- Hardcover: 432 pages
- Publisher: Random House Canada; First Edition edition (May 11 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0307356469
- ISBN-13: 978-0307356468
- Product Dimensions: 2.3 x 1.6 x 0.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 640 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#33,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Fundamentalism
- #29 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Church & State
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
In her new book, award-winning journalist Marci McDonald draws back the curtain on the mysterious world of the right-wing Christian nationalist movement in Canada and its many ties to the Conservative government of Stephen Harper.
To most Canadians, the politics of the United States — where fundamentalist Christians wield tremendous power and culture wars split the country — seem too foreign to ever happen here. But The Armageddon Factor shows that the Canadian Christian right — infuriated by the legalization of same-sex marriage and the increasing secularization of society — has been steadily and stealthily building organizations, alliances and contacts that have put them close to the levers of power and put the government of Canada in their debt.
Determined to outlaw homosexuality and abortion, and to restore Canada to what they see as its divinely determined destiny to be a nation ruled by Christian laws and precepts, this group of true believers has moved the country far closer to the American mix of politics and religion than most Canadians would ever believe.
McDonald’s book explores how a web of evangelical far-right Christians have built think-tanks and foundations that play a prominent role in determining policy for the Conservative government of Canada. She shows how Biblical belief has allowed Christians to put dozens of MPs in office and to build a power base across the country, across cultures and even across religions.
“What drives that growing Christian nationalist movement is its adherents’ conviction that the end times foretold in the book of Revelation are at hand,” writes McDonald. “Braced for an impending apocalypse, they feel impelled to ensure that Canada assumes a unique, scripturally ordained role in the final days before the Second Coming — and little else.”
The Armageddon Factor shows how the religious right’s influence on the Harper government has led to hugely important but little-known changes in everything from foreign policy and the makeup of the courts to funding for scientific research and social welfare programs like daycare. And the book also shows that the religious influence is here to stay, regardless of which party ends up in government.
For those who thought the religious right in Canada was confined to rural areas and the west, this book is an eye-opener, outlining to what extent the corridors of power in Ottawa are now populated by true believers. For anyone who assumed that the American religious right stopped at the border, The Armageddon Factor explains how US money and evangelists have infiltrated Canadian politics.
This book should be essential reading for Canadians of every religious belief or political stripe. Indeed, The Armageddon Factor should persuade every Canadian that, with the growth of such a movement, the future direction of the country is at stake.
To most Canadians, the politics of the United States — where fundamentalist Christians wield tremendous power and culture wars split the country — seem too foreign to ever happen here. But The Armageddon Factor shows that the Canadian Christian right — infuriated by the legalization of same-sex marriage and the increasing secularization of society — has been steadily and stealthily building organizations, alliances and contacts that have put them close to the levers of power and put the government of Canada in their debt.
Determined to outlaw homosexuality and abortion, and to restore Canada to what they see as its divinely determined destiny to be a nation ruled by Christian laws and precepts, this group of true believers has moved the country far closer to the American mix of politics and religion than most Canadians would ever believe.
McDonald’s book explores how a web of evangelical far-right Christians have built think-tanks and foundations that play a prominent role in determining policy for the Conservative government of Canada. She shows how Biblical belief has allowed Christians to put dozens of MPs in office and to build a power base across the country, across cultures and even across religions.
“What drives that growing Christian nationalist movement is its adherents’ conviction that the end times foretold in the book of Revelation are at hand,” writes McDonald. “Braced for an impending apocalypse, they feel impelled to ensure that Canada assumes a unique, scripturally ordained role in the final days before the Second Coming — and little else.”
The Armageddon Factor shows how the religious right’s influence on the Harper government has led to hugely important but little-known changes in everything from foreign policy and the makeup of the courts to funding for scientific research and social welfare programs like daycare. And the book also shows that the religious influence is here to stay, regardless of which party ends up in government.
For those who thought the religious right in Canada was confined to rural areas and the west, this book is an eye-opener, outlining to what extent the corridors of power in Ottawa are now populated by true believers. For anyone who assumed that the American religious right stopped at the border, The Armageddon Factor explains how US money and evangelists have infiltrated Canadian politics.
