Alberta separatism in faith spotlight

Albertans who want to separate from Canada cite various reasons for wanting to leave: economic unfairness over equalization payments, conflict over federal resource policies, political alienation from Ottawa.

Add another reason to the mix: faith. That’s the message of the Alberta Prosperity Project, which is leading the effort to leave Canada. It views the separation reformation as a great opportunity for “every Albertan who believes in faith, family, freedom and in Alberta’s right to chart its own course,” according to CEO Mitch Sylvestre.

Sylvestre’s message is echoed by Tim Stephens, pastor of Fairview Baptist Church, a conservative evangelical congregation in Calgary.

In an interview, Stephens cited biblical principles he says support separation. This included liberty, which for Stephens means limited government.

“Christians have always been people who’ve promoted freedom,” he said, comparing the federal government’s approach to what he calls “soft totalitarianism” as the government becomes more intrusive into the lives of Albertans.

Another biblical principle for him is justice, by which he means that everyone should be treated equally — unlike the socialist justice in Canada that he claims redistributes wealth through things like equalization programs.

Stephens views these as programs as unjust, since they “try to achieve some level of equality of outcome across our country… Albertans feel incredibly taken advantage of.”

Finally, like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, Stephens sees Alberta as a unique place of belonging — a place that is different politically, culturally and religiously from the rest of Canada due to its support for traditional Christian and moral values.

“We have a much more conservative culture and values, and we want to see our families grow up in that,” he said, adding these values are in contrast with what he considers to be the Marxist and secular ideologies that prevail in Canada today.

Other church leaders in the province see things differently.

“For me, freedom in scripture means the freedom to love God and my neighbour,” said John Pentland, minister at Calgary’s Hillhurst United Church. “It’s not just about my individual rights.”

Using Christian faith to promote separation “is very self-serving,” Pentland said, adding he thinks the number of church members who want to use their religion that way is very small. “But it gets attention,” he added.

For him, faith is about promoting the common good for everyone — in Alberta, across Canada and around the world. “It’s not just about me, my family and my province,” he said.

As a well-off province, Alberta should be “gracious” about sharing with others, he said, noting that its resources “aren’t ours. They come from God.”

Jeremy Duncan is lead pastor at Commons Church in Calgary, an evangelical congregation. He thinks only a small number of people in the province are using their Christian faith as a way to justify independence — but they get a lot of attention.

“It’s a small vocal minority that are talking about separating,” he says, adding that he thinks very few clergy would be supportive of leaving.

For Duncan, Christianity should be a primary driver for advocating for those who are vulnerable and marginalized — not for political separation. “I wouldn’t say that my faith tells me to push me to any kind of separatist movement,” he said.

Duncan has also not felt constrained as a Christian by any “secularist agenda that is squeezing faith” or preventing Christians from practising their religion.

“The reality of the separatist movement in Alberta is that it is probably overinflated… I think it is a very small minority who are talking about this.”

Sarah Bessey is a best-selling author and speaker about faith and spirituality who lives in Calgary. “There isn’t a Christian case for Alberta separatism,” she said.

“If people want to separate, they should simply stand on that belief, rather than hiding behind a pulpit or a cherry-picked Bible to justify themselves,” she said. “There is a profound danger when religious leaders baptize their own political beliefs through selective Bible verse application and Christian nationalism talking points.”

Every faith-based argument she sees from the Christians in the Alberta separatist movement “is pretty easily refuted from Scripture,” Bessey added, noting that the Bible could also be used just as well to make a case for unity, humility, service and care for the marginalized.

Judging by the conversations she’s having with other Christians in the province, “there is a lot of grief from fellow Christians that our public witness within the province and even the nation is being compromised by voices like this,” she stated.

Bessey wishes that “more of Canada knew about the broader church here in Alberta, the one that refuses to baptize the slippery slopes of Christian nationalism imported from America and branded with the Alberta flag. Many of us faithful believers here do love Canada, even with her complications, and much like the prophets taught us, are working for the good of the country.”

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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