The Eighties in America - Salem Press (2009)

much more than a symbol. He drew inspiration from
the records of the Continental Congress, American
flag history, the national anthem, and the “Concord
Hymn” when articulating his disgust for flag burn-
ing. His arguments resonated with the American
public in a way that few Court opinions or decisions
have managed to achieve.

Impact Rehnquist was a strong influence on the
U.S. Supreme Court. He advanced a conservative
approach to interpreting the U.S. Constitution and
urged the Court to follow. After becoming chief jus-
tice, he sought to make the Court more collegial in
an effort to decrease the number of split decisions,
thus increasing the legitimacy of the Court’s deci-
sions.

Further Reading
Galub, Arthur L., and George J. Lankevich.The
Rehnquist Court, 1986-1994. Danbury, Conn.:
Grolier Educational Corporation, 1995.
Hudson, David L.The Rehnquist Court: Understanding
Its Impact and Legacy. Westport, Conn.: Praeger,
2006.

Tushnet, Mark.A Court Divided: The Rehnquist Court

and the Future of Constitutional Law. New York:

W. W. Norton, 2005.

James W. Stoutenborough

See also Abortion; Conservatism in U.S. politics;

Flag burning; Liberalism in U.S. politics;Meritor Sav-

ings Bank v. Vinson; O’Connor, Sandra Day; Reagan,

Ronald; Religion and spirituality in the United States;

Sexual harassment; Supreme Court decisions.

Religion and spirituality in

Canada

Definition Spiritual belief and practice by

Canadians expressed in both formal and

informal ways

Through the decade, Canada witnessed a decline in the rel-

ative proportion of its “big three” Christian groups, the

Catholic, Anglican, and United Churches; growth in the

proportion of non-Christian groups and new religious

movements (NRMs) such as paganism; and a growing sec-

ularization consistent with trends in other industrialized

countries.

Canada is a predominantly Christian country with

guaranteed religious freedom and a pluralistic na-

ture consistent with its political philosophy. In 1981,

Canada was 90 percent Christian; another 7.4 per-

cent were atheist or agnostic or had no religion, and

the remaining 2.6 percent were Muslims, Jews, Hin-

dus, Buddhists, Sikhs, or other.

Immigration played a major role in increasing the

religious diversity of Canada through the decade,

with the newcomers holding mostly non-Western,

non-Christian belief systems. Catholics, the largest

single faith group, exhibited modest growth, largely

due to immigration, while non-Christian groups like

Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs showed much

greater percentage increases. In 1975, Catholics wor-

shiped in twenty-one languages, the United in four-

teen, Anglicans in twelve, Baptists in thirteen, Lu-

therans in nine, and Presbyterians in five. Clearly the

church played a part in supporting multilingualism

and the preservation of ethnic identities.

Canada’s religious pulse has been less fundamen-

talist and moralistic than that of its U.S. neighbor,

and sectarianism has not played a prominent role in

Canada’s religious history. The mainstream Catho-

818
Religion and spirituality in Canada The Eighties in America

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.(Supreme Court Histori-
cal Society)