There is a good interview with John MacKay, a political reporter and writer in Canadian Christianity.

MacKay has written several books. His latest; The Pilgrimage of Stephen Harper will be out in September.

The book is reviewed by Peter O’Neil of The Vancouver Sun.

Mackey suggests that Harper differs from the militants because he falls into the category of a “customizing” Christian, a category used by pollsters to sort out the different categories of Christians — census, ceremonial, customizing, and committed.

Roughly 50 per cent of evangelicals are “customizing” Christians who enjoy attending church and are informed by what their leaders teach, but don’t take everything their pastors say as absolute truth.

“In other words, they think for themselves,” Mackey writes.

MacKay looks at the small number of charismatic radicals who have been successful in nominating a couple of candidates. More importantly it appears he looks at the broader group of self defined evangelicals.

The militants have succeeded in helping to nominate a handful of candidates going into the upcoming election, though they are not yet influential among the broader number of evangelical Protestants — like Harper — and conservative Roman Catholics who make up a significant chunk of the Tory caucus, argues author Lloyd Mackey.

Part of the problem is the aggressive approach taken by the radicals, or “charismatics,” who helped Stockwell Day defeat Preston Manning in the 2000 Canadian Alliance leadership race, Mackey writes in The Pilgrimage of Stephen Harper, to be published later this month.

“The charismatics could appear intimidating, almost frightening, to the more traditional evangelicals,” writes Mackey in a copy of the book made available exclusively to The Vancouver Sun.

I think that is very true, he also points out the few charismatic, single agenda candidates are not limited to western provinces.

via Neale News

Musing: When Chuck Cadman (now deceased) stood in the House of Commons free vote on the side of the Liberals, I wrote a piece for a US news site on the significance of what he had done. The US news site didn’t pick it up, it wasn’t well written, and the US readers couldn’t care less. Most Canadians, unless they follow politics religiously, may not have grasped what Cadman did.

MacKay says:

I think it is a good thing for the Tories that they did not force a spring election. I really don’t think they had the numbers and those who thought they did were really not all that sure.

I really think the late Chuck Cadman saved the party, by casting that critical vote with the Liberals.