The era of multiculturalism in Canada has made many people more familiar with the festive traditions of other groups, and given common currency to new words such as Ramadan, Kwanza and Diwali. But knowledge of those religions rarely goes much beyond the surface, according to John Stackhouse, professor of theology at Vancouver’s Regent College.
“If you were to ask the average Canadian the five pillars of Islam, you wouldn’t get a very impressive answer. If you were to ask the two main divisions within Islam, you’d be lucky to get Sunni and Shia,” Prof. Stackhouse said. Religion is not taught in most Canadian public schools, so it’s difficult for Canadians to acquire much knowledge of the subject, he said.
