The Catholic Faith and the Social Construction of Religion: With Particular Attention to the Québec Experience

By Peter Stuart and Allan M. Savage

The intent behind this book is to provide grist for the mill for research students and other interested readers. Chapter one, by author Allan Savage, presents an understanding of the social construction of religious activity, which maintains that social construction of religion arises from a dialectical engagement within the world from a phenomenological philosophical point of view. Co-author Peter Stuart presents a classical and traditional point of view, and readers expecting academic accord between the authors will be disappointed.

A further rationale for writing this book is that both Savage and Stuart desire to express their personal convictions in the public forum. Both have interests in the ebb and flow of civilization, especially as it pertains to the place of faith, religion, politics, and a variety of social phenomena, including economics, culture, gender, ethnicity, and the family, as well as the ebb and flow of money, power, property, and prestige, as articulated throughout history. They believe that writing about the place of faith and religion in French Canada is crucial if one is to understand the place that this keystone civilization occupies within confederation and its enduring ambivalence regarding its belonging, or not, to Canada.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 2, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449720841

Peter Stuart

Peter Stuart is a graduate of the University of Ottawa, class of 1996, obtaining a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in Canadian studies, magna cum laude. He is a native of the Province of Québec, born in Montréal, and has spent most of his life in Québec city, where he works as an administrative assistant at the city’s English-speaking Roman Catholic parish: St. Patrick’s. He is of mixed ethno-linguistic origin: French-Canadian, English, Irish, and Scottish. He is a native English speaker in a city which is 94 percent French-speaking, and is also fluently bilingual. His writings have appeared for ten years both in English and French, in the Québec Chronicle Telegraph, Le Soleil, La Presse, and Impact Campus, one of Laval University’s newspapers. He publishes a blog: Politics in Québec and Canada, at ‘stup1276’, which not only deals with issues mentioned in the title, but also faith and religion in post-modern secular society, gender and family issues, social justice, America and its place in the world, international affairs, and North American continental integration. Allan Savage is currently pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish, Québec City, QC. His doctorate of theology is from the University of South Africa; his doctorate in scared theology is from the St. Elias School of Theology; and his doctorate of letters is via published works through the European-American University. He was ordained in 1978 to the Roman Catholic priesthood, serving in the Dioceses of Timmins and Thunder Bay in pastoral, clinical, and administrative positions. He was sessional lecturer in the faculty of theology at the University of Winnipeg and is the author of a number of books integrating theology, philosophy, psychology, and interdisciplinary thought, as well as contributions to various electronic and print journals.

Book preview

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

The Social Construction Of Religion

Chapter Two

An Exercise In Critical Collaboration Between Allan Savage And Peter Stuart

Chapter Three

Various Commentaries On The Status Of Post-Modern Québec Civilization As Seen Through The Eyes Of A Native-Born English-Speaking Bilingual Québecer Of Mixed Ancestry

The Contributors

Notes

Foreword

Yesterday’s questions were: Who are we? Who put us here? What are we doing here? Today’s questions are: Are we at home in this world? Can we live a more fulfilling life? Has the smog of our wants darkened the lights of our needs? Who and what are influencing our lives?

Two scholars, Allan Savage and Peter Stuart, have prepared this study in order to shed light on these and other questions. This is a remarkable report not only in its content but also in its structure. Here is value for a wide range of readers from the very cerebral to the mainstreeters. The first part of the study is more generic in nature, specific in direction as it describes the Catholic Faith, and the social construction of religion. Advice to readers, have your dictionaries and references available. The author of this section is Allan Savage – see The Contributors. Allan, a man of great talent, has impressed me with his ability to take a complex subject and make it understandable.

The second part of the study, authored by Peter Stuart, deals with the Roman Catholic Faith in Québec. Peter is a writer and historian – see About the Contributors. It is an interesting factual story of building a nation by a colonial power. The content of this part is written in English and French. Peter gives a personal account of this period in a warm and touching way. After each section the authors critique each other’s work and they defend their positions demonstrating authentic thinking. A professor once told his students at the beginning of a semester that he was giving them the answers to the final examination and that he would show them how to get there. The authors will be giving answers to their work and will enlighten your journey. First answer: You can change yourself and the world to a more peaceful, loving and fulfilling existence.

