A Culture of Faith: Evangelical Congregations in Canada

by Sam Reimer, Michael Wilkinson

Overview

Many religious scholars have noted a decline in institutional forms of religion in Canada. With fewer Canadians regularly attending church or following denominational proscriptions, is institutionalized religion becoming a thing of the past? In A Culture of Faith, Sam Reimer and Michael Wilkinson argue that evangelical Protestants continue to show strong allegiance to their congregations. Through a national study, including interviews with over five hundred pastors and an analysis of financial resources, the authors argue that evangelical Protestant congregations demonstrate greater resiliency within a broader context of declining religiosity. According to their findings, weekly church attendance among evangelicals is substantially higher than the national average, church attendees say they get significant enjoyment from their religious groups, youth participation is high, and evangelicals are more likely to volunteer. While there may be signs of decline on the horizon, Canadian evangelical congregations seem to remain vital at a time when most other Christian traditions are waning. A clearly presented study of evangelical beliefs, organizations, leaders, and finances, A Culture of Faith reveals the current strength of evangelical Protestantism and its implications for the future of religion in Canada.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773597143
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	05/01/2015
Series:	ISSN
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Sam Reimer is professor of sociology at Crandall University and author of Evangelicals and the Continental Divide: The Conservative Protestant Subculture in Canada and the United States.

Michael Wilkinson, professor of sociology and director of the Religion in Canada Institute at Trinity Western University, is the editor of Canadian Pentecostalism: Transition and Transformation.

Sam Reimer is professor of sociology at Crandall University, author of Evangelicals and the Continental Divide: The Conservative Protestant Subculture in Canada and the United States, and co-author of A Culture of Faith: Evangelical Congregations in Canada.
Michael Wilkinson is associate professor of sociology, and director of the Religion in Canada Institute, Trinity Western University.

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures vii

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 3

1 Evangelicalism in Canada 15

2 On Cultures and Subcultures 37

3 The Demographics of Evangelical Congregations 67

4 Priorities and Purposes 90

5 Programs and Identity 111

6 Leadership and Pastoral Weil-Being 134

7 Youth and Children 158

8 Financing Evangelical Congregations 182

Conclusion 202

Appendix 211

Notes 243

References 261

Index 281

Editorial Reviews

The writing is clear and the quality of the information is high. Not just for sociologists of religion, this book is highly recommended for local church pastors and denominational leaders as well as seminary professors and their students.” Gerardo Marti, author of The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity

From the Publisher