Michael Coren (born 15 January 1959) is a British-Canadian writer and clergyman. A long-time television personality, Coren hosted '' The Michael Coren Show'' on the Crossroads Television System from 1999 to 2011 before moving to the Sun News Network to host ''The Arena with Michael Coren'', from 2011 until the channel's demise in early 2015. He has also been a long-time radio personality, particularly on Toronto talk radio station CFRB. Coren is currently a columnist for the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' and '' iPolitics''. He has written more than ten books, including biographies of G. K. Chesterton,

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

and

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

. His latest books are ''Heresy: Ten Lies They Spread About Christianity'' (2012), ''The Future of Catholicism'' (2013), ''Hatred: Islam's War on Christianity'' (2014), ''Epiphany: A Christian's Change of Heart & Mind over Same-Sex Marriage'' (2016) and ''The Rebel Christ'' (2021).

Life and career

Coren was born in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England, of Jewish heritage, and raised secular. After obtaining a degree in politics from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

, he moved from Britain to Canada in 1987. For several years, he was a columnist for '' Frank'' and then ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', before he began syndicated columns for the ''

Financial Post The ''Financial Post'' is a financial news website, and business section of the ''National Post'', both publications of the Postmedia Network. It started as an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the ...

'' and

Sun Media Sun Media Corporation was the owner of several tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49% owner of the now defunct Sun News Network. It was a subsidiary of Quebecor Media. On October 6, 2014, Quebecor Media announced the sale of ...

in 1995. Following his departure from ''Frank'', he became a favourite target of that publication, culminating in a spoof ad contest to "deflower" Michael Coren (a nod to ''Frank'''s notorious "Deflower Caroline Mulroney" contest, and a satirical jab at Coren's conservative leanings.) Coren had also been a favourite target of ''Frank'' back in the days before he began writing for them. Coren took exception to being labelled a "literary prostitute" during a 1994 interview. His career as a broadcaster began in the early 1990s when he co-hosted a political debate segment with Irshad Manji on

TVOntario TVO (stylized in all lowercase as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a Canadian Public broadcasting, publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates ...

's '' Studio 2''. In 1995, he began an evening talk show on CFRB. In 1999, Coren briefly moved to Talk 640 for a short stint as its morning man. He returned to CFRB, where he hosted a show from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. weekday nights, and regularly filled in for other hosts until November 2005. Coren was dismissed by CFRB as a result of complaints arising from comments ridiculing the weight of an apparent guest. In fact, the guest was an actor and the segment was scripted. According to CFRB's Operations Manager, Steve Kowch, "Pat Holiday, our general manager and myself went through the tape of Monday night's show and were shocked ... it was totally out of bounds." Coren argues that it was a satire comparing in his mind public attitude to third world starvation with North America's obsession with slimming and self-indulgence. Despite this acrimonious termination, Coren made regular talk show appearances on CFRB in July 2006, at the start of the 2006 Israel–Lebanon conflict, as he happened to be in Israel at the time. As of 22 April 2007, the show expanded from its usual one-hour slot at 7–8 pm to 7–9 pm.The Michael Coren Show
, CFRB website, accessed 30 December 2007 In the fall of 2007 he and former

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

president Stephen LeDrew launched a daily hour-long afternoon show on CFRB called ''Two Bald Guys With Strong Opinions'' in which the two argue about the issues of the day. After the departure of LeDrew, Coren was joined by

Tarek Fatah Tarek Fatah ( Punjabi/Urdu: ; Pakistani-Canadian journalist">əteh">̪aɾɪk fətah/ [fəteh20 November 1949 – 24 April 2023) was a Pakistani Canadians">Pakistani-Canadian journalist and author.O'Toole, Megan
"The Motts, Michael Coren out as CFRB retools"
, ''National Post'', Toronto, 27 August 2009. On television, Coren hosted the ''Michael Coren Show'' on the Crossroads Television System until June 2011 when he left to join the Sun News Network where he hosted ''The Arena with Michael Coren'' weeknights beginning 30 August 2011. Coren also had a newspaper column published every Saturday in the Sun newspaper chain until February 2015. He has been a columnist for the ''Western Standard'', ''Catholic Insight'' and ''The Women's Post'' and has contributed to ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'', ''Reader's Digest'' and several other publications. A self-professed Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur fan, he has appeared as a guest host on The Score Television Network, The Score's ''The Footy Show''. Following the demise of Sun News Network in February 2015, Coren briefly joined The Rebel Media, an online platform founded by

