What were the most read articles and most visited webpages of the year? Find out here.
Thank you to all our faithful readers! We’re always glad to hear from you about the things we publish here online and also in print.
Counting online traffic helps us know what’s important to you. Here's what the analytics say is the top new material we posted in 2021 (read by the most unique visitors during 2021).
Let us know how closely this top ten aligns with your interests.
10
Hope through the pandemic contest entries. We invited Canadians this spring to submit visual art as well as poems and texts. Our readers did not disappoint! We posted what they sent in July, and it is super comforting and inspiring. Have a look.
9
How might churches flourish after the pandemic? This research-based essay by Calgary sociologist Joel Thiessen has only been available in our online library and app for two months, and we haven't even gotten to adding it as an HTML article here on FaithToday.ca. Clearly a hot topic! It probably helped that we hosted a webinar discussion with Thiessen as well.
8
Our election posture. Columnist (and EFC president) Bruce J. Clemenger offered the right words of wisdom at the right time during the fall federal election. You can browse all Clemenger's columns at FaithToday.ca/TheGatheringPlace.
7
David Guretzki, resident theologian of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, writes a column series you can browse at FaithToday.ca/CrossConnections. His top two this year were Subject to governing authorities and Not everything has a purpose.
6
Spiritual growth in a pandemic. The cover story of our first issue in 2021 was by Alastair Sterne, a Vancouver pastor and author. He wrote a wise and easy to read essay that is still relevant. You can also read it in French and listen to our podcast interview with him.
5
Decent folks, deadly doctrine. Veteran columnist James A. Beverley has been an expert on the Jehovah's Witnesses since before he published his first book on them in 1986, and his 2021 column on the group was his most popular of the year. His last column of 2020 Q&A about QAnon also ranked high in 2021. Browse all his columns at FaithToday.ca/ReligionWatch.
4
The late Dave Jeffery of Abbotsford, B.C., lived an amazing six years with ALS, a terminal neurological disorder. During his last year he tackled difficult questions about death with honesty, insight and personal vulnerability. His 2021 article The end of grace: An essay on dying well along with the article he wrote for us in 2020 (While we pray for miracles, God gives us grace) continue to reach a lot of readers. Rest in peace, Dave Jeffery, and may God comfort your family and your former coworkers at the Canada Institute of Linguistics and Wycliffe Bible Translators as they go on without you.
3
Deconstructing faith, growing in Christ. The cover essay for our Sep/Oct issue was by Peter Schuurman, a scholar who wrote a book on the Ontario Anabaptist megachurch The Meeting House. His essay examines how many Evangelicals are rethinking some of their beliefs. He also graciously joined us for a webinar discussion. His article is also available in French. And we are excited to read on Facebook that he is now co-writing a book on the topic.
2
Ten lessons from fallen leaders. Our senior writer Patricia Paddey wrote this essay as many of us were reflecting on the revelations about Ravi Zacharias and a number of other Christian leaders. She also joined us for a podcast on these issues in March.
1
Does church still matter, even in a pandemic? Our most popular post of the year is our Mar/Apr issue cover essay by Hamilton, Ont., pastor Kevin Makins. He wondered aloud at how God continues to build His Church even through our awkward attempts at videostreaming worship services and holding neighbourhood potlucks. He had joined us the year previous for a podcast discussion of his book Why Would Anyone Go to Church?
Well, that's the list for this year. To be fair, we should mention how some of our material from 2020 continued to rank just as high as our newer material, including columns by our veteran columnist John G. Stackhouse, Jr. (see Will Christianity disappear from Canada? and all his other columns at FaithToday.ca/ChristandCulture) and our groundbreaking research package from Jan/Feb 2020 called Not Christian anymore by EFC researcher Rick Hiemstra which unveiled publicly for the first time the results of the major survey which suggested half of Canadians are either agnostic, atheist or unreligious and only a tenth attend religious services weekly.
What would you like to see on our website or in our print magazine in 2022? Please let us know anytime at editor@faithtoday.ca. Thanks for reading.
P.S. People with a Canadian address can now get a print subscription for free! You can also check out our top posts from 2020 below.