About this Event

What is the role of traditional Christianity in a region noted for its lack of traditional religious belief or attendance at Church?

The City of Vancouver in British Columbia statistically reports “no religion” as the number one “religious identity,” consistent with the broader Pacific Northwest region of North America called Cascadia. Scholars have argued that part of the reason Christianity struggles on the West Coast is that Christendom was never fully established here. And yet, Christian communities continue to worship, work and witness in the midst of this increasingly secular context, where residents express their spirituality through what one scholar calls “reverential naturalism.”

Over the last five years, missiologist Ross Lockhart has conducted an ethnographic research project on Christianity in the city focusing on fourteen different sites. The study asks, “How are Christians in Vancouver today, as a minority expression of the majority secular population, organizing their communities, shaping their beliefs and expressing themselves in mission?” This includes exploring how Christians are interacting in their secular environment, and how Christian communities are equipping their members for witness and practice in the broader community. Could it be that rather than simply declining, Christianity in the city is changing in response to such factors as immigration, decolonization, and pluralism?

The annual Carr Lecture this fall at St. Mark’s College, Vancouver, will be presented by Rev. Dr. Ross Lockhart, Dean of St. Andrew's Hall and Professor of Mission Studies at Vancouver School of Theology.