This book should be essential reading for Canadians of every religious belief or political stripe. Indeed, The Armageddon Factor should persuade every Canadian that, with the growth of such a movement, the future direction of the country is at stake.
About the Author
MARCI McDONALD is one of Canada's most respected journalists. The winner of eight gold National Magazine Awards, she is also the recipient of the Canadian Association of Journalists' investigative feature award. A former bureau chief for Maclean's in Paris and Washington, she has interviewed Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton, and spent five more years in the United States as a senior writer for US News & World Report. A winner of the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy, her study of the backstage machinations behind the free trade deal led to her book, Yankee Doodle Dandy: Brian Mulroney and the America Agenda. Her controversial cover story in the Walrus, "Stephen Harper and the TheoCons," inspired this book.
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Most helpful customer reviews
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read for those who love Canada,
By
This review is from: The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada (Hardcover)
As a dual citizen who has lived in Canada for only the past six years, I heartily recommend this book for all of this country's long-standing residents. In the last years of Jimmy Carter's presidency a parallel movement had begun in the United States. Even though Carter was a born-again believer, the Christian Right did not agree with his policies regarding the initiation of peace to the Middle East. Jerry Falwell, in conjunction with the Republican Party formed the major voting bloc that went by the name of the Moral Majority. It, too, was given very little notice and was discounted because it was, after all, formed by 'loving Christians'. Today, for those of you who have paid strict attention to the social disorder of the States, this movement has evolved into an ever invasive, theocratic monster whose power has overtaken most of secular Republican politics. For those of you who say, "This can't happen here. This is Canada!", the gauntlet has been thrown down by the author Marci McDonald and the reply is "Yes, it can if we're not diligent.".Many of the Christian reviewers of this book take umbrage with the fact that the Neo-Christian organizations are being called out for what they are. They fear that they, too, are being painted with the same broad brush. Again, having lived through this transition myself and experienced it first hand, no, there is an extreme difference between your everyday, church-going Christians and the Neo-Christian Nationalists. This group is, in a word, EXTREME. They are falsely teaching that North American colonies were founded on theocratic principles when, in fact, they came here to escape religious oppression. They are fixated on the abortion issue and show a strange contempt for our gay brethren that is based on single a passage in the Old Testament. They are extremely war-like and blindly support any and all actions that is taken by the Israeli government regardless of their severity. They view science and education with a jaundiced eye and fully reject evolutionary theory. The term called 'Christian forgiveness' has been transformed into deep-seated hatred for all who do not agree with their theocratic principles. And, lastly, they feel that both countries were founded on the concepts of a republic and not of a democracy and, because of this, not all persons are created equal and some should have certain rights while others should not. I strongly advise this book to all persons who love the country of Canada. NOT because this is a doomsday book and that all of the author's fears will come true but because, unless we are diligent and open to discussion with one another, these fears MAY come true. And may God help us all if they do.
46 of 57 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good point, bad argument,
By
This review is from: The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada (Hardcover)
Alas, Marci McDonald has raised an important issue--the rise and increased influence of certain theologically and politically right-wing Christians among the Conservative Party of Canada--but has done so in such a confused and unreliable way as to blunt the force of her argument.She gets many facts wrong, confuses or conflates categories (fundamentalists = evangelicals = Christian right = religious right = socons = theocons), never defines key terms (ditto), and basically seems worried that people to her religious and political right are getting involved in politics without clearly saying why what they're doing is wrong or what "correct-thinking" people such as herself might do about it. I'm blogging about this book at length. For now, I'll just say here that it is disappointing that so much evident effort has resulted in such a book, yet Marci McDonald is not wrong: There is a Christian Right in Canada and its influence is significant right up to the federal cabinet.
9 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must read,
By
This review is from: The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada (Hardcover)
The informations contained within this book should be read by every canadian as well as anyone wanting to better understand the radical departure from traditional politicals views within the Ottawa Parliamant, and the possibile repercusion both in the country and abroad. It's also a kind of horror story to anyone not sharing the same radical theologically backed conservative movements bent on imposing a radical conservative agenda in Ottawa, as well as a wake up call to everybody to defy the status quo and engage in political action here, be they opposed or not to this "rise of christian nationalism in Canada".
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