If you want to understand what is happening in America, you need to know about the Seven Mountains Mandate

If you want to understand many things happening in the world today, you need to check out the religion angle. This is especially true in the U.S. 

An example of this is the Seven Mountains Mandate, a belief promoted by a conservative evangelical form of Christianity. Proponents of the Mandate believe that Christians need to dominate seven key spheres, or mountains, of society: government, religion, family, education, media, culture and the economy (business).

The idea of the Mandate has been around since the 1970s. But it has been popularized more recently by leaders in what is called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a loosely connected movement of evangelical non-denominational and Pentecostal churches in the U.S. 

The premise behind the Mandate is that those seven key pillars of American society have been taken over by demonic powers. In order to make America great again, Christians need to reclaim control of these “mountains.” One way for that to happen is by placing Christians in influential positions in government and other places so they can get rid of the demons.

Read my story about the Mandate in the Free Press.

New executive director of Canadian Council of Imams exploring what it means to be a Canadian Muslim

What does it mean to be a Canadian Muslim? That is the question being asked by Imam Sikander Hashmi, the new executive director of the Canadian Council of Imams. 

In his new role, Hashmi—who was born in Montreal to parents from Pakistan—wants to help build a Canadian Muslim identity, something he thinks could take a generation or two. 

“It’s a work in progress,” he said, adding “being born in Canada helps. I understand the culture better than someone from another country. I know how Canadians think, I understand the subtle things about being Canadian. That is an advantage for me.” 

Read my story about Hashmi in Canadian Affairs.

New moderator of United Church of Canada wants denomination to think small

 

“We May Not Be Big, But We’re Small.” 

That was the motto of The Vinyl Cafe, a fictional record store owned by Dave, a character featured in the stories of the late Canadian author and CBC radio host Stuart McLean. 

It could also be the new motto for the United Church of Canada, according to its newly-elected moderator Kimberly Heath. 

“Our identity as United Church people is to think of ourselves as big,” said Heath, who was elected on Aug. 9 at the denomination’s 45th General Council. 

For a long time, Heath says, United Church members took pride in being the largest Protestant denomination in Canada; in being a “church that matters.” 

But that was the past, she said. “That idea of ourselves as big is not helping us today.”

Read my interview with Heath in Canadian Affairs.

Mixing aid and evangelism; not a good idea

Should giving out aid and evangelism be mixed? 

That question was prompted by an e-mail I received about a group of rural Christian youth who went to downtown Winnipeg to hand out food and water to homeless people and evangelize them. (“Four people were saved,” they said.) 

I have my own opinions. (No, they should not be mixed.) But I decided to ask some people who have experience with homelessness in the city: Julianne Aitken, executive director at Siloam Mission, and Tobi Jolly, who directs community wellness for that organization. 

Read their responses in my Free Press column. 

P.S. Ignore the headline on the column in the newspaper. I don’t write them. The answer is not complicated for me at all.

New paper describes three stages of religious decline in countries around the world

 

A new paper promoted by the Pew Research Centre describes what it says are the three stages of religious decline in countries around the world. 

In the first stage, people let go of aspects of religion that require more time and resources — things such as attending services. Next, they shed beliefs, partly because they are no longer being reinforced (or policed) in religious settings. 

The last thing to go is identity. People may not attend services or even believe in religious doctrines anymore, but they still call themselves Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus or Buddhist. The authors suggest religious identity hangs on longer since it isn’t burdensome; it doesn’t require anything in the way of time, devotion or resources. 

According to the authors, religion starts strong in rural and agrarian societies. As societies modernize and urbanize, and people become more educated, reliance on religious authority decreases. 

Generational change also drives the shift; each generation tends to be less religious than the previous one, as does religious diversity. 

And the transition from religious to less religious happens no matter what major religion is dominant in a country — Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist. Some countries are further along (e.g. in Europe), others have further to go (e.g. the U.S.). Canada is near the end of the second stage. 

Read more in my Free Press column.

James Dobson and his complicated legacy, including conversion therapy

Some people, when they die, leave complicated legacies. James Dobson, who died at age 89 on Aug. 21, was one of those people. 

Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, was known across North America for his strong advocacy of a brand of conservative Christian morality that he packaged as “family values.” His views on disciplining children shaped generations of children, especially in evangelical families. 

For some, Dobson was a positive force. But others viewed him in a very different light. This included Christians who were members of the LGBTTQ+ community. Dobson saw homosexuality as sin and he opposed LGBTTQ+ rights and same-sex marriage. At the same time, he promoted the discredited idea of conversion therapy to change LGBTTQ+ people into heterosexuals. 

One person who knows the negative impact of Dobson’s teaching is Lucas Wilson of Toronto. Wilson, 34, is a member of the LGBBTQ+ community and a survivor of conversion therapy. He has compiled a book of stories about the negative effects of conversion therapy, called Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy. 

Read my column in the Free Press about Dobson, conversion therapy and Wilson’s book.