Free Press continues to shine in faith reporting

Sixty years ago, Pierre Berton’s book The Comfortable Pew: A Critical Look at Christianity and the Religious Establishment in the New Age, was published.

Commissioned by the Anglican Church of Canada, it rocked the religious establishment of the day.

In the book, Berton — then one of Canada’s best-known journalists and authors — wrote an honest and critical examination of the church’s relevance, or lack of it, in modern society.

He argued that the church in general, and the Anglican Church in particular, had become complacent and out of touch with the modern world. It had, he said, become a comfortable institution more interested in respectability than in relevance.

Among the charges levelled by Berton was the claim that church leaders had become “chaplains to the establishment,” serving the interests of their comfortable members rather than the poor or oppressed. He was critical of what he saw as a reluctance to criticize politicians and business leaders.

As he put it: “The church has aligned itself with the status quo, and in doing so, has betrayed the revolutionary message of its founder.”

There was more. Berton stated that church services were lifeless, formal, and outdated, failing to connect with ordinary people or addressing the very real challenges they were facing.

Berton accused church leaders of being afraid to speak out on social issues for fear of antagonizing their members. They “comfort the comfortable rather than disturb them,” he wrote, saying they needed to be outspoken about issues such as nuclear war, poverty, inequality and racism.

He went on to call for a “new Reformation” that would strip away empty ritual and rediscover the radical teachings of Jesus, adding that the church’s task was “not to preserve the past, but to redeem the present.”

The book was so influential that its title entered the religious lexicon in Canada as a way to describe a comfortable, self-satisfied, lazy and indolent form of religion.

What is just as remarkable as Berton’s conclusions was the widespread media reaction to the book.

Canadian newspapers and other media outlets ran stories, reviews and even editorials. The Globe and Mail called it “a wake-up call the church needed but may not heed.” Maclean’s magazine said Berton had “said aloud what thousands of thinking church- goers whisper.” The Toronto Star said it put into words what Canadians already knew — that church pews were too comfortable, and too empty.

It would be hard to imagine such a widespread response to a book about religion by the media today. These days, religion of all kinds has been mostly pushed to the margins by Canada’s media — unless there’s a sex scandal, violence in the name of God, or if the pope dies.

Sixty years ago, things were different. Back then, it was common for the media to report about what was happening in religious circles. That was also true even just 25 years ago, when almost all daily Canadian newspapers had faith pages and many had faith reporters.

Today, things are very different. Only the Free Press still has a faith page. And it is the only media outlet in the country with a dedicated religion reporter.

It’s not that books that critique religion aren’t still being published; they are. But they get virtually no mainstream media attention. Except in the Free Press! That’s where you could read about how some Canadian evangelicals are deconstructing their faith; how weekly attendance at religious services has turned into occasional visits; and how traditional forms of religious practice have become obsolete for many people; and backstory information about the election of the newest pope — among other things.

Those stories and more have been featured in this newspaper since 2019, when the Religion in the News Project was created. Since then, over 900 news stories about faith have appeared throughout the paper, together with weekly columns like this one on the Faith page.

All of this has been made possible by the support of 30 local faith groups, and through financial support from people like you — faithful readers who send in contributions to support this newspaper’s coverage of religion.

During this, our annual fall Crowdfunder, I invite you to contribute to the project. You can do that by sending a cheque to the Winnipeg Free Press at 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. (Make the cheque out to the Winnipeg Free Press and put Religion in the News on the memo line.) Go to winnipegfreepress.com/support-faith to contribute online.

Sixty years later, Berton’s book might be worth a second look. How does Christianity in Canada measure up today? Are the pews still too comfortable? Has organized religion in general lost its prophetic voice?

Those are still important questions today. And they are still being asked in the pages of the Free Press — thanks to your support.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER