Religion refers to a cultural system of chosen practices and behaviors and worldviews that associate humanity with supernatural, spiritual, and transcendental elements. Belief is the mental representation of a feeling that is positively directed towards the possibility of something being correct. Argyle and Beit-Hallahmi, (2014: 18) describe that it is the personal attitudes related to correct or incorrect concepts and ideas. Religious beliefs are the attitudes towards spiritual, supernatural, and mythological aspects of a religion. Religion in Canada is the recognition of the Canadians as Christians, (Protestants or Roman Catholic), Islam, Judaism, or Baha’i Faith. Moreover, Wallace, (2013: 26) identifies that in Canada, the core religion is Christianity, 67.3%, with the majority of the Canadian Christians being associated with the Roman Catholic, 39% while Protestants are 27%. According to the 1971 census, approximately 90% of the Canadian population adhered to Christianity. This means that in Canada, there is freedom of worship and religion (Wallace, 2013: 26). In the Canadian population, around 23.9% have no religion. In Canada, there is no official religion. Nevertheless, the Canadian constitutional Charter of Rights and Freedom states “God” but no conditions on the religious beliefs.
In Canada, the aspect of minority religious beliefs are used while viewing the differences between the black Canadians from other Canadians. Black Canadians are the Black Africans with permanent residence in Canada and identified among the minority groups in the nation. Black Canadians mostly consider themselves as a spiritual group. According to the argument put forth by Wilkins-Laflamme (2015: 477), religion has a great contribution to the life of Black people across the globe and this is true for the Canadian black people. In the aspect of the Christian belief, the Black people in Canada have a religious experience that exists in a situation that is empowered by classism and racism. Marger, (2013: 74) postulates that at all times the Christian nurture takes the basis of the Black people’s community in Canada; Black religion separates itself from the religion mainstream. The practice helps in having full participation, lead generation, lay enablement, and spiritual dignity that is vital those individuals uniting themselves and being identified as the body of Christ (Argyle, and Beit-Hallahmi, 2014: 18).
The History of Black Canadian Religion
African Canadians migrated to Canada with the aim of experiencing freedom. However, they realized that they were not properly received at the ancient churches in the country (Barras et al., 2016: 103). In the 1800s, churches were the vital part of African Canadian people. During those days, different Black churches existed and they comprised of the British Methodist Episcopal churches and African Methodist Episcopal. Litchmore and Safdar, (2015: 180) assert that in 1784, Black Canadians begin their churches and identified some people to operate as ministers. The change was effective after some churchgoers separated themselves from the Methodist Church and established the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the same year. As articulated by Dilmaghani, and Dean, 2016: 254), discrimination of the African Canadians existed even in the churches, as the population was not received in those churches serving other Canadians. Furthermore, by the year 1854, a good number of the Black Baptists living in Nova Scotia had left the Baptist church and established their association under the title, ‘the African United Baptist Association’.
The separation between the Black Canadians and other Canadians became stronger even in other sectors. According to Lefebvre, and Beaman, (2014: 86) religious rivalry and co-operation did not just appear, but it began in the historical times. The majority of the Black Canadians were associated with Baptism and Methodism, as they are the highly prominent faiths of the Black Christians and focusing on the personal relationship with God. Some of the Black Canadians were not introduced to religion. For example, the Wentworth paid attention to the Maroon’s beliefs and culture and tried to transform them to Christianity. Barras et al., (2016: 103) argue that the aspect of domination of religion by the Roman Catholicism is clear that different Christian groups emerged because of conflicts within the religious groups (Litchmore, and Safdar, 2015: 180). Indeed, history reveals that the competition existing in the religions ministered by the Black Canadians and other Canadians means the struggle for freedom for the Black people.
Some African Canadians’ churches became effective after their followers and ministers decided to stand on their own and avoid relying on any support from other Canadians. Negru, (2013: 5) articulates the blacks were determined to be free even in the aspect of worship and that is why they collaborated with each other in the construction of churches. For instance, ‘Cornwallis Street Baptist Church’, was instituted in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1832, possessed and managed by Blacks in Canada (Bekkering, 2015: 62). The church demonstrates the determination of the Black Canadians of enjoying their freedom while in their places of worship. Protests against the African ministers responsible for the Black religion were strong, but based on the personal commitment of some church ministers like Richard Sorrick, who was a former Methodist pastor and slave at Oro, Canada West, the majority of African Canadians’ churches lasted (Barras et al., 2016: 103).
