Article Added On: April 22, 2008 - 2 months ago
Title: Prophecy and politics
Original URL: http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2008/04/20/5335956-sun.html
Author: THANE BURNETT
Publication: Ottawa Sun
Publication Date: April 20, 2008 - 2 months ago
Faith Groups: Evangelical Christian, Other
Themes: religion in politics

Abstract:

Religion is part of the mix in U.S. politics, but not so in most regions of Canada where sermon topics stick to the gospel and social issues, writes THANE BURNETT for the Ottawa Sun.

One God, but two very different states of that grace.

For Christian church leaders in the U.S. and Canada there's a unified faith. However, the ongoing American primaries scandal involving Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, highlights how both countries have dramatically different views of politics delivered from the pulpit.

It's a separation most Canadian evangelical members are, especially now, eager to point out and praise.

Dancing and singing and delivering sermons that inspire his congregation to its feet, it's not unusual for Rev. Adam Kinsel to believe his flock needs a push or two down the chosen path. Even when it comes to supporting political candidates.

While there may be debate over whether Evangelical Christians have lost some of their potent force in politics in the U.S., there's no question the estimated 70 million Americans who call themselves evangelical have helped to fill the White House in the past. In recent American elections, two thirds of those who attend church at least once a week have reportedly voted Republican. Church leaders, such as pastor Kinsel, have been able to deliver block votes into the hands of candidates.

From the head of his inner-city Pittsburgh Zion Hill Baptist church, the gentle giant and super-energized man of God has no problem mixing prophecy and politics -- having decided the two are the ingredients of American destiny. During a recent Sunday sermon, Kinsel wove together as many positive words about the virtues of Democrat presidential contender Obama as the passages from his own well-worn Bible. It's all part of his work as a Christian leader in his community, he -- along with a powerful number of American church leaders -- has decided. As well as to God, his followers even regularly pledge an oath each Sunday to the state.

Just a six hour drive north, to the Canadian pews and views of Rev. Robert Smith's historically rooted church in London, Ont., finds a similar personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but a world of difference in using the Word of God to deliver a political message.

When it comes to the Canadian evangelical movement, the secular lines are not so quickly crossed. Canadian believers largely -- with exceptions in some communities, including in Western Canada and Newfoundland -- prefer to keep political agendas on the outside looking in. This is with the acknowledgment that almost every faith and denomination, from Roman Catholics to the Jewish community, have historically found ways to have their concerns heard by political leaders in Canada.

And all large churches are tempting retreats for politicians looking for support.

"I've come into this church and found candidates shaking hands," says Smith, the senior pastor at London Gospel Church, who also spent years serving in California churches. "If this were the U.S., and while we can't generalize, they could well be invited to speak up front (from the pulpit)."

That's just not the Canadian temperament, says Smith. He has a loftier vantage point to the issue than many in his congregation know. His brother, David Smith, is a former federal cabinet minister and current senator. The long-time politician is a top general for the Liberal's next federal election campaign.

Yet, the most that members of this church can recall is an occasional reference by Rev. Smith to going out for lunch with his brother in Ottawa.

Politics are left out of the picture.

There are many different theories on why Canadian evangelical churches haven't followed the political aggressive lead of their U.S. brothers and sisters -- beyond the obvious fact the numbers of members in the U.S. are so much greater.

Many Evangelical Canadians felt burned by the past federal abortion debate, with -- explained one senior church member -- a sense that they lost any ground, or even concessions, by collectively resisting any compromise on exceptions when a procedure could take place.

"The pragmatic view has now become ... 'Who can come closest to what I believe?'" the pastor explained.

There is also a cultural sensitivity. When American pastors come north to give sermons in Canada, it's not unusual for them to get a quick, crash course in what won't fly in our houses of God. Politics is often at the top of that forbidden list.

Bruce Clemenger, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, explains: "Canadians find it inappropriate to become political at the pulpit.

