That’s disturbing. What is more disturbing is why. Street Prophets:

“Many of them are people who would otherwise be in church,” Putnam said. “They have the same attitudes and values as people who are in church, but they grew up in a period in which being religious meant being politically conservative, especially on social issues.”

Putnam says that in the past two decades, many young people began to view organized religion as a source of “intolerance and rigidity and doctrinaire political views,” and therefore stopped going to church.

Canadian stats indicate about 20% of the population in 2000 went to church. The numbers collected in 2000 come from Ipsos Reid, Gallop, Canadian censuses and Dr. Reginald Bibby. More at Canadian Christianity: The State of the Canadian Church. Reasons for decline in church attendance are quite different than reasons given in the US survey.

• The CRTC has approved the sale of The Christian Channel (TCC) from S-VOX group of companies, which includes Vision TV and One: the Body, Mind & Spirit channel. Peter Youngren’s World Impact Ministry has committed to a flag ship show and expects to add 15-20 employees. TCC is a speciality 2 channel.
• In 10 days (March 14th) the Campaign for Life Coalition will holds it’s annual march for life in Ottawa. We’re looking for bloggers familiar with the anti-abortion movement in Canada to provide Religious Right Alert some history and background of the CLC and its march.

• Slap Upside the Head continues to cover the Albertan gay benefits policy. Premier Ed Stelmach has now defended his minister and Treasury Board president Lloyd Snelgrove, by declaring in Question Period that the government will continue its policy of recognizing same-sex spouses as “benefit partners” rather than as “spouses”: “the benefits are the same… and that’s the most important thing.
• World Impact Ministries evangelist Peter Youngren is purchasing Canada’s The Christian Channel, assuming the CRTC approves the transaction. Youngren apparently can’t be reached for comment, but his business manager, Nathan Thurber, says “the interest came from the Lord’s direction.” The channel will be re-branded Grace Television Network, and an hour-long show by Youngren will be added to the lineup. Mags Storey of Christian Week tried without success to contact Youngren for an interview.
•  BD here:  The National Post has decided to increase coverage of religion and has titled it’s  new blog ”Holy Post.” Ethicist, author and Regent professor Dr. John Stackhouse is a contributor, saying on his blog that the NatPo:

(is)…increasing its coverage of religion at a time when many media are scaling back.

One of the clever ways the NP has devised to do so is to get some people to write for it on the cheap–low-profile, strugging writers desperate for some attention, such as . . . yes, you guessed it . . . your servant.

His first contribution is Religion means you, too.   We wish  Holy Post contributors well.