26 - Sunday, November 11

, 1990 - North Shore News

SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING

New book penetrates into
Canada’s spiritual soul

RELIGION. DOES it re-
main a_ viable force in
Canada’s secular society, or
is it too marginalized and
fragmented for its voice to
be heard?

By Peggy Trendell-Whittaker

News Reporter

That's what journalist Ron
Graham wanted to find out. The
author of One-Eyed Kings, a book
about Canadian politics, and the
former producer of CBC’s The
Canadian Establishment, Graham
decided to measure the spiritual
temperature of current-day Cana-
dian culture. The resule is a new
book, God's Dominion, a
fascinating look at a dozen of the
“hov’ issues surrounding various
religions in Canada today.

“L sort of felt that I'd saz.) what
I'd wanted to say abouc Canadian
politics,’” the Toronto author said
in an interview with the North
Shore News. ‘‘l felt the ‘great un-
done’ area was religion in
Canada.**

And although colleagues told
him the topic was ‘‘dead,”” he
suspected there was much to find
out — after all, he notes, even if
most Canadians don’t practise
their religion actively, issues of
religious significance are often in
the headlines, whether it be in
reference to the abortion debate,
Sunday shopping or native land
claims.

Graham spent most of 1988 and
portions of 1989 touring the coun-
try and = researching about 24
religions, half of which are
discussed in the book.

His chapters cover sex among
the Catholics (“The penis is the
Achilles heel of the Roman Cath-
olic Church’’), the Pope’s visit to
the native community at Fort
Simpson, a smorgasbord of
spiritualism offered at a New Age
fair in Toronto, eruptions in Van-

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couver’s Sikh community, the
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Manitoba, the heated debate over
practising homosexual clergy in
the United Church and in-depth
looks at other religions and the
current issues they face.

“ft had a lot of questions and
doubts about all the groups 1 went
into, but T was also very respect-
ful,"" says Graham, noting that
the book's subtitle is «4 Sceptic’s
Quest.

Graham says his spirituality is
not faith-centred, but is rooted in
his experience of fife around him
— unlike the institutions ke
researched, most of whose struc-
ture relies on faith.

And while his personal
spirituality didn't change as a
tesult of his foray into the beliefs
of others, he says “*! came away
from the book with more respect
for people who were searching for
answers in a genuine way... and
less respect for people who were
just there automatically.”'

And his suspicion that religion
is indeed an active force in the
country was confirmed.

“Even though the organized

See Religion page 31

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Below are the high-
lights of changes to
the Unemployment
Insurance (UI) Act.
These changes will
affect most claims that
start on or after
November 18, 1990.

@ Qualifying
for benefits

After November 18, you will
need 10-20 weeks of work
within the past year to qualify
for regular UI benefits.
The exact number of weeks
you will need and how long
you will be able to collect
these benefits will depend on
the unemployment rate in
your area,

Employment and
Immigration Canada

e@ Maternity/
Parental
benefits

Parents may be eligible for
15 weeks of maternity
benefits (available to the
mother) plus 10 weeks of
parental benefits (available
to either the mother or the
father),

Parental benefits are also
available in the case of an
adoption.

® Leaving

e
a job
Individuals who leave their
job without “just cause”, are
fired for misconduct or
refuse a suitable job offer, can
be penalized by losing from
7 to 12 weeks of benefits
and having the amount of
benefits reduced.

Emptoi et
tramigration Canada

@ Working
after age 65

If you work after age 63, you
may now be eligible for UI.
This change will be retroactive
to September 23. 1988.

For more
information

For an information
package on the changes
to Unemployment
Insurance, call

 FOOU303 1033

For more information
on your claim, contact
your local Canada
Employment Centre.

Canada