The Armageddon Factor: Dennis Gruending Weighs In

Probably the best response to the charge that Marci MacDonald is "demonizing" Christians:

One might ask, and some of McDonald’s critics have, what is wrong in having a group of people motivated by conservative religious principles engaging in public life? The answer is that there is nothing wrong with it, but it is also completely legitimate for a journalist to cover that phenomenon, as McDonald has done. If religious faith were simply a matter of personal piety or private devotion, it would demand far less scrutiny. But faith is inherently social, and, yes, political. Ultimately, the question to be answered is where these people want to move our nation. I believe that they want a leaner and meaner state where individuals and religiously based organizations take back much of the responsibility for education, adoptions, social welfare and many other services, and do it on their own terms. On these and other policies, whether it is their response to global warming, to crime, or to our government’s policy toward Israel, the religious right can be judged both on what it says and what it does.

Dennis Gruending is, of course, this guy.

"Pulpit And Politics" For Best Religious Blog

Ex-NDP MP Dennis Gruending has been writing "Pulpit and Politics" for just over a year now. He is now up for a 2008 Canadian Blog Award in the category of Best Religious-Philosophy blog, and has indeed reached the final round. The title pretty much says it all: Mr. Gruending examines the intersection of Canadian politics and both right and left wing political movements. Level-headed, scholarly, but always a good read. When the final round opens, he's got my vote.

The Rise of The Canadian Religious Right

Another good piece by ex-NDP MP Dennis Gruending. He contests the notion that there is no Canadian counterpart to the U.S. movement, and sees

...growing cooperation among conservative Christians, particularly in evangelical and Catholic churches, based on a shared agenda anchored in opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion, publicly funded childcare and other social programs. Derek Rogusky heads the socially conservative Ottawa-based Institute of Marriage and the Family Canada. The group has been deeply involved in research, messaging and lobbying on a number of political issues, most notably the same sex marriage legislation. Rogusky says, “We’re seeing a real coalescing of between evangelicals and conservative Catholics. We’re starting to see them engage in issues much more than they did 10 years ago.

Other indications are "the expanding network of advocacy and lobby groups aimed at influencing public policy ", and increasing access to "the halls of power". His most controversial claim is that "the vote of evangelical Christians and Catholics who attend church weekly was a decisive factor in the election of a Conservative minority government".

Not terribly surprising, all in all, but a good thing to keep in mind if you're wondering why the Tories keep pushing micro-legislation like Bill C-484. This bill is an attempt to convey solidarity with religious right voters without being substantial enough to wake the mainstream from its slumber.

The paper on which Mr. Gruending's latest is based can be found here.