This is an action-orientated study which reflects the path of humanity from ancient Greek philosophical thought to Leslie Dewart (1922-2009). Here are a few thought provoking concepts – no matter in what sphere of intellectual or spiritual life – literature, art, science, politics, religion – the process of constant revision and readjustment is unavoidably impressed upon the believer; healthy individuals cannot reject a proper self-esteem; our unique human capacity for adaptability empowers us to specify ourselves as architects of the future in contrast to custodians of the past in meeting our needs in current Western society. Allan Savage, who authors this part, provides interesting views and answers.

The second part, the Roman Catholic Faith in Québec, is authored by Peter Stuart. He views the early history of Québec, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, the quiet revolution of the 1960s and the present problems with the survival of their civilization as a distinct national entity. The French Canadians in Québec have made a break with the Church by substituting statism for religion or faith. Peter believes that Québecers and French Canadians in general are desperately starved for spiritual and faith-based solutions to the ills which affect them personally. He makes a passionate plea for the citizens to return home and rebuild their values even if they have lost their inheritance.

Today, the major players who influence humanity are politics, business, educational institutions, and religions. Who is winning the battle for the minds, hearts and souls of humanity? The world of business has become the greatest influential leader in or Western society. Technological innovation has been the driving force in changing the culture, language and religion of individuals and communities. The speed of communications has increased exponentially while art and quality have decreased dramatically. Humanity is losing the intimacy of personal conversation as the rise and development of communication products change rapidly. It is time for us to examine the activity of our internal and external lives with the opportunity to make the necessary changes in order to become fully human.

Allan Savage and Peter Stuart are to be commended for their work. It is timely and prepares readers to make decisions concerning their vision and direction in life. You will pass your final examination by living fully, serving humanity and co-creating a better world. Let there be light!

Charles Coveney

Quebec, QC

May 2011

Preface

(Allan Savage)

Authors commit their thoughts to paper for various reasons. In my case, and I leave for Mr. Stuart to account for his perspective, I had intended to write no further books but rather concentrate on journal articles instead. However, meeting Peter Stuart seemed somewhat providential in that my agenda was diverted from journal writing to co-authoring a third book. The chapters of this book constitute the personal convictions of the authors and are presented by us to the interested reader from a reflective and critical collaborative approach. My intention proposing this collaborative work to Mr. Stuart arose from a positive experience with two similar projects that I had undertaken earlier involving co-authorship. One work was in the field of what is often mislabelled modernist theology and the other was in the field of Adlerian psychology. The intent in each work was to present an expanded range of material for research into the theology of George Tyrrell and into applications of the psychology of Alfred Adler. My mind is the same in presenting this work in collaboration with Mr. Stuart, that is, to provide grist for the mill for research students and other interested readers. In Chapter One, which is my independent contribution, I present an understanding of the social construction of religious activity. I maintain that social construction of religious activity arises from a dialectical engagement with the world which I interpret from a phenomenological philosophical point of view. As the reader will see this immediately contrasts with Mr. Stuart`s perspective, which is presented from a classical and somewhat traditional point of view. Readers expecting academic accord between Mr. Stuart and myself will be disappointed. While I understand and appreciate Peter Stuart’s point of view, I cannot unreservedly agree with it based on my understanding which is rooted in experience. Our differing points of view are most evident in Chapter Two. As a result, this chapter ought to be of great benefit to research students since, as I believe, it demonstrates our contrasting positions most definitely and clearly and without rancour on either of our parts. As a theologian, not as a sociologist or historian, I have had an interest in sociology and history in an interdisciplinary approach with theology. History and sociology are more properly Peter Stuart’s areas of insight. Thus, the interdisciplinary approach presented here is an opportunity to learn from a holistic point of view in which the learner is greater than the sum of his or her parts. I have engaged in this critical collaboration with Peter Stuart as I approach my academic retirement years, as it were. Thus, on my part, there is not much reference to contemporary authors who may have written on this topic. I have referenced names with which I was made familiar in my philosophical formative years and thus leave it to the reader to decide whether I have clarified the issues or clouded them by doing this. As I see it, it is not so much how accurately I have interpreted my experience, but rather how authentically I have understood my experience.

