I think the title to this article is backwards, it is sad when a hosting country to said immigrants fear displaying their religion when in fact Canadians, Americans, and those of European countries are forced and made to be criminal when practicing their countries religion, traditions, ways of life. All over the fact that said immigrants don't really want any part of trying assimilate or to accept the hosting countries way of life.
If they choose not to then they need to return to their respective countries. shera~
By Shannon Proudfoot
Evangelical Christian children of immigrants feel they cannot openly practise their religion, and worry that Christianity is no longer a guiding force in Canadian society, while Muslims say they are free to follow their faith in this country -but face other forms of discrimination.
Those are some of the findings of new research that will be presented on Sunday at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Fredericton, the largest multi-disciplinary academic gathering in Canada.
“I was a little bit surprised by the degree to which Christians feel put upon. The Religulous message is getting across, and it’s not a good message,” said Peter Beyer, a professor of religious studies at the University of Ottawa, referring to the 2008 Bill Maher film that cast a critical eye on organized religion.
“They feel like there’s prejudice against religious people: ‘I can’t pull out my Bible, I can’t talk about my religion without getting shot down. I don’t even mention it for fear of getting a bad reaction.’ “
His study gathered insights from about 350 second-generation Canadians aged 18 to 30 through 36 focus groups in Sydney, N.S., Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Each focus group drew together young adults with common religious backgrounds, and many Christians expressed the worry that Christianity is no longer a dominant force in Canadian society, Prof. Beyer said.
On the other hand, Muslims attributed the discrimination they felt to racial or cultural prejudices rather than religious issues, saying they felt they could follow their faith unfettered in Canada.
“They feel that they’re perfectly free to practise Islam here in Canada, unlike some of the Christians who feel that their ability to practise their religion is restricted in this country,” Prof. Beyer said. “But they did feel Islamophobia.”
The qualitative study reveals some of the complex fault lines in Canadian society.
Young adults from across religious and cultural lines agreed that Muslims have faced discrimination since 9/11, but non-Muslims also said there should be limits on religious freedom and expressed concerns that Muslims “could be a problem,” Prof. Beyer said.
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