Census stats record church growth
The portrait of religion in Canada emerging from Statistics Canada's release on May 13 of data on religious affiliation from the 2001 census shows a nation still overwhelming Christian.
But while some three-quarters of Canadians identify themselves as Christians, the increase in the number of individuals with "no religion"–16% or 4.8 million people–has increased significantly since 1991 when 12% of Canadians fell into that category. In 1971, the first year census-takers started registering "no religion," the figure was only 4%.
"The figures don't surprise me. It shouldn't surprise us that there's a move away from organized religion," says Ken Bellous, executive minister of the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. However, the numbers of people with no religious affiliation "are not necessarily an indication of people's spiritual journey, just their engagement with churches."
Bellous, whose own "Baptist" subgroup registered an impressive 10% increase from a decade ago, suggests churches are struggling with presenting "faith with relevance," and called the census figures "both an indictment and a challenge" for the church.
The census found that:
• Catholics continue to be he largest religious group in Canada, with 12.8 million Canadians (up 4.8% since 1991) claiming affiliation.
• While Protestants are still the second largest group in Canada, the 8.7 million Protestants counted represent an 8.2% decrease, largely due to loses in mainline denominations (Presbyterians down 35.6%, Anglicans -7%, and the United Church -8.2%).
• Other Protestant groups such as Baptists (+10%) and the Christian and Missionary Alliance (+12%) saw impressive growth.
• Islam (+128% to 579,640 people), Hinduism (+89% to297, 200), Sikhism (+89% to 278,400) and Buddhism (+84% to 300,300) all saw strong growth, mainly due to increased immigration from Asia and the Middle East.
• Orthodox Christians increased in number by 24% due to growth in the immigration-driven growth in the Serbian and Russian Orthodox Churches.
• The number of Canadians who identified themselves as Jewish increased 3.7% (to 330,000), accounting for 1.1% of the population, virtually unchanged since 1991.
"The new census data tells us several things," says sociologist and author Don Posterski, director of church relations for World Vision Canada. "It says religion has always been important in Canada, and that is certainly still the case. Diversification of historical faith continues to be the pattern.
"It also says there is erosion of identifcation," he continues. "But what is the significance of identification? How does being a Protestant or a Catholic or something else really translate into spiritual vitality? The matter of identification is interesting, but is it the most important question?"
While the numbers no doubt provide Christian leaders with plenty to ponder, the high number of Canadians who count themselves as having no religion have humanists such as Michael Schulman eagerly anticipating a time where religion fades away.
"There's no question that as people become more educated and exposed to other belief systems, it becomes harder to believe in your own religion as being the only truth," says Schulman, a spokesperson for the Humanist Association of Toronto.
Schulman, who calls religion "the most divisive force in human history," believes "people are looking for a foundation of behaviour and values but are rejecting the supernatural."
He sees the increase in the number of Canadians who don't affiliate themselves with a religious faith continuing, especially as the young are "exposed to the marketplace of ideas." The census data shows three quarters of Canadians who classify themselves as having "no religion" are under the age of 45.
But according to David Hazzard, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada's (PAOC) assistant superintendent for ministerial services, the increase the Canadians with no religion is more of a commentary on society itself than on the churches.
Hazzard believes an increasingly secular society encourages people who were nominally associated with churches to be honest about their faith or lack thereof. In essence, those counted as Christians in previous years were likely "practical atheists," says Hazzard.
As for the PAOC, Hazzard expresses surprise that "Pentecostals" were listed as down 15.3% by Statistics Canada when the denomination's own stats show steady growth both in membership and churches. These and other statistical puzzles should provide plenty of material for church leaders as they ponder the religious portrait emerging in Canada.
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