Canadian State Religion is Secularism

Edmonton, July 4, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a June 27 National Post article about the demise of his social conservative news magazine, The Report, Ted Byfield explains what has been leading the Canadian establishment to become increasingly anti-Christian.

Byfield says "Canada has an implicit state religion" that is "complete with dogmas, moral absolutes, legislative programs, priests and prophets, allies and enemies". The chief enemy of this state religion, says the founder of Canada's most notable social conservative magazine for 30 years, is Christianity.

That state religion, says Byfield "is secularism, which proclaims that if there is a God, man could know nothing about It. Therefore, any viewpoint that contends otherwise should be dismissed as an absurdity, and above all permitted no role in the determination of public policy, because religion must be regarded as a purely 'private' affair".

He continues "Claims of individuals to know anything as actually true, or morally good, should be disparaged, and school curricula must be designed to discourage such assumptions. Influence over children should be gradually taken away from parents and vested in the state. In particular, the ability of parents to imbue their children with any religious viewpoint should be thwarted through public education".

"The purpose of human life is pleasure, the centre of all human endeavour is properly the self, and the chief vehicle for all human fulfillment and advance is the state. Finally, the source of all moral authority must be vested in what Plato called 'the Guardians,' which in our day would mean the professoriate, the luminaries of the liberal media, the educators, and the bureaucracy. Judges, the intelligentsia, commentators and assorted 'experts,' these are the priests and the prophets."
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/jul/03070403.html
See Byfield's complete article at:
http://www.nationalpost.com/search/site/story.asp?id=B882D313-2B0B-4358-BCEA-0D0E7AA6 E021
See previous LifeSite report:
Report Newsmagazine, Canada's Sole Social Conservative Magazine, Halts Publication
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/jun/03062503.html