"The church never assumed to wield political power over the state (in Canada)."

He says while faith guides the hands of Canadian members, there has been a belief that in this country there's more of a sense of inclusion, or co-operation, among a very diverse population.

"From the Bible, we find principles ... but then we look for common ground," he says.

"Just as Canada is more moderate (than the U.S.), you'll find the same among (Canadian) evangelicals."

But their base has found other ways to get the ear of politicians. While some continue to organize rallies and protests, others have found strength in presenting facts along with faith. Organizations such as Focus on the Family Canada and the Clemenger's Evangelical Fellowship of Canada have strong public policy lobbying arms which routinely come before federal committees armed with empirical data and the latest research to support legislation on everything from child porn to daycare.

"I think (the debate) over the definition of a marriage was a wake-up call for many people," says Dave Quist, head of the Ottawa-based Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, the social policy research arm of Focus on the Family Canada. "They suddenly asked, 'How did we get here?' Now they're awakened."

Quist says it's not enough to confront politicians with a Bible and arguments of blind faith.

"If we go in with research and the data they tend to listen," he adds of politicians.

Even politically savvy American evangelicals are asking for help from Canadian counterparts -- including from Quist -- as they fight the same-sex marriage battle from state to state.

Sam Reimer, an associate professor at Moncton's Atlantic Baptist University who wrote a book on the difference between Canadian and American evangelical Christians, points out that rather than stand unified on the right, church members in this country have a left-leaning tradition that reaches back to the social policy innovations of much heralded 1960s New Democrat leader, Tommy Douglas.

When he speaks to American evangelicals, Reimer says they often talk about the country "going to hell in a handbasket," thanks to a lapse in morals.

But when he questions Canadian evangelicals, they tend to speak the language of economics -- stressing the need for more jobs, help for the poor and dealing with the on-again, off-again question of Quebec separation.

Jonathan Malloy, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Ottawa's Carleton University, says Canadian history has taught socially conservative Christian politicians not to speak too loudly about their relationship with Jesus.

In fact, while their American counterparts often use their religious affiliation to help build a base, in this country, evangelicals complain, it's often looked on with suspicion.

During the 2000 election, Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day's evangelical roots were made fun of, as his campaign was dubbed by the media as "Prayer Force One."

In 2005, a banner headline ran in a national daily, announcing that during nomination meetings: "Christian Activists Capturing Tory Races."

While Christians become politicians like everyone else, there was a sense in religious communities that the headline brought back the image of the American communist finger-pointing era of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

"There's a strong feeling you don't want to make public remarks about your faith," says Carleton's Malloy. "Particularly in the public life (of politicians) it has been sanitized. Which is ironic, since it's the U.S. which separates church and state."

In fact, Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms is based on the supremacy of God.

But for many of Canada's three million evangelical Christians, politics aren't pushed from the pulpit -- even as they continue to address the most sensitive issues on Earth and in heaven.

Richard Mickolwin spent years working for the largest radio station in Canada. He lived the rock and roll lifestyle of tell-all memoirs -- sex, drugs, free passes to concerts and, once, a tailor who came to his office to measure him for a $1,000 suit.

A little more than a decade ago, after losing his job and home to crack cocaine, he was dropped off in London, Ont., with two garbage bags of dirty clothes and a single quarter. He tossed away the 25 cents because he had no one he could call.

Today, thanking the power of Jesus Christ in his life, he is married, working, drug free and happy.

During a recent Sunday inside the London Gospel Temple, Smith spoke about losing yourself in the darkness, and finding your way out through the grace of God. Mickolwin closed his eyes and raised up a hand -- hearing powerful and intimate words which rang close to home.

But what the 56-year-old evangelical church-goer never wants to hear from his preacher is the message of politics.

"Bring me the moral issues (of the day)," Mickolwin says, after the service.

"But I never want to be told from the pulpit, 'This is how you should think, politically.'"

That brand of boldness, he confesses, is just not very Canadian.