August 15, 2014
Faith in Government VF @ Radio Canada's Zone Doc
The documentary La droite religieuse au Canada (Faith in Government) directed by Jon Kalina and produced by Nathalie Barton will premiere at Zone Doc on Ici Radio-Canada Friday, August 29th at 9pm.
Modern Canada is seen as one of the most secular countries in the world. In contrast to the USA we have half empty places of worship and a political class that rarely speaks of matters of faith. But how secular are we these days?
La droite religieuse au Canada explores how Canada's present government does in fact have a religious component which affects both its domestic and international policy decisions. From women's issues to climate science to our unusually strong support of the present Israeli government Stephen Harper and those around him are listening to the voices of Canada's religious right.
The film travels not only to the seat of power in Ottawa, but also to Alberta where Stephen Harper converted to a branch of Evangelical Christianity. And on to Jerusalem and the West Bank where we meet Evangelicals who believe that Biblical prophecy demands their support for the modern state Israel and its policies.
In La droite religieuse au Canada we meet Evangelicals who've settled in Israel waiting for the Second Coming; politicians like Preston Manning who speak of Stephen Harper's faith and his reluctance to talk about it; a human rights lawyer who laments how religion has distorted Canada's policy towards maternal health and those who think the government's Evangelical faith has pushed them to deny climate change and to massively cutback on science funding.