The Media Have Finally Woken up to The Religious Right in Canada

There is something that is rarely discussed here in Canada, and that is the influence of the Religious Right on our current government.

But this is more than just a religious influence on policy, it goes much deeper. They have been behind cuts to science, medical research, and inaction on climate change because they believe that it is one of a number of catastrophes, that we must allow to happen on the road to Armageddon. They are also behind the new Anti-Semitism nonsense, because as another milestone on the road to the Apocalypse, all Jews must be put in boats and forced back to Israel.

And then of course, there are the obvious things like abortion, same-sex marriage, gay rights, health care and daycare; but the most troubling for me is their influence on foreign policy.

I'm glad that the mainstream media is finally waking up and accepting that they have to include this in their reporting, and we as Canadians must start including it as part of normal political discourse.

The religious right is not a religious movement but a political one, and they make a great deal of money feeding off people's insecurities.

I was hesitant to delve into it, fearing that I might offend; but then they themselves became so offensive when discussing the gay community, single mothers, working mothers, etc.; that I decided it was time to fight back.

I grew up poor in a rather rough neighbourhood, and credit the churches in our area with helping me stay on course. I attended Catholic school, played soccer for the United Church, belonged to a Baptist youth group and attended dances in the Anglican church basement.

I don't remember them at anytime trying to convert me, but they may have all had a hand in saving me. Not that I ever really lost my way. I had great parents who though Catholic, allowed me to explore. Mind you, maybe they were just happy that it kept me out of trouble.

Fortunately, most churches are still like that, especially in small communities.

But the religious right represents the mega churches. The wealthy evangelical movement that judges people, and tries to inflict their twisted moral values on the rest of us.

And if anyone believes that a Harper majority won't be their final victory, you're just fooling yourself. Listen to him in this video.

National affairs writer for the Toronto Star, Linda Diebel; wrote a great article on the subject. I have been investigating this for a while, so have added some of my own notes in brackets where comments needed to be corrected, or where I had additional information. I have also included links to my former postings on a particular subject.

Boom times for PMO's God squad
Do Harper's 'theocons' give a Christian tint to policy or simply keep the base happy?
By Linda Diebel National Affairs Writer
December 19, 2009

Darrel Reid used to shoot from the lip. Few Canadian evangelists can match his record for the controversial quote, whether accusing single moms of using welfare to have babies or likening hate crime laws protecting gays and lesbians to Nazi tyranny. Nowadays, not so much.

In 2006, with the advent of a Conservative minority, Reid, once a catalyst for the evangelical movement in Canada, began to go stealth. He became chief of staff to former environment minister Rona Ambrose, then moved to the Prime Minister's Office as an adviser. Last February, he dove further below the radar, apparently gaining more influence with Stephen Harper. He's not up there with Laureen, mind you, but arguably more important than many warm bodies around the cabinet able ....

...However, if he were to do something, McDonald concludes, it would be irreversible by the time it was detected and "would change Canada in a profound way... People seem to wake up to what Harper is doing too late."

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?