The Absence of Pan-Canadian Civil Religion: Plurality, Duality, and Conflict in Symbols of Canadian Culture

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of the sociocultural and political factors that may have hindered the development of civil religion in Canada. In discussing the Canadian situations, many scholars including Bellah and Lipset have referred to the lack of civil religion in Canada. Although there is much to commend in such an interpretation, the assessment has been made without any systematic analysis. This article will attempt to address this problem by showing that the formation of civil religion in Canada has been inhibited by the following key factors: strong political and economic regionalism; the lack of unifying national symbols; the pervasive American cultural influence; and the linguistic and cultural differences of the two non-Native founding communities of Canada — English- and French-Canadians. The lack of shared beliefs, symbols, and values regarding the “Canadian Way” indicates that there is no pan-Canadian civil religion.