The Comfortable Pew 60 years later, and a chance to support religion journalism at the Winnipeg Free Press

Sixty years ago, Pierre Berton’s book The Comfortable Pew: A Critical Look at Christianity and the Religious Establishment in the New Age, was published.

In it, Berton argued that the church in general, and the Anglican Church in particular, had become complacent and out of touch with the modern world. It had, he said, become a comfortable institution more interested in respectability than in relevance.

That was a remarkable thing to say. What was just as remarkable was the widespread media reaction to the book. Canadian newspapers and other media outlets ran stories, reviews and even editorials. 

It would be hard to imagine such a widespread response to a book about religion by the media today. These days, religion of all kinds has been mostly pushed to the margins by Canada’s media — unless there’s a sex scandal, violence in the name of God, or if the pope dies. 

But not at the Winnipeg Free Press! It’s the only major daily media outlet in Canada with a dedicated religion reporter. (Me.) Only in the Free Press can you regularly find columns and stories about religion in the 21^st century.

 

Since 2019, when the Religion in the News Project was found, over 900 news stories about faith have appeared throughout the paper, together with over 350 weekly columns on the Faith Page.

All of this has been made possible by the support of 30 local faith groups, and through financial support from people like you. So, during this fall Crowdfunder, I invite you to support the coverage of faith by the Free Press—even if you don’t live in Winnipeg. Your support is a signal that you believe religion should be featured more prominently by the Canadian media.

To make a contribution, go to winnipegfreepress.com/support-faith.

 

Sixty years later, Berton’s book might be worth a second look. How does Christianity in Canada measure up today? Are the pews still too comfortable? Has organized religion in general lost its prophetic voice?

Those are still important questions today. And they are still being asked in the pages of the Free Press — thanks to your support.

 

Click here to read the whole column.