Ezra Levant Ezra Isaac Levant (born February 20, 1972) is a Canadian media personality, political activist, writer, broadcaster, and former lawyer. Levant is the founder and former publisher of the conservative magazine, the'' Western Standard''. He is als ...

originally known as The Rebel Media and since renamed to Rebel News, but left the venture after a week. Following his conversion to Anglicanism, Coren began to publicly embrace

socially liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

ideas such as support for

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. He stated that it negatively affected his career and that he became the target of personal attacks from former readers, observing that "there is none so angry as a fundamentalist scorned". In a 2015 interview Coren estimated that he lost $35,000 a year in income from lost speaking fees and his former recurring columns for

newspapers, Crossroads Christian Communications properties, '' The Catholic Register'', and other conservative Christian publications. He also stated that contrition is a major aspect of his conversion and he regrets "so much of what esaid, especially the tone" in his earlier career. Coren was ordained a transitional deacon in the Anglican Diocese of Niagara on 20 October 2019. Coren is also a public speaker, particularly at religious gatherings.

Controversies

AIDS and sexuality

In the 1990s and 2000s, Coren was alleged to have spoken objectionably about people with

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. In 1994, the '' Ryerson Review of Journalism'' reported Coren's response to an interview question about the disease:

"What I do is attack something like a double standard on AIDS. Sure, we must find a cure for AIDS, we must put enormous amounts of money into it...” he pauses. "Look, people are dying all over. When it was blacks in Africa dying of AIDS, no one gave a toss. Nobody gave a toss. Suddenly, it's middle-class men in California and everyone goes crazy about it. It's a double standard. I'm trying to provoke people into rethinking comfortable points of view".

In 2006, Coren wrote a franker newspaper piece in ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...

'', questioning "Why is AIDS so special?":

At its most simple, stop fornicating. There, I've said it. One of the things that can end a career in North American media. Yet it's true. AIDS in the West is still overwhelmingly a threat to male homosexuals and intravenous drug users. It's now found in other groups, but it has taken years for that to happen and they still represent the minority of sufferers. More than this, the bulk of the newly infected tend to be people who have contracted the virus through permissive sexual practices.

With reference to the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, Coren would compare homosexuality to illegal sexual practices. In 2007, Coren wrote an ''

Edmonton Sun The ''Edmonton Sun'' is a daily newspaper and news website published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia following its 2015 acquisition of Sun Media from Quebecor. It began publishing Sunday April 2, 1978 and shares many ch ...

'' article, saying:

As for Jesus not condemning homosexuality, nor did He condemn bestiality and necrophilia... Christ did indeed condemn homosexuality, as does the Old Testament, St. Paul, the church fathers and all Christianity until a few liberal Protestants in the last decades of the 20th century who, frankly, are more concerned with
political correctness "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...
than
truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
.

International affairs

In September 2006, Coren published an article in the ''

'' supporting the use of tactical nuclear strikes against Iran. This position was retracted the following year.

Religious views

Coren's articles and speeches often include stories of his own personal spiritual journey. Coren's father was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

as was his maternal grandfather, while his maternal grandmother came from a family of Welsh coal miners and

converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( or ) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by convertin ...

. Coren's father and uncle were cab drivers. Coren has said that his father's family left Poland in the 1890s, a few decades before

The Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. He said "People have called me an

anti-Semite Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. I thought it quite rich since my father's family was massacred in the Holocaust". Michael Coren was profiled on ''Credo'' on Vision TV, and said that his father told him he could not attend his son's wedding in a Catholic church without becoming "physically sick". He converted to Catholic Christianity in 1984 while still living in England, later saying that he "converted to an institution." He left

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

for

Evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

in the 1990s, after a conversion experience, greatly influenced by Canadian

televangelist Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...

