Skip to main content

Bibby on Canadians and Religion

I followed up Nathan Bauman's suggestion from the comments section of my last post and found some information on Religion in Canada by Reginald Bibby. Bibby says:

In 1871 Catholics had a hold over 45 per cent of the Canadian population. Today they represent 44 per cent of the population.

So where are the changes? "In no religion," Bibby said. "No religion jumped up from below one per cent in 1961 to 16 per cent now."

So perhaps Canadians don't change churches as often as Americans. Bibby also comments on attendance numbers: "We see that the weekly attendance level has dropped down to about 20 per cent. Yet at the same time when we ask Canadians if they believe in a God that cares about them personally, about 80 per cent of them say they do." Bibby backs up some of my observations when he discusses what the future may hold:

"But as they get a little older they invariably want weddings, Baptisms, confirmations and funerals (and end up) reverting to the religious identification of their parents," Bibby continued.

"Within five years, one in three no religion people become something. Within 10 years, two in three become something. So if you don't get them on their wedding and you don't get them on their Baptism, you get them on their funeral."

... "Among 15 to 19 year olds we have seen in recent years an increase in the proportion of teenagers who are actively involved in the churches," he said, noting that World Youth Day had shown "young people are interested in God."

Thanks to Nathan for the tip! More here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reuters joins CNN on the bench

Makes room for CanWest to join the majors Kudos to CanWest for calling a terrorist a terrorist . Many, including The Last Amazon , will be happy to hear it. Reuters is among the worst of the major western news services, where I would also place the BBC and the CBC. Unsurprisingly, Reuters is not happy about the changes CanWest made to Reuters wire stories: Our editorial policy is that we don't use emotive words when labeling someone," said David A. Schlesinger, Reuters' global managing editor. "Any paper can change copy and do whatever they want. But if a paper wants to change our copy that way, we would be more comfortable if they remove the byline." Mr. Schlesinger said he was concerned that changes like those made at CanWest could lead to "confusion" about what Reuters is reporting and possibly endanger its reporters in volatile areas or situations. "My goal is to protect ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Where credit is due

A good'un from Sawyer Brown . Thank God for You Well I've been called a self-made man Girl don't you believe it's true I know exactly how lucky I am When I'm gettin' this close to you It's high time I'm giving some praise To those that got me where I am today Chorus I got to thank momma for the cookin' Daddy for the whuppin' The devil for the trouble that I get into I got to give credit where credit is due I thank the bank for the money Thank God for you A strong heart and a willing hand That's the secret to my success A good woman - I try to be a good man A good job - Lord I know I've been blessed I'm just a part of a greater plan It doesn't matter which part I am Chorus I got to thank momma for the teachin' Daddy for the preachin' The devil for the trouble that I get into I got to give credit where credit is due I thank the bank for the money Thank God for you
Post a Comment
Read more

Wordpress

My move to Mac has been very happy except for two issues - gaming and blogging. For websurfing and multimedia, a Mac is of course a terrific machine. Games on the Mac platform are often ports of games made for the larger PC market and that means a Mac gamer will have to wait for the port. I'm not a heavy gamer by any means but I am very happy that the Mac port of Civilization 4 is finally here. Well, my copy isn't here quite yet - but it has been ordered and ought to be here soon. The blogging issue is more complicated. I'm not fond of writing my posts in a browser window. This goes back to when I was first blogging and I lost one or two large posts into the ether. After that I moved to w.bloggar - a great little app that let me compose on my desktop and then click send when all was said and done. I have not been able to recreate that experience on my Mac, and not for a lack of trying! I looked at Marsedit , but that forces you to compse while staring at a bunch of HMT...
Post a Comment
Read more