About ‘More Resources’
Here you can find external resources related to, or expanding on, the material presented in this chapter. Currently included are links to websites, links to online video clips, and suggested readings that you can find in your school or local library. If you would like access to the password-protected video library that accompanies the text, your professor can give you the username, password, and URL needed (and if your professor is not sure how to access the video library, he or she can contact an Oxford University Press sales representative for details).
Website links
Canada’s Office of Religious Freedom
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Human Rights Commission
Multimedia links
NFB Documentary on the controversial evangelical Christian ex-gay movement:
NFB Documentary about Canadian Muslim women and their relationship to Islam:
TVO Big Ideas series episode in which a Philosophy professor and Chief Rabbi discuss the future of religion in a secular age:
http://tvo.org/video/171085/charles-taylor-and-jonathan-sacks-future-religion
Readings: Churches and Religion
Bibby, R.W. (2011). Beyond the Gods and Back: Religion’s Demise and Rise and Why It Matters. Toronto, ON: Project Canada Books.
In this book, well-known Canadian sociologist Reginald Bibby pulls together important information on religious trends to describe the major shifts in religion that are currently taking place, in Canada and beyond. He argues that religion today is not characterized by the secularization nor by revitalization but rather it is characterized by polarization. He examines the implications of this polarization for personal well being and social well being going into the future. He concludes that, in any case, “few of us will say goodbye to the gods.”
Bramadat, P., & Dawson, L. (Eds.). (2014). Religious Radicalization and Securitization in Canada and Beyond. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Using Canadian’s commitment to multiculturalism and social justice as a backdrop, the editors pull together a series of contributions that examine the issues of religious radicalization and securitization. Contributors look at the challenges of both religious radicalization and the state’s and society’s responses to it post 9/11 and the arrest of the “Toronto 18.”
Dawson, L., & Thiessen, J. (2013). The Sociology of Religion: A Canadian Perspective. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
This book provides an overview of the world’s religions, focusing on the changing religious landscape in Canada. The authors provide an excellent introduction to contemporary issues on religion, as well as covering the work of classical theorists such as Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.
Durkheim, E. (1968 [1912]). Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. Joseph Ward Swain (Trans.). London, UK: Allen and Unwin.
This is a classic work in the sociology of religion, and is the last major work published by Durkheim. It is a case study of Australian Aboriginals, whose culture Durkheim believed exemplified rudimentary forms of religious practice.
Lefebvre, S., & Beaman, L. (Eds.). (2014). Religion in the Public Sphere: Canadian Case Studies. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
In a series of essays, this book covers many interesting debates on the place of religion in a diverse and multicultural nation. Many religious groups and practices are examined, in light of legalities, accommodation, and the role of religion in the public spheres of education and healthcare.
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