Why Religion and Religious Beliefs are Important among the Black Canadians
The African Canadians respected and treasured their religions. According to Dilmaghani, and Dean, 2016: 254), Black people did not only recognize the church as only a place of worship, but also a place where they would meet as a community. Different reasons mark the effort of the Black Canadians of adherence to religion. According to the argument put forth by Wilkins-Laflamme (2015: 477), many Black Canadians identify belief in a divinity as important for their practice of moral behavior. Therefore, the more the Black Canadians associated themselves with religion and practice their religious beliefs, this helps them to behave better as compared to other Canadians. Lefebvre and Beaman, (2014: 86) articulate that in the churches, people are taught the aspect of differentiating good and bad. Such teachings govern how individuals live with each other in the society. Notably, the majority of those Black Canadians who attend church services and other meetings do not engage in bad behaviors like drug taking and alcoholism among other bad conducts (Lefebvre, and Beaman, 2014: 86). Interestingly, the behavior of the African Canadians in the religion marks their difference with other Canadians.
The engagement of Black Canadians in different religious practices enhances their religious beliefs. Wallace, (2013: 26) asserts that the structure of the black churches seems to be unique because of their background and the ancestry impact. Consequently, many churchgoers identify the religious practices to be conducive, admirable, and serene to their religious experiences, which tend to enhance the religious beliefs. Some religious practices engaged in by the Black Canadians like music and the conduct of prayers are admirable. As postulated by Argyle, and Beit-Hallahmi, (2014: 18), not every churchgoer who joins others is a strong believer, but through the religious practices, the majority of them become transformed and practice strong religious beliefs. Precisely, the coming of the Africans in Canada made the native communities to enjoy diversity in how religious practices are conducted.
The organization of the Black Canadian religions boosts a sense of community among their followers. In the 1780s and when the Black Canadians started their churches, there were few followers. Marger, (2013: 74) articulates that the cultural and moral ground of a church community effectively makes it attractive to other people who share the same values with those of the existing followers. The religious practices and beliefs of the Black Canadians are normally connected (Dilmaghani, and Dean, 2016: 254). Nonetheless, the particular beliefs attract other individuals who have secular beliefs and effectively enable them to take part in the religious practices for the achievement of their cultural purposes.
Having separate churches enabled Black Canadians to generate strong religious beliefs and the feeling of being joyful in the religion. According to Marger (2013: 74), effective communication in the church is essential in allowing believers and ministers to freely focus on the achievement of the purpose of their religious beliefs. Having their own churches and religious gatherings enabled Black Canadians to engage in their religious practices without conflicts that would result from lack of consensus and miscommunication (Lefebvre, and Beaman, 2014: 86). Islam would engage in their Islamic religious practices with no worries of affecting Christians and vice versa. The same happened among other religious followed by Black Canadians.
The Characteristics of Black Canadian Religion
Prayer meetings attended by the Black Canadians have always been different from those of other Canadians since the historical times. Barras et al., (2016: 103) argue that the powerful singing of hymns and psalms has been a culture existing in all Black religions. The singing style in 2001 in the Canadian religions was different from how it was performed in 2011. The reason is that the number of Black Canadians attending prayer meetings grew significantly. Emotional exhortations, as identified by Lefebvre, and Beaman, (2014: 86), are and have always been unique for the Black Canadian religions as compared to other Canadians. Despite the time past since one’s conversion to Christianity, the ones who existed in the Christian gatherings for a long time guided others (Litchmore, and Safdar, 2015: 180). As African Canadians interacted in the religions, unique beliefs and practices could emerge spontaneously and expected to remain unchanged for years.
Because of the African Canadians issue of being involved in war and slavery, they strongly supported each other to see that their religions were successful and relevant for their cultural practices despite the competition from the other Canadians. Being victims of immorality that was practiced in Canada by the Natives, Black Canadians were determined to fight for discrimination in the society through preaching peace and practicing cultural activities that would teach other Canadians the morals (Wilkins-Laflamme 2015: 477). For instance, in the Black Canadian churches, followers practice baptism. The practice is meant to connect the followers with God. Moreover, through baptism, Christians are said to have been filled with the Holy Spirit of God and Light is filled inside the believer.
The style of preaching in the Black churches in Canada is featured with calls for people to receive the Holy Spirit (Marger, 2013: 74). As the Black Christians’ lives were influenced by hearing the Word of God in the preaching practices, the same happens among the present Black Canadian Christians. Music is another element of Black Canadian religion and operates as a call for the believers. The specific aspects of religion indicate the differences between the African religions in Canada and their religious beliefs like Voodoo and Santeria (Wilkins-Laflamme, 2015: 477). When the body is possessed with the spirits, the faiths of the Black Canadian Christians are unified. The possession also unifies the call and response hymns, dancing, and rhythmic music. It is evident that the diverse religious beliefs of the Black Canadians influenced many Canadians' lives because their religious practices were aimed at enhancing peace, unity, and love for one another and discouraging discrimination of the disadvantaged people in the Canadian society (Wilkins-Laflamme 2015: 477).
