Opinion with Michael Coren Prayer breakfasts are in many ways strange, contrived creations. Prayer is supposed to be a constant feature of religious life, not meant for public display and hardly the stuff of a morning meal. Still, they’re part of the state diary now at all sorts of administrative levels. They began in the U.S. in the 1940s, became politically legitimized a decade later when President Eisenhower attended and, 10 years after that, made their way to Ottawa. It was at that Ottawa version earlier this year that the Prime Minister, as well as other party and religious leaders, gathered to celebrate the theme of “You are not alone.” Mark Carney, an observant Roman Catholic, said that “God gave us His Son, which was an act of generosity,” stressed the importance of political generosity and spoke of Christian values and their vital place in Canadian life and government. Entirely predictably, critics objected to what was said, emphasized church and state separation and warned of the dangers of religious belief infecting the body politic. Which is ironic on numerous levels. First, the separation of church and state is, in fact, a Christian concept. Second, the secular body politic is hardly in a healthy condition. Third, as the British historian Tom Holland (not to be confused with the actor who plays Spiderman!) has demonstrated quite brilliantly in his books, ideas of progress, equality and care for the weak and poor are an ideal that didn’t authentically exist until the rise of Christianity. Of course, numerous Christians have failed in all of this – or behaved appallingly and still do – but this is contrary to Christian teaching. Contrast that with pre-Christian societies and read what they believed. The Romans didn’t enslave and torture in defiance of any accepted theology, but precisely because it wasn’t forbidden and was in many ways encouraged. The accepted notion was that the gods favoured and gave glory to the powerful and victorious and gave them the right to abuse and exploit. When we listen to the screaming excesses of the ironically pagan creed known as Christian nationalism and its various hatreds, it’s difficult to remember that Jesus gave us the beatitudes (the narrative that turns the world upside down), that he told the wealthy to give away their treasure and taught that the central command of the faith was to love God and love others as ourselves. It’s that simple, and that incredibly difficult. There were fine words and sentiments at the Ottawa prayer breakfast, and a splendidly refreshing coming together of political opponents. But will this call for generosity have any staying power; will it make any difference? There was a time, not only in Canada, when we assumed a certain decorum and respect in our political class, but I’m not entirely convinced that this is still the case. There’s a surface camaraderie for sure but, when elections are raging and power is up for grabs, there’s been an exponential decline in standards to a point at which those politicians who honestly do respect their opponents tend to stand out. And in case anybody is wondering, the problems are with every party and every ideology. In the U.S., Britain and many European countries, the centre ground hasn’t held, polarized opposites often appear to hate each other and some of the comments made would have been impossible a few years – let alone a generation – ago. In fact, it can be deeply depressing watching how people who ask to govern us and make laws behave on a daily basis. Mark Carney as a Christian is calling for a generosity of spirit, and that requires a leap of empathy and self-criticism. Do I think that he’s being genuine? Yes, I believe that he is. I certainly hope that he is. Do, however, remember that any politicians convinced that they have all of the answers will find it incredibly difficult to see truth or pure motives in people on the other side of the floor. While the quotation has never been fully documented, C.S. Lewis – author of the Narnia stories and the book Mere Christianity – is thought to have said, “the closest I am to God is when I’m with another person.” Is that something that a politician, Christian or not, could say when arguing and disagreeing? Leaving religion aside, do our representatives, do any of us see the precious, see the unique, see the sheer humanity in those with whom we disagree? Good God, I hope so. CSANews | SUMMER 2026 | 15
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