(Peter Stuart)

My rationale for writing this book is very much personal. As a writer who has an interest in the ebb and flow of civilization, especially as it pertains to the place of faith, religion, politics, and a variety of social phenomena, including economics, culture, gender, ethnicity, the family, and the ebb and flow of money, power, property and prestige, as articulated throughout history through the time-honoured instrument of warfare, I feel that writing about the place of faith and religion in French Canada is crucial if we are to understand the place that this ‘keystone’ civilization occupies within confederation, and its enduring ambivalence regarding its belonging, or not, to Canada.

My collective contribution to this book, which has been written in collaboration with Father Allan Savage of St. Patrick’s Parish in Québec city, is a study of my interpretation of just how and why French Canada, especially the province of Québec, developed the way it did in the wake of the British Conquest of 1759, and how and why said development has left this oldest ‘cradle of confederation’, as I like to call it, bereft of its traditional foundational structures of faith and religion, leaving her open to the blandishments of temporal temptations and snares of secular-humanist post-modernist technocratic and bourgeois plutocratic elitism.

I feel that this is a subject in which, both in the fields of French and English-language scholarship in our province and our country, little has been produced and what has been produced is, to my knowledge, less than adequate, and even less of a case made from a scholarly point of view, to defend and promote the interests of the Mother Church in the face of an incessant onslaught of negative publicity and seemingly unending sensationalist and salacious revelations of wrongdoing on the part of clerics.

The answer to our spiritual quest is still Christ, and Christ is still to be found in the Roman Catholic Church, its ministers and faithful. It is my heartfelt hope that those who read these words will be inspired to persevere in the direction of the Spirit and that the Spirit may lead them to the resources within the Church which they need to sustain them on their journey of life in the faith.

As for my stand alone section of the book, it is an eclectic collection of social commentary, gleaned from my blog, which can be found at stup1276, and which is written in both English and French. This section deals primarily with matters of faith and religion in secular society, particularly in the province of Québec, as well as issues of linguistic, cultural and political identity in our province, taken from the point of view of someone such as myself, who is a bilingual native English-speaker of partial French-Canadian extraction.

I’ve compiled these essays into one body of work so as to have them published in the public domain for the first time, seeing that I feel, once again, that the interpretation which I give to the subject matter, is one which is not currently being heard in the mainstream English or French language print or electronic media, and I feel that I speak for a substantial cohort of both French and English-speaking Québecers and Canadians of a more ‘Progressive Conservative’ bent, if I may borrow that moniker from the world of politics, whose views constitute a silent majority and which could potentially become a powerful source of untapped influence and power.

I leave it, therefore to readers to judge for themselves what to make of my interpretation of the subject. Have a good read.

Acknowledgements

(Allan Savage)

No writing is undertaken in a vacuum. Many individuals, in various and sundry ways, have influenced my writing career and shaped my notions and ideas as I understand them today. I acknowledge my indebtedness to these individuals, many of whom I no longer see. Writing in a discipline that is not my primary area of expertise is somewhat risky – especially when one respects his co-author, whose area of expertise is of another discipline, but nevertheless is obliged to disagree with some of his views; while cherishing him as a valued colleague. Among the professional philosophers who have taught me in my undergraduate years at St Michael’s College, University of Toronto, I am most indebted to the late Leslie Dewart (1922-2009) who taught me how to think outside Hellenist categories and engage that truth which they so admirably express. As well, over the years of my writing career, which was not always guaranteed to be within the established conventions of academia, there are two individuals whose friendship and encouragement I never doubted. They never ceased to encourage me in my investigations. They are Fr Keith Callaghan and his sister Mary Boland. And it is to them that I dedicate this book. When all is said and done, however, the ideas I express in this book are my own and I am solely responsible for their appearance in print.

