Canada's "Bible belts"

[FFX-ME]

Again, you can see here that anti-LGBT people are concentrated in rural Alrberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Central NB seems to be a bit bible-belty.

http://blog.revolutionanalytics.com/...ts-with-r.html

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by FFX-ME

Again, you can see here that anti-LGBT people are concentrated in rural Alrberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Central NB seems to be a bit bible-belty.

http://blog.revolutionanalytics.com/...ts-with-r.html

"The usual suspects" - all across the spectrum pretty much

[The Macallan]

I think I am in a position to reply anecdotally, having spoken in churches in all ten Canadian provinces. (That includes in the last few weeks Abbotsford, which has been named many times in this thread.). I also lived several years in the American south.

My own answer is that Canada doesn't really have Bible Belts in the American right wing, Republican sense of the phrase. Of course, there are places in Canada where church attendance is higher than other areas and where one is more likely to encounter socially conservative values. Those have been named in the thread for the most part.

There are, however, few, if any, places where Evangelical or Fundamentalist Protestant Christian churches hold the kind of public sway they do in the real Bible Belts in the US. In such areas, evangelical and fundamentalist churches hold real political and social clout and their pastors and church leaders are people whose influence needs to be taken seriously by candidates for public office. There are places in Canada where it would be unwise politically to gratuitously insult evangelicals. (Should there be places where politicians do that?). But church leaders have only minor influence, at most, in this country. I can say that with some confidence since before my retirement I was one. Nobody cared much about my opinions on social or political matters, which, by the way, is fine with me!

[Docere]

If I recall correctly, the most anti-abortion riding in the VoteCompass by far was Provencher, which includes Manitoba's Mennonite Bible belt.

[SaskScraper]

not to derail this thread but Saskatchewan has a bit of a 'Quran belt' with little and big mosques on the prairie..

Today, Friday Nov 4th, Regina is inaugurating it's newest mosque to world wide audience.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...d-up-1.3837144

Caliph Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad will deliver a sermon to inaugurate the mosque, and he'll unveil a plaque to commemorate the day and offer a prayer.The caliph's message delivered at the mosque in Regina Friday afternoon will be broadcast to millions more worldwide through the Ahmadiyya Muslim community's global satellite television network Muslim Television Ahmadiyya.

Largest Mosque in Western Canada, outside of Surrey/lower rainland, is opening in Saskatoon next month..

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...toon-1.3616322

Originally Posted by Stormer

From Twitter feed:






https://twitter.com/amjsaskatoon

[FFX-ME]

Originally Posted by Acajack

"The usual suspects" - all across the spectrum pretty much

Yea, pretty much what I expected as well. The rural prairies are stereotypically more socially conservative, but nowhere near the level found in the USA.

[FFX-ME]

Originally Posted by The Macallan

I think I am in a position to reply anecdotally, having spoken in churches in all ten Canadian provinces. (That includes in the last few weeks Abbotsford, which has been named many times in this thread.). I also lived several years in the American south.

My own answer is that Canada doesn't really have Bible Belts in the American right wing, Republican sense of the phrase. Of course, there are places in Canada where church attendance is higher than other areas and where one is more likely to encounter socially conservative values. Those have been named in the thread for the most part.

There are, however, few, if any, places where Evangelical of Fundamentalist Protestant Christian churches hold the kind of public sway they do in the real Bible Belts in the US. In such areas, evangelical and fundamentalist churches hold real political and social clout and their pastors and church leaders are people whose influence needs to be taken seriously by candidates for public office. There are places in Canada where it would be unwise politically to gratuitously insult evangelicals. (Should there be places where politicians do that?). But church leaders have only minor influence, at most, in this country. I can say that with some confidence since before my retirement I was one. Nobody cared much about my opinions on social or political matters, which, by the way, is fine with me!

It's good for the fate of the country that religion is not tied to politics like in the US. All politicians in Canada seem to afraid speaking about religion; probably since we are more secular and doing so would hurt their chances at re-election, but I don't really know. Maybe it's just a multicultural thing.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Docere

"Other Christian" is a proxy. It seems pretty clear the majority in that group are evangelical or conservative Protestant of some sort.