Terry Winter. In 1991, Coren said in a column for a humour magazine: "Evangelicals may be intolerant, small-minded, and repellent, but at least they hold a consistent set of beliefs". In a 1993 book review, he said "Can anyone imagine a detective priest? Regrettably, it is easier to conjure up the image of a priest being questioned by secular detectives over abuse charges." Also in 1993, he had a falling out with the Catholic Church over an unflattering profile he wrote of Archbishop Aloysius Ambrozic for ''

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...

'' magazine. The bishop, who had made Coren a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre in October 1992, was quoted using words including "friggin" and "bitch", and said that the Spanish dictator

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

was a "conservative Catholic and not a bad fellow". Coren defended himself, saying "He's an archbishop and he was vulgar ... obviously what thousands of Catholics expected me to do was lie. I still get hate mail about the article." After this incident, Coren said that he didn't consider himself a Catholic anymore. He said, "My wife is Catholic and the children will be raised Catholic, but that's it. It's just not there for me." Daniel Richler observed that Coren loves scandal, but hates having it come his way. In one of his columns for the satirical humour magazine '' Frank'', Michael Coren depicted

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

getting drunk in a bar. In early 2004, he embraced Catholicism again. He cites

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

Ronald Knox Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an ...

and his godfather

Lord Longford Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and social reformer. A member of the Labour Party, ...

as spiritual influences, and remains connected to the

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

scene in Canada and beyond. In 2014, Michael Coren once again left the Catholic Church and began worshipping with the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

, being formally received into the communion the next year. In an interview with the ''

'' on 1 May 2015, he cited the Catholic Church's teachings on homosexuality and

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

as some of the reasons for his conversion to

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. In contrast to his previous views, Coren now identifies as a

Christian socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

. Coren supports infant

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

, which he calls a "tradition ews and Muslimsconsider holy and essential, based not in abuse and cruelty, but in concern and love for their child", and has said that its opponents are "irreligious zealots". Coren is a priest of the Anglican Diocese of Niagara. He was ordained deacon in October 2019, and ordained priest in September 2021. He serves as assistant curate of the parish of St Christopher, Burlington.

Personal life

Coren is a cousin of author and journalist Alan Coren, and is thus related to Alan's children Victoria Coren Mitchell and

Giles Coren Giles Robin Patrick Coren (born 29 July 1969) is a British columnist, food writer, and television and radio presenter. He has been a restaurant critic for ''The Times'' newspaper since 2002, and was named Food and Drink Writer of the Year at th ...

. Coren married his wife, Bernadette, in 1987. They have four children.

Published books

*''Theatre Royal: 100 Years of Stratford East'' (1985) *''Gilbert: The Man Who Was G. K. Chesterton'' (1990) *''The Invisible Man: The Life and Liberties of H. G. Wells'' (1993) *''The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle'' (1993) *''The Man Who Created Narnia: The Story of C. S. Lewis'' (1994) *''Setting It Right'' (1996) *''J. R. R.Tolkien: The Man who Created

the Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' (2001) *''As I See It'' (2009) *''Why Catholics Are Right'' (2011) *''Heresy: Ten Lies They Spread About Christianity'' (2012) * ''The Future of Catholicism'' (2013) *''Hatred: Islam's War on Christianity'' (2014) *''Epiphany: A Christian's Change of Heart & Mind over Same-Sex Marriage'' (2016) *''The Rebel Christ'' (2021)

References

External links

Official website
*

Coren's column in the ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Coren, Michael 1959 births Living people

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of the University of Nottingham 21st-century Canadian Anglican priests Anglo-Catholic clergy Anglo-Catholic writers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism Canadian Anglo-Catholics Canadian columnists Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Canadian people of Welsh descent Canadian talk radio hosts Canadian television talk show hosts Christian critics of Islam English emigrants to Canada People from Walthamstow The Globe and Mail columnists National Post people Rebel News people British critics of atheism Canadian political journalists Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Toronto Star people Canadian Christian socialists Anglo-Catholic socialists