Reverse Testimonies Behind the Shifting Stats: Blessed are the Undone Spotlights Canadian Deconstruction Stories

We know there has been radical religious change in Canada over the last 50 years. In 1971, 90 percent of Canadians identified as Christian and only 4 percent as religious “nones.” Now the number of Christians is no longer the majority for the first time since colonization. The 2023 number is 44 percent, according to Sarah Wilkins-LaFlamme and the International Social Survey Programme. Statistics Canada says in 2021 the “nones” were up to 34 percent, and the trend suggests they will pass the number of Christians very soon.

These wild statistics contain thousands of stories, and the details matter. This fall our co-authored book entitled Blessed are the Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada was released by New Leaf Press. Our goal was to conduct “exit interviews” with people who said they were deconstructing their faith so that the church might hear and better understand the voices of those who are within the shifting statistics.

Not religious “nones” or “dones”: these are the “undone.” These stories — reverse testimonies, really—are about conservative and evangelical Christians who started to ask questions about their faith that led to the unravelling of their taken-for-granted faith. This deconstruction was prompted by 7 “triggers” arising from their church experience: purity culture, young earth creationism, Biblical inerrancy and violence in the text, church scandals (especially clergy sexual abuse), prejudice against LGBTQ+ persons, the legacy of residential schools, and, finally, Trumpism and (white) Christian nationalism. Note that only a minority of our Undone deconvert from Christianity, though almost all leave evangelicalism behind.

Here’s what one review said: “This is an INCREDIBLY thorough look at deconstructed faith in Canada. I was expecting the authors to ‘simply’ retell the stories of the 28 people they interviewed for this book, but it is so much more – it is an unexpected deep dive into the many reasons people shared as the impetus for their deconstruction, from abuse in the church, to Christianity’s mishandling of aligning faith and science, to the treatment of LGBTQ+ persons, and more, all from a uniquely Canadian perspective. You will find many resources to jump into while and after reading this book.”

These stories of deconstructing faith are a window into the shifting landscape of Christianity today. Barna recently reported that 37 percent of practicing Christians in the USA are deconstructing their faith. Christianity in Canada is probably not too different in numbers, although we argue that the context here is vitally important. I’ll explain why below.

We interviewed 28 Canadians for hours at a time to hear their stories through from beginning to end. We also researched for more than a year and listened to 42 podcasts of other Canadians deconstructing their faith. So, this book is not an armchair opinion piece or a personal memoir (although we share some personal notes). Neither is it an apologetic defense of the faith. It is the stories of 70 ordinary Canadians grappling with what might be summarized as church hurt.

“People at church didn’t like me asking questions,” is a refrain we heard too often.

The research approach was very deliberately a Canadian approach on the topic of deconstruction, having examined the stories of 70 Canadians who are dismantling and reconstructing their faith. And there is a very Canadian argument that permeates the findings, suggesting that much of what Canadians are deconstructing is American conservative (Republican) religion. Unfortunately, much of what the same people are reconstructing is American progressive (Democrat) religion. We argue that something more local—more Canadian—is vital for the renewal of the Canadian church.

Part of the problem is the polarization of American religion: Republican or Democrat, right or left, conservative or progressive. In Canada, we have six regional cultures, five political parties, and four key peoples: Indigenous, French, English, and Immigrant. We need to cultivate a faith beyond the contentious binary, beyond the culture wars, that maps onto the hopes and fears of this land and its multicultural peoples.

Much of the local problem is church hurt—from conflicts between settler and Indigenous, science and religion, male and female, gay and straight, perpetrator and survivor, technology and nature, tradition and modern life. Rather than taking sides, we suggest something very Canadian: truth and reconciliation. Finding our way through conflict to a third way of justice and peace.

In the end, the deconstruction of faith can be another word for repentance and reformation—if done with the goal of transforming the church and its members. Deconstruction need not be destruction; it can be part and parcel of our reconstruction—an act of hope.

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Peter and Angela are both co-authors of the book Blessed are the Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada, a best-seller in “Politics & Government” along with “Sociology of Religion.