Among those under 30 and living in urban areas, a solid majority of the "other Christian" category are probably progressive non-denominational Christian of the type I described (though impossible to verify due to the census not separating them out). Among other populations, it's probably evangelicals that make up most of this group.

[Bcasey25raptor]

BC interior, rural alberta, rural saskatchewan, rural manitoba, rural Ontario.

[VANRIDERFAN]

I have to chuckle at the stereotypes being tossed here like so much Halloween candy.

I'm from SW MB, a "farmy" type of town and RM. Mennonite, Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian and United are the church affiliations.
The Mennonites are the most "devout" but their attendance like the rest of them are slowly declining.
There is a christian school (K-6) along with the regular Public school. My nephew went to the christian school due to the focus on core educational principles at an early age. There was no creationism taught but there were bible readings. He is now an adult living in sin with his girlfriend....so you can make your own assumptions on the schools affect on his views.
The rest of the region? Pretty secular. Abortion, LGBTQ and other social issues were rarely discussed if at all. When one of the daughters of a prominent business couple came out and married her girlfriend in town there was more craziness coming from Brandon vice the town where she was married. One member of the mennonite community confronted the father and was told he could take his business elsewhere and was more or less shunned by the rest of the community for his actions.

Social Conservatives? Maybe, but it is not a real issue to the people there. The weather and its affect on agriculture coupled with transportation capabilities to get their products to market is the all consuming issue on the Prairies.

I think that many here are looking for social conservative boogymen that if they exist, are slowly disappearing from the landscape. What happens in America is not automatically mirrored in Canada.

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Although the Okanagan gets the "Bible Belt" moniker sometimes, I think that is dated. Growing up there I knew very few people who were religious, and I knew almost nobody who regularly went to church. Around 1/3 of Kelowna claims no religious affiliation, hardly Bible Belt territory and, according to Wikipedia, a larger proportion of no "religious affiliation" residents than Toronto. BC is incredibly irreligious by North American standards, with only the Fraser Valley bucking that trend (although with the influx of people moving there for low housing prices, I expect that to change).

http://vancouversun.com/news/staff-b...e-lack-thereof

x2, I didn't know anyone who was that religious in kelowna, there were a handful of hardcore social conservatives but most people didn't take them seriously.

[ssiguy]

Originally Posted by Bcasey25raptor

BC interior, rural alberta, rural saskatchewan, rural manitoba, rural Ontario.

I disagree with rural Ontario.

Having been raised in SWO {admittedly in much more liberal London for much of it} I have been to all areas of SWO. I can say that I never say any place that I would say is Bible Belt. Socially Conservative definitely but not Bible Belt.

As I stated earlier I find it more of a Western Canada experience. Alberta & Sask are naturally more conservative and right-wing religious than any other area of the country as a whole. However even in more liberal Manitoba and BC there are definite Bible Belts in Steinbach and Fraser Valley & Okanagan respectively.

BC is very socially, geographically and politically stratified and this carries thru in religion. This is why in BC you have some very conservative and right-wing religious areas but conversely also have the nation's most concentrated liberal areas such as the Gulf Islands and Nelson. In Ont/Que/Atlantic you don't get this kinds of extreme pockets, left or right.

I find in the West, although less so Manitoba, people tend to be more black & while in many social and economic issues whereas in the East things seem to be more varies shades of grey.

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

I have to chuckle at the stereotypes being tossed here like so much Halloween candy.

I'm from SW MB, a "farmy" type of town and RM. Mennonite, Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian and United are the church affiliations.
The Mennonites are the most "devout" but their attendance like the rest of them are slowly declining.
There is a christian school (K-6) along with the regular Public school. My nephew went to the christian school due to the focus on core educational principles at an early age. There was no creationism taught but there were bible readings. He is now an adult living in sin with his girlfriend....so you can make your own assumptions on the schools affect on his views.
The rest of the region? Pretty secular. Abortion, LGBTQ and other social issues were rarely discussed if at all. When one of the daughters of a prominent business couple came out and married her girlfriend in town there was more craziness coming from Brandon vice the town where she was married. One member of the mennonite community confronted the father and was told he could take his business elsewhere and was more or less shunned by the rest of the community for his actions.

