In recent centuries, partly under the impact of the prophetic emphasis on personal faith and social justice, Christians and Jews influenced by the philosophy of Immanuel Kant have emphasized the moral life as the key to true religion. Christians in North America, especially Pentecostals, have inspired some religious groups in once predominantly Catholic regions to convert, or adopt new religious beliefs. Consequently, to most North Americans, religion has come to mean a system of beliefs. Anthropologists have identified so-called primal traditions, including those of Aboriginal peoples in North America, and scholars of religion have reconsidered the significance of these traditions. While participation in traditional, organized religious practice may be on the decline (in 2011, 22 per cent of native born Canadians said they attended religious services at least once a month, down from 31 per cent in 1998), fascination with the occult and esoteric rituals seems to be on the rise in North America. Meanwhile, 4.9 per cent of Canadians identified with Islam and 2.3 per cent were Hindus. In the 1971 census, almost 90 per cent of the population identified as Christian.

Other groups represent a fusion of Christian and Asian beliefs (e.g., the Unification Church, which combines Christian with Korean ideas). This interpretation tracks Tillich’s method of correlative theology in Systematic Theology I and II: ecstasy is a “state of mind” which is “an exact correlate” to the “state of reality” of the power of being which animates and transcends the finite world (see, e.g., Tillich 1957b: 13). So for Tillich, God is the power or energy that animates the world which, when truly encountered, provokes ecstatic response. However, not even the metaphysical world is free of dependencies: almost all major religions envisage hierarchies of gods, angels, and demons in their religious discourse. Many churches have websites where they post their weekly sermons, while other websites offer recordings of past sermons from different preachers around the world. Scholars have tended to impose cosmogonic myths (myths of creation) as the religiously significant mythology. The hidden meaning of the hyacinth traces back to Greek mythology. The origin and meaning of the ouroboros remain ambiguous, with theories ranging from symbolizing eternity to regeneration and destruction. The terms quasi-religious creeds, codes and cults have been used to describe non-mainstream religions; new religions exist as contemporary movements that develop articulated traditions that often have a social identity of non-conformity that is critical of the compromises of present culture.

Religion reflects ancestral wisdom and a spirituality that brings one to terms with one’s personal destiny. The Maccabees found only one bottle of oil, enough for only a single night. In modern Canada, research may look to rituals associated with Hockey Night in Canada and the Grey Cup, as well as the Hebrew Bible, when the discussion turns to our cultural and foundational values. Today, pluralism of religious belief is common in Canada. In Canada the principal religion is Christianity. The contrast between the cultural compromises of different churches and “true religion” (considered as true faith, moral probity or purified ritual) means that, in the case of Christianity and other major religious movements such as Buddhism, believers must distinguish between the cultural forms associated with a religious tradition and its “critical edge.” This is usually derived from its otherworldly perspective, or from contrasting the ideal life portrayed in its scriptures with the historical practices of different congregations. By the 1980s Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Islam, Chinese religions and the Baha’i faith were well represented. For instance, the importance of Mount Zion or Jerusalem in Judaism, Rome in Catholicism, and Mecca in Islam indicates the importance of sacred places and times in Judaeo-Christian culture, as does the close association of Christmas and Easter with winter and spring festivals.

Democracy and equality were of great importance to the thinkers of the Enlightenment, who were dissatisfied with the mooching and prestige of the aristocratic social tier. With its commitment to quality craftsmanship and individuality, it is no wonder that True Religion continues to be sought after by those who value both style and substance. Religion (from the Latin, religio, “respect for what is sacred”) may be defined as the relationship between human beings and their transcendent source of value. However, the gods also accept from each other what supplies their own needs, even though they are able to provide these things for themselves, just as we human beings sometimes do from those who have the same things as ourselves. The mutant who seems to never age has the ability to heal his body from any injury while also using claws made of a metal alloy to defend himself. What part of a person’s body grows for their whole life?