Is there a uniquely Canadian way of describing how Christians in this country are deconstructing their faith? Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Is there a uniquely Canadian way of describing how Christians in this country are deconstructing their faith? Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Is there a uniquely Canadian way of describing how Christians in this country are deconstructing their faith? Angela Bick and Peter Schuurman, co-authors of the new book (2024, New Leaf Network), say there is: Canoeing. In the book, the two interviewed 28 Canadians between the ages of 17 to 79 who went through the process of deconstructing their faith — a process of examining long-held beliefs and seeking new ways to understand God. The process led all of them to quietly leave the faith of their childhoods for new forms of spirituality, or for no religion at all.
As Bick and Schuurman listened to their stories, they heard them talk in ways that reminded them of being in a canoe — feelings of “capsizing, going underwater, running aground, being adrift and portaging to a new lake or another kind of spirituality or faith community,” said Bick, editor of Christian Courier, a Canadian publication that serves the Christian Reformed Church and beyond. Once people decided their old ways of believing didn’t make sense any longer, it was sort of like quietly paddling away on a calm lake, added Schuurman,.