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Bible no longer welcome at Canadian citizenship ceremonies
Canadafreepress.com ^ | by Judi McLeod

Posted on 07/20/2004 10:19:38 AM PDT by Grig

Less than one month after their somewhat tattered return to Ottawa, the minority Liberal Government has banned the Canadian Bible Society’s 50-year tradition of distributing the New Testament to new Canadians at citizenship ceremonies.

Gifting new citizens with copies of the Bible is out of sync with Canada’s promotion of multiculturalism.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada claims to be in receipt of complaints from participants at citizenship ceremonies, who feel the Christian sciptures, are being imposed upon them.

The society, already sidelined to setting up tables stacked with commemorative gold Maple-Leaf-embossed Bibles at citizenship ceremonies, deny the charge.

"They say this is about freedom of religion, but the government is actually curtailing freedom of religion," laments Reverend Phyllis Nesbitt, the society’s national director.

In a politically correct environment where the Holy Book is going the way of the unwelcome Cross and Ten Commandments, the society will appeal Ottawa’s Bible ban.

Dating back to the days when Bible-bearing society members welcomed immigrants landing at Halifax Harbor in the 1950s, volunteers have been giving away about 60,000 of the small bibles each year.

Rev. Nesbitt said she received a government-stamped letter last month from Michael Simard, a senior citizenship judge, stating that Canada is a "multicultural nation" in which freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Permitting one type of holy book to be made available at citizenship ceremonies apparently waters down the government’s official message.

No one, least of all the society, knows how many complaints were registered to Ottawa. Privacy rules prevent the government from disclosing to the public at large how many people expressed concerns.

For the Canadian Bible Society, the long road to perdition began in 1998 when it was forbidden to mingle with ceremony participants. Until then, volunteers were able to make presentations during ceremonies and walk freely into crowds of families and well wishers while handing out the books. Next came a government-imposed "agreement" that the society could only give away bibles upon request.

Some 150,000 immigrants, who take the oath of citizenship each year, often attend ceremonies with guests in tow. With crowds like that, Ottawa says it can hardly ensure all faith groups to be present and offer their holy books.

Besides, the citizenship ceremony should not be a venue for promoting specific religious beliefs, says Ottawa.

"Given all the strife in the world, we want to ensure that our citizenship ceremonies are as inclusive as possible," said Maria Iadinardi.

The federal department cannot be seen as supporting one religion over another. "Unlike other countries, our oath does not make people pledge allegiance to any god."

Nor does the Canadian government pledge allegiance to any god.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien refused to allow any reference to the Christian God at commemoration services for the first anniversary of 9/11.

Current Prime Minister Paul Martin, whose mentor and senior advisor Maurice Strong, wants to replace the Ten Commandments with the Earth Charter, was sworn into office Dec. 12 with an Indian smudging ceremony. ---------------------------- Canada Free Press founding editor Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the media. A former Toronto Sun and Kingston Whig Standard columnist, she has also appeared on Newsmax.com, the Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, and World Net Daily. Judi can be reached at: cfp@canadafreepress.com.


TOPICS: Canada; Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: bible; leftists; multiculturalism; purge
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1 posted on 07/20/2004 10:19:40 AM PDT by Grig
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To: Grig

Where our country will be before too long....


2 posted on 07/20/2004 10:22:06 AM PDT by Awestruck (The artist formerly known as Goodie D)
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To: Grig

Is the Bible officially considered "hate literature" up there yet?


3 posted on 07/20/2004 10:23:17 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: Grig
"Unlike other countries, our oath does not make people pledge allegiance to any god."

That's fairly apparent.

4 posted on 07/20/2004 10:23:50 AM PDT by B Knotts
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To: Grig

ping


5 posted on 07/20/2004 10:27:10 AM PDT by diamond6 (Everyone who is for abortion have been born. Ronald Reagan)
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To: Awestruck

Awestruck, before you write off this country, read this. I found it very encouraging...

