remains a chimera if Lebanon is left behind, Susan Korah writes.

World media attention has shifted from the horrific explosion in Beirut on August 4 to the historic Abraham Accord that is normalizing relations between some Arab states and Israel.

But speakers at a recent webinar on the region stressed the importan...

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The Tent of Abraham

Amanda Achtman

September 9, 2020

Catholic Priest Father Noel Farman brings his “universal heart” to Calgary from his native Nineveh, Amanda Achtman reports.

Each year on Yom Kippur, Jews read the Book of Jonah during the afternoon services. The story recalls the initially reluctant prophet’s eventual exhortation to the Ninevites to repent.

I recently met a modern-day Ninevite whose own life is filled wit...

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The Cardinal’s Diplomatic Dressing Down

Peter Stockland

August 20, 2020

Quebec’s mistreatment of faith groups during the COVID lockdown drew a Cardinal’s ire in words high on diplomacy and inspiring, says Canada’s former ambassador to the Vatican. Peter Stockland reports.

Near the end of June, I pulled into our parish parking lot full of gumption at the resumption of Masses after four months of COVID-forced church closures.

A small circle of my fellow faithful had already gathered around Father Piotr Miodek as he sto...

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Bidding Loyola a Long Goodbye

Peter Stockland

August 13, 2020

Paul Donovan’s retirement as president of Montreal’s Loyola High School ends his 39-year association with the historic Catholic institution, which included a major religious freedom victory in the Supreme Court. Peter Stockland reports.

When young Kevin Donovan left Montreal’s Loyola High School 67 summers ago, he could hardly foresee having a son who would one day lead the school to a landmark legal victory for religious freedom.

Yet his graduation picture in Loyola’s Class of 1953...

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