ON THIS GHOSTLY JOURNEY, DESERTED CHURCHES HAUNT US, EVEN AS WE HAUNT THE LANDSCAPE
Once a potent label of identity, the (Roman) Catholic Church is deeply rooted in Quebec’s cultural landscape. This is evidenced by the names of the parishes found all over the province, almost all of which are named for saints. And Montreal, of course, is still sometimes referred to as the “city of a hundred steeples.” And yet, since the late 1950s, the number of faithful attending Sunday Mass has dwindled sharply.
Religious authorities no longer hold sway. The society has become more secular. Clergymen and worshipers alike are aging. The special connections between Québécois culture and institutional Catholicism have broken down.
Quebecers say they’re becoming more and more Muslim, Hindu, atheist or Buddhist. Some also call themselves "Catholics by default" (non-practising)—it’s a sort of characteristic of their collective identity. But that attachment to the past, which speaks to the desire to be part of a community, is slipping away. There is a lingering malaise.
