Leaving Christianity

Stuart Macdonald teaches the history of the Presbyterian Church in Canada at Knox College.

Brian Clarke teaches in the Toronto School of Theology and Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto.

Stuart Macdonald is professor at Knox College and instructor in the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto.

“A major, original, and important contribution to scholarship and a groundbreaking and important contribution to our understanding of the evolution of Canadian identity.” David Seljak, University of Waterloo

"This book is a must-read for anyone interested in religion in Canada, and brings much to the table. First and foremost, the authors are part of only a very small handful of researchers analyzing the extensive quantitative data on church membership, Sunda

"Leaving Christianity is a book long overdue. Rather than dealing in fantasies of Christian revival, Brian Clarke and Stuart Macdonald take a detailed and realistic look at statistical data from a range of sources to analyze the present status of Christianity in Canada. This book is a necessary, even vital, addition for anyone who studies religion in Canada. The authors' findings are an important reality check for those who cling to the hopeful narrative and past privilege that has been dominant for too long among many scholars and practitioners of Christianity in Canada. Their refreshingly realistic approach opens the door to different kinds of conversations about diversity and inclusion in Canada, with a more humble Christianity potentially playing a new and important role." The Canadian Historical Review

"A serious, no-holds-barred report on the eclipse of the Christian churches in Canada, plummeting enrollments and institutional marginalization ... ." Literary Review of Canada

"Leaving Christianity develops the first coherent historical analysis of the postwar secularization of Canadian society deploying statistical evidence in abundance. It also brings the state of the historiography on Canada in this period up to the levels o

"Leaving Christianity is a book long overdue. Rather than dealing in fantasies of Christian revival, Brian Clarke and Stuart Macdonald take a detailed and realistic look at statistical data from a range of sources to analyze the present status of Christia