Census 2001: Religions in Canada

Figures from the 2001 Canadian census, as contained in the Statistics Canada report, “Religions in Canada” (2003), show that the majority of Canadians (76.6%) continue to identify themselves as belonging to the Christian faith.1 This compares to 82% in 1991. The decrease in the number of Christians can be attributed to a decline among several Protestant denominations as well as an increase in the number reporting “no religion” or religions other than Christian. The decline in the number of Protestant Christians was offset by some increases in smaller Protestant denominations, as well as growth in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions.

Number of Protestants Declining The number of Protestants fell 8.2% to about 8.7 million, or 29% of the total population, between 1991 and 2001. (The proportion of people reporting a Protestant affiliation has been declining since it peaked at 56% in 1921.) However, Protestants remain the second largest religious group in Canada.

Protestant Denominations that showed a decline in numbers from the 1991 to the 2001 Census:

Denomination Percent Decline Number

Anglican 7% 2,035,500 Christian Reformed Church 9.5 % 76,665 Lutheran 5 % 606,590 Mennonite 7.9% 191,465 Pentecostal 15 % 369,475 Presbyterian 36 % 409,830 Salvation Army 21.9 % 87,785 United Church 8 % 2,839,125

Although the overall number of Protestants showed a decline since the 1991 Census, certain denominations experienced growth in the same period. There was also a huge percent increase (121.1% for a total of 780,450, or 2.6% of the population) in those who fell under the category of “Christians not included elsewhere,” which is comprised of those who identified themselves as simply “Christian,” “apostolic,” “born again Christian” or “evangelical.”

Protestant Denominations that showed an increase in numbers from the 1991 to the 2001 Census:

Denomination Percent Increase Number

Adventists 20% 62,875 Baptist 10 % 729, 470 Christian and Missionary Alliance 12 % 66,280 Christian not included elsewhere* 121 % 780,450 Evangelical Missionary Church 48 % 66,705 Hutterite 22% 26,300

* includes those who indicated simply “Christian,” “born again Christian,” “apostolic” and “evangelical”

1 More detailed census data indicates a total of 77.1% when Ukrainian Catholics, Polish Catholics and “Other” Catholics are included. When these figures are included in the 1991 statistics, the percentage total increases to 82.2%. The Census data contained in the “Religions in Canada” report does not give a clear picture of how many evangelicals there were in Canada in 2001. The tables only provide information for specific denominations with counts of 60,000 or more. Smaller denominations would be simply included in the “Protestant” category and are not broken down individually. Consequently, it is not possible to accurately assess how many of the 8.7 million “Protestants” are in fact identified with evangelical denominations.

Outreach Canada2, an EFC-affiliated Christian ministry organization that specializes in church research, estimates on the basis of more detailed census data that in 2001 there were some 3.2 million Christians (10.9% of the total population in 2001) in Conservative Protestan t denominations, up from 2.9 million in 1991. Their estimate is based on an analysis of the Census data not included in the Religion in Canada report. It is also important to recognize that “Evangelicalism” is a movement and is not restricted to denominations that would commonly be considered to be evangelical. There are evangelical movements with the mainline churches - Anglican, United and Presbyterian - whose numbers are not reflected in the data.

Other Christian Traditions Increasing During the 1990s, the number of Roman Catholics rose 4.8% to just under 12.8 million, partly due to the immigration of Roman Catholics to Canada from many parts of the world. Those who indicate affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church represented 43% of the Canadian population, down from 45.2% in 1991and from their peak of 46% in 1971. The number of people who identified themselves as members of a Christian Orthodox Christian tradition rose 24% in 2001 to a total of 479,600 or 1.6% of the total population. While the Greek and Ukrainian Orthodox declined, the Serbian and Russian Orthodox more than doubled, largely due to immigration from Eastern Europe and Russia.

Other Religions

Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism The number of Canadians who identified themselves as Muslim more than doubled from 253,000 in 1991 to 579,600 in 2001, for a total representation of 2% of the population.

Hindus increased 89% to 297,200; Sikhs increased 89% to 278,400 and Buddhists increased 84% to about 300,300. Each represented about 1% of t he total population.

Jewish The number of people who identified themselves as Jewish rose about 3.7% during the 1990s to nearly 330,000, or 1.1% of the population.

“No Religion” In 2001, 16.2% of the population – just under 4.8 million people - reported “no religion,” compared with 3.3 million a decade earlier. People who reported “no religion” tended to be younger (40% were aged 24 and under), and males were more likely to indicate “no religion” than females.

What is the impact of immigration on these numbers?

The Census reports that between 1991 and 2001, there were 1.8 million immigrants to Canada, and it is clear from the data that the religious affiliations of these immigrants had a significant impact on the profile of religion in Canada. For instance, the increase in the number of Canadians identifying themselves as Roman Catholic is at least partly due to the fact that Roman Catholics accounted for 23% of immigrants during that period. In contrast, the proportion of immigrants to Canada who are Protestant declined to one in 10 (11%) over the same period. Of the 1.8 million immigrants to Canada in the 1990s, Muslims accounted for 15%, Hindus almost 7% and Buddhists and Sikhs each about 5%. One fifth of immigrants to Canada in the 1990s – many of them from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan - reported “no religion.”

2 See www.outreach.ca for more information on Outreach Canada. Summary

A tabular summary of the 2001 Census data related to religious affiliation and identification follows:

2001 1991 Percentage Change Number % Number % 1991-2001

Roman Catholic 12,793,125 43.2 12,203,625 45.2 4.8 Protestant 8,654,845 29.2 9,427,675 34.9 -8.2 Christian Orthodox 479,620 1.6 387,395 1.4 23.8 Christian, not included elsewhere2 780,450 2.6 353,040 1.3 121.1 Muslim 579,640 2.0 253,265 0.9 128.9 Jewis h 329,995 1.1 318,185 1.2 3.7 Buddhist 300,345 1.0 163,415 0.6 83.8 Hindu 297,200 1.0 157,015 0.6 89.3 Sikh 278,415 0.9 147,440 0.5 88.8 No religion 4,796,325 16.2 3,333,245 12.3 43.9 1 For comparability purposes, 1991 data are presented according to 2001 boundaries. 2 Includes persons who report “Christian,” as well as those who report “apostolic,” “born-again Christian” and “evangelical.”

Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census: analysis series “Religions in Canada,” p. 18. Catalogue: 96F0030XIE2001015

To access the full report “Religions in Canada,” go to the Statistic Canada website, www.statscan.ca or directly to www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/analytic/companion/rel/contents.cfm.