This episode delves into the groundbreaking report, "Finding DORI: A Department of Religious Inefficiency" from the BC Humanist Association. Published on April 1, 2025, this document proposes the establishment of a new governmental body: the Department of Religious Inefficiency (DORI). Far from striving for streamlined governance, DORI aims to intentionally embed inefficiency into the Canadian government by expanding the entanglement of religion and state. The report outlines a series of bold initiatives to achieve this, moving away from what it terms "misguided secularism".
Key Proposals and Themes:
- Constitutional Transformation: DORI would be established as a super-parliamentary structure with powers equal to the Crown, formally recognizing the dual authority of church and state. This is intended to exacerbate constitutional debates and highlight tensions between secular governance and religious privilege. The report also suggests replacing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms with a Charter of God’s Supremacy.
- Sanctimonious Symbolism: The report advocates for a divinely inspired national anthem and the establishment of state representation for all churches, rather than a single state church, to maximize bureaucratic inefficiency. It also calls for a return to compulsory, lengthy religious sermons at the beginning of each parliamentary session.
- Theocratic Trade: The report proposes reframing trade disputes, such as with the United States, as holy wars, aligning economic interests with divine providence and seeking international support from faith-based groups.
- Expanding Ecclesiastical Economics: DORI envisions making tithing mandatory for all residents and instituting a National Tithe, allocating 10% of the government’s budget to places of worship. It also proposes complete tax relief for all members of the religious clergy and the creation of a 'Super Charity' status for religious organizations, eliminating all reporting requirements. Furthermore, the report suggests abolishing permissive property tax exemptions for places of worship and granting full statutory exemptions to all properties held by religious owners.
- Clerical Curriculum: The report calls for redirecting funds from public education to independent religious schools, aiming to financially starve public institutions. It suggests repealing sections of the BC School Act, increasing funding for religious schools, reducing public school budgets, abolishing the Ministry of Education, and eliminating funding for non-religious textbooks. DORI also proposes curtailing comprehensive sexual education and systematically substituting science with superstition in schools, suggesting replacing science with subjects like astrology and alchemy.
- Theocratic Treatments: DORI recommends radically restructuring healthcare funding to prioritize religious hospitals and replacing evidence-based medicine with prayer and spiritual healing. It also suggests replacing all abortion and sexual health clinics with crisis pregnancy centres.
- Sanctified Unions: The report proposes explicitly permitting every religion, sect, cult, and new religious movement to solemnize marriages and abolishing all civil marriages in British Columbia.
Conclusion:
"Finding DORI" presents a comprehensive, albeit potentially controversial, vision for a future where religious inefficiency is a central pillar of Canadian governance. The report argues for a move away from secular principles towards a theocratically influenced society across various aspects of public life.
Source:
"Finding DORI: A Department of Religious Inefficiency." BC Humanist Association, April 1, 2025.
