Fragmented Gods: The Poverty and Potential of Religion in Canada

G.A. Rawlyk is a history professor at Queen’s University and the
author of Champions of the Truth: Fundamentalism, Modernism, and the
Maritime Baptists.

This is one of the most controversial books ever published about Canadian religious life. Despite its significant flaws, Fragmented Gods compels the reader to ask disconcerting questions about the sad state of contemporary Christianity in Canada.

Making very good use of a myriad of opinion surveys, Reginald Bibby contends that Canadian Christianity has lost its sense of inner spiritual purpose and has become a key instrument of consumer society. The implicit thesis of Fragmented Gods is that the organized Christian Church in Canada has abandoned the pristine spirituality of its founder and if it has any future it must recapture its earlier commitment to salvation and service.

Spitting into the wind of perceived wisdom, Bibby convincingly shows that the Atlantic region is now “the Bible belt” of Canada and also that Roman Catholics in Quebec are on the cutting edge of modernity and social change.

Bibby’s case would be more convincing if he had underscored regional considerations and also if he had dealt frontally with some of the real problems concerning his data. Nevertheless, the strengths of Fragmented Gods clearly outweigh its weaknesses and should be read by everyone in Canada seriously interested in the country’s fascinating religious experience.