(Peter Stuart)

No authors ultimately commit their thoughts to paper, with either pen or with the help of electronic wizardry, without first having being influenced along the path of their life journey by a number of people, places, and things. In my case, the places which continue to inspire as well as bedevil me with their complexities of language, culture, ethnicity, economics, and entrenched patterns of historical and political baggage, remain Canada, the Province of Québec, and the city of Québec and especially their respective peoples, in that order. These entities never cease to amaze me with their seemingly never-ending ability to perpetuate their longstanding existential crisis, much to the chagrin and frustration of fiercely patriotic flag-waving specimens such as myself. On the other hand, these three entities continue to show an enduring resilience to soldier on, together, sometimes despite what each of them consider to be their own better judgement, to live together in peace and harmony in this strange and somewhat befuddling experiment that we call Confederation.

Two persons, who have been perennial sources of inspiration in my process of reflection and subsequent discernment of a socio-political, socio-linguistic and cultural thesis, as well as the accompanying ideas regarding faith in a secular society which have been drawn out of these reflections, have been Pierre Elliot Trudeau and René Lévesque. Both were fluently bilingual native born French-speaking Québecers, who so firmly believed in the veracity of their ideas, that they were willing to sacrifice all that was comfortable and worldly in life so as to enter the maelstrom-like vortex of public life as elected officials, and to fight to their very last breath to defend and promote what they saw as their vision of Canada and Québec. I have been inspired by them since both men’s ideas and the way they presented them and carried them out in the public sphere gained my respect, and their strong points and weak points, represented two contrasting, yet, I firmly believe, not diametrically opposed, much less irreconcilable visions of our great country. Their legacy, however, has been to leave our country entrenched in an ever-more institutionalized stalemate, which has only been exacerbated by two terms of Tory rule, having led us through such well-intentioned, yet ultimately doomed exercises in nation building and navel-gazing as the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords, which only led to another referendum on secession, and the ensuing near-death meltdown, the likes of which nobody ever wishes to truly live through again.

And lastly, I would like to acknowledge a series of people who, perhaps unbeknownst to them, gave me words of encouragement or the break I needed by giving me a platform to express my views publicly. First off I would like to acknowledge my Grade 10 history teacher Miss Monica Marston. Miss Marston gave me a life-long passion not only for history, but Canadian history in particular. I could always tell that she was passionate about it, and that telling the story of Canada as one united nation was important for her. She made the stories of early colonial Canada come alive, giving a young man such as myself a sense of awe at the accomplishments of the early French and British pioneers who came and built our country out of the wilderness. I never forgot how impressed she was when I came up with the right answer for the location where Louis Riel was hanged, and was sufficiently impressed with my knowledge to let my parents know on parent teacher night. (Yes, it was ‘Pile ‘o Bones’, present day Regina, Saskatchewan. I can thank my Scholastic Book Service Series of ‘It Happened in Canada’ books for that!) Secondly, I would like to thank three people who ultimately permitted me to get my opinions published in the public domain for the first time: Michèle Thibeau, Karen McDonald and Pierre Little. All three have worked for at one time, or have owned the oldest newspaper in continuous publication on this continent: The Québec Chronicle Telegraph, which has been in publication in a variety of forms since 1764. I first submitted an op-ed piece to Michèle back around 2001-02. She initially rejected it, told me to tighten it up, make it fit their 400-500 word limit, and re-submit, which I did. I’ve never looked back since. Both Karen and Pierre as owners of the paper pretty much gave me free reign, with very few exceptions, to express my views, and in this way, I was able to get my message out to a public audience for the first time ever.

To them, and all the others listed in these acknowledgements, I am eternally grateful. In conclusion, may I invoke a phrase my dearly departed Mother always proclaimed when it was time to soldier on: Carry on Canada! And may God bless and keep you all.