Good News! The Kids Are Alright (becoming more conservative politically and socially)
Tech Central Station ^ | 7-16-2004 | By James K. Glassman

Posted on 07/16/2004 8:01:52 AM PDT by BigWaveBetty

Extra! Extra! The big news of the past decade in America has been largely overlooked, and you'll find it shocking. Young people have become aggressively normal.

Violence, drug use and teen sex have declined. Kids are becoming more conservative politically and socially. They want to get married and have large families. And, get this, they adore their parents.

The Mood of American Youth Survey found that more than 80 percent of teenagers report no family problems -- up from about 40 percent a quarter-century ago. In another poll, two-thirds of daughters said they would "give Mom an 'A.'

"In the history of polling, we've never seen tweens and teens get along with their parents this well," says William Strauss, referring to kids born since 1982. Strauss is author, with Neil Howe, of "Millenials Rising: The Next Great Generation."

In an article in the latest issue of City Journal, published by the Manhattan Institute, Kay S. Hymowitz writes:

"Wave away the smoke of the Jackson family circus, Paris Hilton and the antics of San Francisco, and you can see how Americans have been self-correcting from a decades-long experiment with 'alternative values.' Slowly, almost imperceptibly during the 1990s, the culture began a lumbering, Titanic turn away from the iceberg."

Adults are changing, but kids seem to have changed most -- and they may comprise the new "greatest generation," as Tom Brokaw called the World War II cohort. "What is emerging," writes Hymowitz, "is a vital, optimistic, family-centered, entrepreneurial, and, yes, morally thoughtful, citizenry."

That's trouble, I believe, for the Democratic party, at least in its current anchored-to-the-'60s version. It's possible that John Kerry will win in November because of the war in Iraq (though the smart money is on George Bush), but the long-term trend is clear. College freshmen who call themselves liberals outnumbered conservatives by about three to one in 1971; now the figures are roughly even. "Young voters are also more supportive of President Bush than the public at large," writes Hymowitz.

The changes in politics are rooted in changes in values. Last year, the rate of teen pregnancy dropped to a record low. Better birth control is not the sole explanation; the proportion of teens who had intercourse fell from 56 percent in 1991 to 46 percent in 2001.

Kids don't want casual sex; they want families. Harris Interactive reports that 91 percent plan to marry and, on average, they'd like three children.

Already, Generation X (born between 1965 and 1979) is more traditional than its parents. "The number of married-couple families, after declining in the '70s and '80s," writes Hymowitz, "rose 5.7 percent in the '90s." More brides are taking their husbands' names, and in 2000, the number of women in the workforce with infants dropped for the first time in decades. A study by Yankelovich found that 89 percent of Gen Xers think modern parents let kids get away with too much.

Twice as many Gen-X mothers as Baby Boomer mothers (born 1946-1964) spent more than 12 hours a day "attending to child-rearing and household responsibilities," according to a new survey by Reach Advisors, and roughly half of Gen-X fathers spent three to six hours daily on such tasks, another big increase.

Meanwhile, student marijuana use, which rose sharply in the 1990s, is on the decline, as is binge drinking. The juvenile murder rate fell 70 percent between 1993 and 2001; burglary is down 66 percent. Schools are safer, too.

What's going on here?

Hymowitz offers four explanations: 1) a "rewrite of the boomer years," with young people reacting critically to the world of sexual experimentation and family breakup and "earnestly knitting up their unraveled culture," 2) the trauma of 9/11, which has made kids more patriotic and turned them inward toward the comfort of family, 3) the information economy, which has given young people greater faith in their own chances to succeed, especially through self-reliance and entrepreneurship, and 4) immigration, which has produced what she calls a "fervent work ethic, which can raise the bar for slacker American kids, as any higher schooler with more than three Asian students in his algebra class can attest."

Whatever the reasons, the change in young people and their parents is very, very good news -- which is precisely why so much of the media is ignoring it.


6 posted on 07/20/2004 10:30:12 AM PDT by diamond6 (Everyone who is for abortion have been born. Ronald Reagan)
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To: Grig

Canada = France.

