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By Lloyd Mackey
 WHEN I first moved to Ottawa, ten years ago, mainstream journalists were curious about the politicians who, one way or another, identified with a robust Christian faith, usually looking particularly in the charismatic, evangelical, conservative Catholic or reformed corners of the church.
Much of this curiosity came about because it had been several decades since Canada's prime ministers had been anything else but Roman Catholic. That Catholic stream, engulfing Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney, Jean Chretien and Paul Martin ran for most of four decades from the late sixties until Stephen Harper became prime minister in 2006. Only for a few months, when Kim Campbell replaced Mulroney, was there a brief gap. Campbell did not make any deep claims to religiosity, although she recalled her childhood attendance at a Pentecostal Sunday School on the west side of Vancouver as a fairly happy and not a particularly harmful experience.
The John Diefenbaker/Lester Pearson era, which ran from 1957 to 1968, pre-dating the Trudeau reign, captured some interest among religio-political watchers. That was because the four major party leaders in those houses were more or less committed to an evangelical form of Christianity. Pearson was the devout son of a United Church cleric. Diefenbaker and Tommy Douglas, founder of the NDP, were strong Baptists; the latter, an ordained minister. And Social Credit leader Robert Thompson, who was sometimes the glue who held those adherences together, was a member of the Evangelical Free Church and sometime missionary to Ethiopia. He and Pearson were known to have prayed together periodically, when faced with decisions that might call for spiritual insights.
Trudeau had a somewhat more aloof relationship to those parts of the church considered more pietistic and less liturgical than Catholicism. However, it was learned, after he left office, that he was, himself, quite devout, met regularly with a small group for Bible study, and had a spiritual director of his own.
But I recall that, when he first took office, one of the Mennonite publications reported that Trudeau had turned down a request from the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) for an introductory meeting which had become a tradition with incoming prime ministers. Only after pressure was brought to bear, did he agree to the meeting. The newspaper later confirmed that, once he was aware of some of the outstanding work in relief, development and social justice carried out by the MCC, he apparently gained a new respect for what must have been, for him, a rather odd and relatively insignificant sect.
During the Mulroney era, an increasing number of evangelicals and fellow travellers were becoming involved in federal politics, many of them adhering to the Progressive Conservative party. Part of that interest was a result of the fact that Thompson's Socreds had rolled themselves into the Conservatives, bringing with them something of the culture of Canada's western Bible belts.
Coming from the west, I tended to take these faith/political interactions in my stride. They seemed quite natural. But I found that many Ottawa journalists were in the dark, because so many of these particular Christian currents only occasionally broke through into their consciousness.
Journalists were mostly unaware of Mulroney's "God squad" -- the 30 or so Tory MPs most epitomized by Jake Epp, then the Tory health and, later, energy minister. But suddenly they became aware of a similar cluster of people in Preston Manning's Reform party, when it began to rise at the end of the Mulroney era. Deb Grey and Manning himself, were known to be of that ilk, as well as people like Diane Ablonczy, Monte Solberg, Chuck Strahl and, in due course, Stockwell Day. Altogether, these people who seemed pretty interested in balancing political and spiritual values, could be expected to make up anything from 35 to 45 per cent of any given Reform or Canadian Alliance caucus.
As the record will show, these kinds of politicians were sometimes subject to misunderstanding. But, as they proved their worth in the public square, their secularist critics would take on a grudging respect for their beliefs and value systems.
Not to be ignored was the fact these kinds of politicians also learned, in time, how to put heavenly subjects into earthly language. As they learned to exercise some care in talking about faith-based activities, when presenting themselves to the larger public, they were able to avoid the aforementioned misunderstandings.
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This brings us to this past week in Ottawa, when the new cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries were sworn in.
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A press gallery colleague of mine, himself a serious Christian believer, wondered aloud why one of the new parliamentary secretaries would see fit to couch some past apparent Christian activity in such careful terms. The biographical material released to the press noted gingerly that, prior to entering politics, this particular politician and his family "lived in the Philippines where he was regional director for an organization doing linguistic work among minority language communities." It also pointed out that he had a degree in theology.
My colleague suggested gently that obviously this fellow was probably a Christian missionary, and what was the matter with saying so. When I responded that sometimes such politicians fear that they will be unfairly criticized by journalists who think that people who take their Christian faith seriously are somehow something of a lesser breed.
My friend felt that the journalist's perception was his problem, not the politician's.
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Well, from where I sit, Randy Kamp, the politician in question, the MP from Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission, British Columbia and the recently re-appointed parliamentary secretary to the minister of fisheries and oceans, should not feel shy about his previous work experience and theological education.
Here, let me blow his cover. He worked in the Philippines with Wycliffe, the linguist people who have worked for decades to reduce to writing, hundreds of the spoken languages of people groups across the globe. It is a highly technical and culturally invaluable task, requiring a keen understanding of the sociology and thought patterns of groups which have often had little contact with the outside world.
Oh, and by the way, one of the end results of this work is that the Bible is translated into the "languages of the heart" of these people groups.
Often these linguistic efforts are supported by Canadian International Development Agency, although care is taken in the allocation of tax dollars that such funds go only to cultural/social development. Bible translation activity should not be seen to be supported from the public coffers. At least, that is the way I understand the delineation. If readers believe I have divided inaccurately, please post a response.
Be that as it may, that interfacing seems to be the reason why these things are often couched so carefully in government press releases.
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Now that we have identified this noble linguist, let's wrap today's OttawaWatch with the word that the opening cabinet and press secretary positions in the 40th Parliament include substantial numbers of people who don't mind admitting that they take their Christianity pretty seriously. Out of 38 cabinet ministers, at least 11 answer to such mindsets. And the like-minded parliamentary secretaries, some of whom will likely be named to cabinet in due course, work out at 11 of 27.
Their names? I will list them, and their portfolios in brackets, but caution that, in this world of complex political and values issues, the faith of a politician is only one part of what makes him, or her, an effective servant of the people. And I would suggest, as well, that there are many other politicos who may not answer formally to the name of Christian who understand and adhere to values compatible with the faith. They should not be viewed as more or less authentic than those who are on the lists.
The cabinet ministers are: Stephen Harper (prime minister), Chuck Strahl (Indian affairs and northern development), Stockwell Day (international trade and Pacific Gateway), Vic Toews (treasury board president), Jim Prentice (environment), Jim Flaherty (finance), Jason Kenney (citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism), Diane Ablonczy (minister of state for small business and tourism), Rob Merrifield (minister of state for transport), Steven Fletcher (minister of state for democratic reform) and Gary Goodyear (minister of state for science and technology).
The parliamentary secretaries are: Jim Abbott (international co-operation), David Anderson (natural resources and Canadian Wheat Board), Randy Kamp (fisheries and oceans), Ed Komarnicki (human resources, skills development and labour), Rob Moore (justice), Mark Warawa (environment), Dean Del Mastro (Canadian heritage), Rick Dykstra (citizenship and immigration), Mike Lake (industry), Pierre Lemieux (agriculture) and Alice Wong (multiculturalism).
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Lloyd Mackey is a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa and author of Stephen Harper: The Case for Collaborative Governance (ECW Press, 2006), More Faithful Than We Think: Stories and Insights on Canadian Leaders Doing Politics Christianly (BayRidge Books, 2005) and Like Father, Like Son: Ernest Manning and Preston Manning (ECW Press, 1997). Lloyd can be reached at lmackey@canadianchristianity.com.
November 13/2008
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Paul, for Wycliffe's The Seed Company.