Church on Thin Ice: Lessons from the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada

Angela Reitsma Bick is the Editor-in-Chief of Christian Courier (CC) and an award-winning journalist recognized for her work highlighting social justice issues. In her Chair of Christian Thought Iwaasa Lecture on Urban Theology she discusses her new co-authored book: Angela Reitsma Bick and Peter Schuurman, of Blessed are the Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada (New Leaf Press, 2024). She examines the trend of Canadian Christians leaving the churches they were raised in—not primarily because they’ve lost their faith in God, but because they’ve lost faith in the Church. Rather than rejecting faith itself, individuals are engaging in a deconstruction of their faith by questioning, dismantling, and re-evaluating certain aspects of religious institutions, doctrines, and practices that may no longer resonate with their values or understanding of faith. Viewed solely as a process of disaffiliation from religious communities, deconstruction may appear as a threat to Christianity. However, with a broader perspective, individual stories of faith deconstruction can come together as a prophetic critique of Christian institutions today. What needs to be unbuilt, to come undone, in order for the Church in Canada to be a light in its local context?