African religion is strongly connected to Baptism, which is in the category of the highly durable among the black churches. As identified by Barras et al., (2016: 103), many African river cults engage in ceremonies that entail the total immersion of one’s body. The similarities of the belief would have convinced African Canadians born in slavery to accept the upcoming faith as their culture. Consequently, the Black baptism located in Nova Scotia developed independent of the external religious power and evolved different suggestive and unique features. Litchmore and Safdar, (2015: 180) assert that besides engaging in marriages that are marked by strong faith and conventional morality, Black Canadians desire to live in a predictable society and with acceptance of polygamy.
Precisely, the religious teaching among Black Canadians concerning the adoption of children is a different custom from those practiced by other Canadians. Dilmaghani and Dean, 2016: 254) postulate that it is easy for an African Canadian family to adopt and absorb children. Probably, the issue of being involved in slavery and having suffered as a family would have contributed to the feeling of being one. In addition, while in Slavery, the Black Canadians were used to cases of mothers separating from their children at any time. Besides, stone mounds were used by the African Canadians to symbolize the midpoint of the religious rituals.
Changing Aspects in Black Canadian Religion and Religious Beliefs
The evaluation of the historical nature of Black Canadian religion reveals the likely changes affecting the African Canadians’ religious beliefs (Dilmaghani, and Dean, 2016: 254). In the contemporary world, the majority of the Canadians think of Black people as new immigrants to the country. Bekkering, 2015: 62) identifies that African Canadians population has declined to around 2% of the entire society. There has been a diversified origin of the current Black population in Canada. Consequently, the Black religion, especially the Black church is widespread. Marger, (2013: 74) argues that the Black migrants who were English-speakers settled in Toronto and the French-speaking ones went to live in Montreal. The issue has made the Black church in Canada to decline and other having few followers (Wilkins-Laflamme 2015: 477). Racism and discrimination, which still exist in Canada, affect the continued living of Black Canadians.
Different religions are practiced in Canada and in the recent years, the number has been growing dramatically. These religions comprise of; Buddhism, which has an origin from Japanese immigration from the 19th century. As postulated by Lefebvre, and Beaman, (2014: 86), Black Canadians were migrants to Canada. Therefore, once they returned back to their countries of origin, some religions like Hinduism experienced the issue of having minimal followers. Religion in Canada is similar with living social life like any other because the fear that people had in the past when entering the religious places is no more (Argyle, and Beit-Hallahmi, 2014: 18). Therefore, in the current world, Black Canadians exercise the freedom of religion, therefore, Christianity, though the major religion in Canada was not dominating the Black Canadians because even Islamic and other religions widely existed in the country (Marger, 2013: 74).
Black Canadians worked against racism practices leading to discrimination in the country with the intention of reviving the Black pride and culture, but because of lack of enough support, their determinations were ineffective. Despite the decline in number, Black Canadians are more religious than other Canadians. As identified by Argyle, and Beit-Hallahmi, (2014: 18), it is possible to find Black Canadians attending church services at least once in a week and engage in prayers regularly. The Black Canadians believe that religion is vital in their lives and that is why the majority of them believe in God and trust in Him for their life successes. The majority of the Black Canadians likely to be found in the churches, as realized by Negru, (2013: 5), are the older people who are above 30 years, but very few who are below 30 years. It is clear that younger Black Canadians are the majority of the people who do not go to church in the population.
In the historical times, Black Canadians frequently engaged in mission activities, while focusing on winning many people to join their congregations (Bekkering, 2015: 62). This is a different case in the present Black Canadian religion because people are busy doing other things and only finding time for the religious meetings during the Sabbath. As identified by Dilmaghani, and Dean, 2016: 254), the Black religion made a significant contribution to the Canadian religion because a big percentage of the Black Canadians were regularly attending religious services (Wilkins-Laflamme 2015: 477). However, the percentage has gone down in the current world because those Black Canadians who are below thirty years rarely attend the religious services.
Conclusion
Black Canadians are well defined by their religion and religious beliefs. Among other Canadian groups, Black Canadians are known to be highly religious and people who love peace and unity. In 1784, Black Canadians began their religions; whereby they separated themselves from other Canadians because the major intention of migrating to Canada was to seek for freedom. Religion played a major role in the success of the lives of Black Canadians. Racism and Classism enhanced the religious experience of Black Canadians in different circumstances. Black Canadians engaged in religious practices such as preaching, baptism, and singing, which attracted many of those people who were not going to the religious meetings. Indeed, the nature of commitment of Black Canadians in transforming the Canadian society marked the population’s difference from other Canadians.
Work Cited
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