Social Conservatives? Maybe, but it is not a real issue to the people there. The weather and its affect on agriculture coupled with transportation capabilities to get their products to market is the all consuming issue on the Prairies.

I think that many here are looking for social conservative boogymen that if they exist, are slowly disappearing from the landscape. What happens in America is not automatically mirrored in Canada.

I also chuckle & have a feeling most people on this forum don't know well even one single person from rural Saskatchewan but feel they have their idealogical finger on the pulse of the people of the province.

Back 50, 60, 70 years ago Saskatchewan had socialist initiatives even back then with the start of Medicare and even though Saskatchewan cities have youngest average age of any city in Canada, and rural areas still have highest average age by more mature aged citizens, smaller rural towns and cities are ever increasing in tolerating and exercising social freedom.

Humboldt, Saskatchewan, a community of less than 6,000 held its first Pride Week in 2016. Civic Pride Flag raising ceremonies in small towns isn't uncommon anymore. A large number of my gay friends/acquaintancies live in small town Saskatchewan. Rural Saskatchewan is a huge enigma for most Canadians unless they have driven the trans-Canada highway through the province and have declared themselves experts on Saskatchewan culture. Most Canadians probably think it's identical to Corner Gas or Little Mosque on the Prairie.

http://thestarphoenix.com/storyline/...atchewan-towns

http://moosejawpride.ca/event/southw...swift-current/

[Acajack]

Sorry guys, but all those indicators don't lie. This doesn't mean that the places mentioned as "most conservative" in Canada are like rural Alabama, but they are more right wing than many other parts of the country.

[MolsonExport]

London ranks as a God-fearing big city in Canada. So many Pentecostals and Baptists here. But I found the interior of BC even more bible-belty. Most irreligious place in Canada? Hands-down, the place with more allegedly churches than Rome. The Sodom and Gomorrah of Canada. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. I'm proud to be from it.

[libtard]

Let's all make fun of them because of their wholesome family values and their lack of enthusiasm for owning a condo downtown

[Acajack]

It's SSP Canada 101. No one wants to be labelled as conservative and no one wants to be similar to the Americans.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by Acajack

It's SSP Canada 101. No one wants to be labelled as conservative and no one wants to be similar to the Americans.

I'm a conservative through and through.


Lets legalize pot and most if not all drugs. Not for moral grounds. Its that we might as well make money off of it (like booze and cigs) instead of spending mountains of money in the failing attempt to stop it.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

London ranks as a God-fearing big city in Canada. So many Pentecostals and Baptists here. But I found the interior of BC even more bible-belty. Most irreligious place in Canada? Hands-down, the place with more allegedly churches than Rome. The Sodom and Gomorrah of Canada. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. I'm proud to be from it.

Yes, your hometown includes so many lovely places of worship such as Club Super Sexe, Wanda's, etc..

[ssiguy]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

London ranks as a God-fearing big city in Canada. So many Pentecostals and Baptists here. But I found the interior of BC even more bible-belty. Most irreligious place in Canada? Hands-down, the place with more allegedly churches than Rome. The Sodom and Gomorrah of Canada. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. I'm proud to be from it.

London is in no way, shape, or form a Bible Belt. In fact the city has consistently had amongst the most liberal policy firsts in the country like the city funded HALO which started in 1972..........years ahead of most cities.
London is conservative in it's lifestyle but not politically or socially. London has always been a bastion of Liberal support both federally and provincially.

London being an old wealth city still has that mentality in the social, political, and economic sphere. Much like Forest Hill, Kerrisdale, or the West Island, or Conneticut in the US, the population is more staid and reserved in lifestyle but socially progressive.

There is a HUGE difference between older conservativism and the nouveau riche form. The older conservative maybe religious but they go to the United Church and the newer "converted" ones go to the Pentacostal.