Both countries are totally useless and turning a deaf ear to the cult of islam. Neither country is a friend to the USA.


7 posted on 07/20/2004 10:33:16 AM PDT by bfree (Liberals are EVIL!!!)
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To: Grig

One doesn't change tablecloths by placing the new upon the old.


8 posted on 07/20/2004 10:38:53 AM PDT by Old Professer (Interests in common are commonly abused.)
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To: Mr. Mojo

Certain parts...same with other religious scriptures...not just Christian.


9 posted on 07/20/2004 10:51:35 AM PDT by MD_Willington_1976
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To: Awestruck

Where our country is today. The US has never given out bibles during citizenship ceremonies, nor is there any connection to Christianity with the US citizenship ceremony, never has been.


10 posted on 07/20/2004 10:54:36 AM PDT by TrebleRebel
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To: MD_Willington_1976

Which others? The Koran as well?


11 posted on 07/20/2004 10:55:01 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: Grig

What about that Maple Leaf on there flag… isn’t that an emblem of pagan tree worshiper?


12 posted on 07/20/2004 11:04:20 AM PDT by tophat9000
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To: TrebleRebel

"Where our country is today. The US has never given out bibles during citizenship ceremonies, nor is there any connection to Christianity with the US citizenship ceremony, never has been."

It isn't the government giving out the Bibles (to those who come over to their table and ASK for one), it's a non-denominational organization called the Canadian Bible Society. To my knowledge, there is nothing restricting similar groups from handing non-christian scriptures, and with 3 books you can cover at least 95% of world religions. This is just about the government not wanting to promote the practice of religion. Loyalty to God is a threat to loyalty to a state that wants to play God.


13 posted on 07/20/2004 11:15:18 AM PDT by Grig
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To: B Knotts
Yep...the ACLU LIE of the separation of church n state...is leading to ONE HELL of a state

imo

14 posted on 07/20/2004 11:19:34 AM PDT by joesnuffy (Moderate Islam Is For Dilettantes)
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To: Grig

Korans and Das Kapital, however, may be handed out at government expense.


15 posted on 07/20/2004 11:33:31 AM PDT by Unam Sanctam
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To: Grig
Nor does the Canadian government pledge allegiance to any god.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien refused to allow any reference to the Christian God at commemoration services for the first anniversary of 9/11.

Current Prime Minister Paul Martin, whose mentor and senior advisor Maurice Strong, wants to replace the Ten Commandments with the Earth Charter, was sworn into office Dec. 12 with an Indian smudging ceremony.

What a bunch of hypocritical liars. They are blatantly anti Christian. The Prime Minister had a religious ceremony to swear himself into office, the Indian smudging ceremony, it is to ward off evil spirits and "purify" yourself.

16 posted on 07/20/2004 11:44:04 AM PDT by protest1
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To: Mr. Mojo

Yes...anything that puts down another lifestyle...Just like I could get fined for publicly calling a lesbien couple a "bunch of bull dikes", if they had a witness to that I could be charged under the new laws...o course, I could easilly take up the courts time if they called me a "straight white guy" if I took offence to it...It's crazy, it's like kids on the playground teasing each other...


17 posted on 07/20/2004 12:34:54 PM PDT by MD_Willington_1976
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To: Grig
"Nor does the Canadian government pledge allegiance to any god."

It shows.
18 posted on 07/20/2004 2:26:36 PM PDT by Wampus SC
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To: protest1
"The Prime Minister had a religious ceremony to swear himself into office, the Indian smudging ceremony, it is to ward off evil spirits and "purify" yourself."

It didn't work very well, did it?
19 posted on 07/20/2004 2:28:43 PM PDT by Wampus SC
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To: tophat9000
What about that Maple Leaf on there flag… isn’t that an emblem of pagan tree worshiper?

No, it just means they're Toronto hockey fans.

20 posted on 07/20/2004 2:29:19 PM PDT by Alouette ("Your children like olive trees seated round your table." -- Psalm 128:3)
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