By Jack Popjes, Contributor 
Rev. Jack Popjes - Contributed
AFTER 50 years of giving away Bibles to new Canadian citizens, the Canadian Bible Society has been ordered to stop the practice. The Canadian Department of Citizenship and Immigration has banned the Society from giving out Bibles at citizenship
ceremonies, saying the practice is not consistent with the federal government's secular nature.
"We find that allowing holy books to be made available at citizenship ceremonies detracts from this message and could be construed as a tacit endorsement of certain religions," the department told the Society in a recent letter. Apparently some people exercised their newly conferred rights as Canadian citizens and complained about Bibles being given to them at their citizenship ceremony and this was the department's response.
CANADIAN VALUES
I can think of another response: This Bible you have just received contains within it the principles and values that have made Canada so attractive to you. Without this Book, Canada would not have the things you value so much that you left your own country to come here and become a citizen. Values such as: justice, freedom of conscience and religion, opportunity to create personal wealth, the equality of persons before the law, universal education, care for the sick and indigent, and the worth of every individual. You may never have had the opportunity to investigate any other religion or way of life. Now you do. You have the choice to read this Book, or not: to believe it, or not. Welcome to the land
of free choice.
NATIONS DIFFER
Yes, I can see that "holy books" would detract from the image of the "secular nature of the federal government". But where does the government's nature, or authority to rule, come from? Nations
differ in this area. For example: The Constitution of the USA starts with "We the people . . ." setting people up as the ultimate authority. Canada's Constitution in the Preamble to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, however, introduces a standard higher than the authority of the people or their elected legislature: the
God of the Bible: "Whereas Canada was founded upon principles that recognise the supremacy of God and the rule of law." "Supremacy of God" does not sound very secular to me!
There are many holy books, but the Bible happens to be the Holy Book revealing God and the principles upon which the law of this country is founded. Canada never was a theocracy ruled by God and probably never will be until the Return of the King. The nature of Canada's government is not the Christian equivalent of the Muslim government under Sharia law. But neither does this mean Canada must be atheistically secular to the point of banning the Bible from being presented to new citizens. To do so is to fly in the face of history, of the Constitution and the faith of millions of Canadians who do believe in God. Canada is noted for its tolerance of different cultures, races and religions. It is a good thing to give people the freedom to express their uniqueness as long as doing so does not hurt those who are weak or powerless, or those who believe differently; and, of course, as long as it does not deny historical and constitutional truth. I can't see how giving a Bible to a new citizen is a "tacit endorsement of certain religions." It is a statement of Canadian history, of the moral basis of Canadian law and culture. Surely that is appropriate at a citizenship ceremony!
I feel passionate about this. Maybe it comes from having spent most of my adult life translating the Bible for a group in Brazil who never had the chance to read it in their own indigenous language. I guess 25 years of intense focus does
that to a person.
The Rev. Jack Popjes is the former
executive director of Wycliffe Bible Translators Caribbean. Before that he was executive director of Wycliffe Bible Translators Canada. He may be reached
at Jack_Popjes@wycliffe.ca