Chapter One

The Social Construction Of Religion

The Process of the Social Construction of Religion

1. Introduction

2. An Understanding of Theology in the Social Construction of Religion

Special Characteristics of the Social Construction of Religion

1. What is the Social Construction of Religion?

2. How Does the Social Construction of Religion Occur?

3. What is the Meaning of the Social Construction of the Christian Religion?

4. The Social Construction of the Christian Religion is a Constant Calling, Arriving and Moving On

The Experience of the Social Construction of Religion

1. The Social Construction of the Christian Religion is Only Imperfectly Seen

2. The Social Construction of the Christian Religion Reflects the Path of Humanity Through Time

3. In the Social Construction of the Christian Religion we see the Truth of the Universe in Which we Live

4. The Social Construction of the Christian Religion is a Call to Faith in a World of Human Cultures

5. Nothing of Worth in the Social Construction of the Christian Religion can be Discovered Simply or Quickly

The Process of the Social Construction of Religion

Introduction

In this chapter I discuss the process of the social construction of religion and, in particular, the Christian religion. By the Christian social construction of religion, I mean that discourse with the given world that takes place through dialectic and with that world that we subsequently make for ourselves based on that dialectic. Our human world is not as constituted by a mere given of natural events, but one of social construction. Thus, the social construction of our religion is not a pre-determined phenomenon rather it is a product of the ethical and moral choices we existentially make. Contemporary Christian social construction of religion is to be contrasted with the traditional Western philosophical understanding that has been inordinately influenced by Hellenistic, or Ancient Greek philosophical thought. Leslie Dewart’s efforts at dehellenization, which is his attempt at a social construction of religion, are an attempt to formulate a new social construction with a new theological understanding. I concentrate in this chapter on the way my belief has been re-shaped through a dehellenized philosophical understanding. In my investigation, religious roles, as opposed to religious goals, take prominence. As well, I conduct my discussion about the social construction of religion to existential relationships that that have come into being since the dominance of contemporary Western or Hellenistic society. That is to say, I characterize Western society as being dependent on the linguistic and philosophical invention of the copula verb to be. The contemporary Christian social construction of religion exposes those societal practices that have wrongly become regarded as inevitable. Contemporary Christian social construction of religion corrects this view of societal practices wrongly seen as inevitable. This correction takes place through phenomenological activity, not through classical philosophical activity. I am indebted to Leslie Dewart’s initial philosophical ground work in Religion, Language and Truth, wherein he has written:

I have suggested in this book how it may be possible to understand the nature of language in a way other than Aristotle’s, not as the expression of thought, but as its creative form, its womb or matrix, as it were, so that language, instead of corresponding to that which is spoken about (as meaning corresponds to the meant) is rather the means whereby consciousness can think meaningfully about a reality that does not have any meaning in or within itself.¹

Christian social construction of religion is a difficult task and requires conscious and concerted effort on our part because the intuitive view is that there is a way things are that is independent of human opinion, and that we are capable of arriving at belief about how things are that is objectively reasonable, binding on anyone capable of appreciating the relevant evidence regardless of their ideological perspective. ² Since an ideological perspective is innate to the social construction of religion, I retain the full term to prevent a possible lapse on the reader’s part into thinking that I mean only social construction of reality, including one that excludes religion.

Christian social construction of religion arises from the believer’s experience. Such experience may be negative or positive which in turn effects any subsequent social construction of religion of the future. Reflecting upon our experience negatively, we may conclude that our western expression of religion is dying and view the future in fear. Things are not the way they once were we may conclude. Religious life is decadent. The Christian moral values that we once acknowledged publicly seem to be challenged in contemporary society. This challenge often results in conflicting opinions. Media headlines, even those which incorporate a religious point of view, often suggest that total destruction may be near given the perpetual state of war and conflict in which the world is engaged. The moral and ethical principles that formerly held religious life together seem to be disintegrating as the traditional supports of western belief are being undermined.

On the positive side of our experience the world goes on because the ordinary person is cheerful and optimistic. The ordinary person believes that life is good and feels a part of a larger rhythm of creation despite its apparent corruption. Mary Jo Leddy, founding editor of the now defunct Catholic New Times, in theological discussions with Bishop Remi De Roo and Douglas Roche, shares the following personal comments. Her insights are in the book, In the Eye of the Catholic Storm: The Church since Vatican II.³

Let me begin by talking about the television remote control I’m holding in my hand. This is a symbol of our culture for me, a symbol of the modern world….I come now to my own feelings. In this world I feel marvelously alive. I feel I am sharing in God’s process of continued development of the planet. I offer that not as a grandiose claim, believe me. But I do feel blessed — I have to put that right on the table. I feel blessed by health. I have sufficient funds to keep myself alive. I have the blessings of a strong family. I have faith — which gives me a base on which I