N°102 (June 2027): Exploring religious dynamics in the Canadian context: spaces, people, and circulation
The journal Études Canadiennes/Canadian Studies is pleased to announce a special issue “Exploring religious dynamics in the Canadian context: spaces, people, and circulation”, directed by Guest Editors Dr. Anne Dalles Maréchal (Université de St Etienne Jean Monet) and Dr. Marion Robinaud (EHESS), in association with Editors-in-Chief Dr. Gwen Cressman et Dr. Anne-Sophie Letessier.
Canada's multicultural society is marked by different forms of religiosity, and the country's history has been shaped in part by this diversity. (BLANDING 2013; FORBES 2019; DAY 2000; FLERAS 2021; CROS & LE JEUNE 2023). In the 2021 Canadian census, one hundred religions were recorded in the country (STATISTIQUE CANADA 2022, cited by LE JEUNE 2023). Between the Christian religions that emerged from the early European colonization processes (MURPHY et PERIN 1996) and those introduced through successive waves of migration (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, etc. [BRAMADAT & SELJAK 2005; HOLLAND 2007; STUDEBAKER & BEACH 2012; CONNOR 2014]), to which must be added the importance of First Nations spirituality (BOUSQUET 2005; FONDA 2012; LEBLANC & GAREAU 2023) or the rise of new forms of religiosity such as New Age movements, charismatic and Pentecostal evangelical churches, etc. (BEAN 2014; PALMER & al. 2020; ROGOVA 2020), Canada presents an interesting framework for analyzing the dialogues of religious plurality. Canada is nonetheless undergoing a secularization movement that is transforming practices and restructuring the religious landscape (MEUNIER & WILKINS-LAFLAMME 2011; DEJEAN & GERMAIN 2022). Also at the forefront of the political scene, religion occupies and agitates the public and media sphere – as, for instance, in discussions surrounding residential schools and their legacies (JONES 2024; BOUSQUET 2025), a topic otherwise channeled through the institutionalized principle of “reconciliation” drawing on Christian foundations (CORNTASSEL 2012; COUTURE & ROUSSEL 2015).
While taking into account the Christian foundations of the historical construction of Canadian society – memories and legacies of which remain vivid and significant in everyday life (MOSSIÈRE 2021) –, this special issue aims to explore religious topics both in their present- day relevance and in their historical depth. In this issue, the case studies will be situated within the period extending from the post-1867 era, corresponding to the birth of the Canadian Confederation, to the present day. This time frame is examined for what it reveals about the Canadian approach to multiculturalism, interreligious contacts and exchanges, and the construction of the Canadian social structures. This special issue will focus on religion in Canada through case studies and empirical research, with a multidisciplinary approach.
Several concepts can be considered when examining the dynamics at work in Canada’s religious landscape, which is both fragmented and interconnected. Among these notions, the following can be mobilized: Claude Lévi-Strauss’s concept of “bricolage”, which involves “making do with the means at hand” (LÉVI-STRAUSS 1962: 31); Paul Ricoeur's “compromise” (ASSAYAG-GILLOT 2018), which implies accepting a satisfactory middle ground (as opposed to the negatively-imbued French term of compromission); Roger Bastide's “principle of compartmentalization (coupure)” which allows for the “alternation or cohabitation” of multiple forms of religiosity within the same individual (MARY 2000, cited by BERNAND & al. 2001); or the “conversation” of Jean and John Comaroff, which depicts a semiotic and symbolic exchange between two parties (COMAROFF & COMAROFF 1991); as well as the various forms of “syncretism” (RIVIÈRE 2000; BERNAND & al. 2001). While these terms can illustrate various ways of understanding religion in Canada’s multicultural context, they are not the only ones. Nevertheless, these concepts all highlight the dynamics and underlying logics of plural realities, such as those found in Canada.
We aim to examine, in particular, the situations of negotiation and reconfiguration, as well as of tensions and resistance, using religion as a starting point for analysis. This issue will be organized around three main themes that are interrelated and not mutually exclusive (article proposals may cover several themes):
1. Religious spaces:
- Role of religion in the contemporary definition of Canadian multiculturalism
- Expressions of religion in public, private, and virtual spaces
- Religion in urban spaces
- The impact of religion on interactions within territories
- Ritual practices
2. Religious protagonists
- Religious agents and ritual specialists
- The integration of religion into the social and political fabric
- Communities of believers
- Challenges relating to conversions
3. Circulation and movement
- Different forms of remembrance and uses of the past
- Material culture and museum collections
- Migration, displacement, and religious issues
- Religious missions
Proposals may cover any field within the humanities and social sciences (including arts and literature). Preference will be given to articles based on empirical case studies and analyses of representations and experiences. Every segment of Canadian society, in all its diversity (geographical, religious, social, cultural, etc.), may be considered.
Proposals will present the case study subject and the proposed methodology. There are to be sent as a single document (Word format), to both editors (anne.dalles.marechal@univ-st-etienne.fr and robinaud.marion@gmail.com), and should contain a working title and an abstract (500 words) and a brief biography.
The deadline for submission of proposals is March 31, 2026.
Notification of decisions will follow shortly afterwards. Full articles (about 8,000 words) will need to be submitted by September 30, 2026. Articles should follow the formatting guide of the journal, available at https://journals.openedition.org/eccs/369
Articles will be submitted to a double peer-review process. Selected articles will be published in issue 102 (June 2027) of Études Canadiennes/Canadian Studies, simultaneously in printed form and as an electronic publication (open access) on https://journals.openedition.org/eccs/.
REFERENCES
BLANDING, Lee. 2013. Re-Branding Canada: The Origins of Canadian Multiculturalism Policy, 1945-1974. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Victoria Press.
BOUSQUET, Marie-Pierre. 2005. « La spiritualité amérindienne sur la place publique : à la recherche d’un statut ». Dans La religion dans la sphère publique, dirigé par Solange Lefebvre, 171‑196. Montréal : Presses de l’Université de Montréal.
BOUSQUET, Marie-Pierre, 2025. « Chaque enfant compte ». Anthropologie et Sociétés 48 (3) : 41-64. DOI : 10.7202/1117429ar
BEAN, Lydia. 2014. The Politics of Evangelical Identity: Local Churches and Partisan Divides in the United States and Canada. Princeton : Princeton University Press.
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COUTURE, Denise et Jean-François ROUSSEL. 2015. « Théologies chrétiennes de la réconciliation à l’heure de la Commission vérité et réconciliation du Canada ». Théologiques, 23(2) : 7- 30. https://doi.org/10.7202/1042741ar.
CORNTASSEL, Jeff. 2012. « Re-envisioning resurgence. Indigenous Pathways to Decolonization and Sustainable Self-determination ». Decolonization. Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1) : 86-101.
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MOSSIERE, Géraldine (dir.). 2021. Dits et non-dits. Mémoires catholiques au Québec. Montréal : Presses de l’Université de Montréal.
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PALMER, Susan J., Martin GEOFFROY et Paul L. GAREAU (dir.). 2020. The Mystical Geography of Quebec: Catholic Schisms and New Religious Movements. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
ROGOVA, Anastasia. 2020. “Russian-Speaking Immigrants in Canada: Belonging, Political Subjectivity and Struggle for Recognition.” Ph.D. dissertation, anthropology, University of British Columbia.
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STUDEBAKER, Steven et Lee BEACH, 2012. “Emerging Churches in Post-Christian Canada.” Religions 3: 862‑79.


