Religion Report from the 2001 Census

RELIGION REPORT FROM THE 2001 CENSUS

CANADA: A NATIONAL PICTURE

Even though the census is held in Canada every five years, statistics on religion is collected only every 10 years. Therefore, the current existing statistics on religion in Canada dates back to the census of 2001. Data for the 2001 census was released on May 13th, 2003. The next religious data will be collected in 2011 and will probably be released in mid- 2013. The 2011 census will continue to collect more trends on religion, different groups, and the religious breakdowns in Canadian cities and municipalities.

According to the 2001 census in Canada, the following data was found about religion

-Seven out of every 10 Canadians identify themselves as either Roman Catholic or Protestant, according to data from the 2001 Census. In 2001, Roman Catholics were still the largest religious group, drawing just under 12.8 million people, or 43% of the population, however down from 45% in 1991. The proportion of Protestants, the second largest group, declined from 35% of the population to 29%, or about 8.7 million people. Combined, the two groups represented 72% of the total population in 2001, compared with 80% a decade earlier.

-At the same time, the number of Canadians who reported religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism has increased substantially.

-The 2001 Census also recorded an increase in those reporting simply that they were “Christian”, without specifying a Catholic, Protestant or Christian Orthodox faith. This group more than doubled (+121%) during the decade to 780,400, representing 2.6% of the population in 2001. This was one of the largest percentage increases among all major religious groups.

-In addition, far more Canadians reported in the 2001 Census that they had no religion. This group accounted for 16% of the population in 2001, compared with 12% a decade earlier.

-Given below is a table that shows the major religious groups in this country from the 2001 census. Respondents in the 2001 Census were instructed to report a specific denomination or group, even if they were not practicing members of their group. Consequently, these data indicate only religious affiliation, not how religious people are or how often they attend religious services. A comparison chart to the figures from the 1991 census is also provided.

- 1 -

Religion 2001 Total 2001 1991 Total 1991 Percentage Percentage Roman 12,793,125 43.2% 12,203.625 45.2% Catholic

Protestant 8,654,845 29.9% 9,427,675 34.9%

No religion 4,796,325 16.2% 3,333,245 12.3%

Christian, 780,450 2.6% 353,040 1.3% n-i-e1

Muslim 579,640 2.0% 253,265 0.9%

Christian 479,620 1.6% 387,395 1.4% Orthodox

Jewish 329,995 1.1% 318,185 1.2%

Buddhist 300,345 1.0% 163,415 0.6%

Hindu 297,200 1.0% 157,015 0.6%

Sikh 278,415 0.9% 147,440 0.5%

It is evident from the table above that people who reported belonging to certain groups such as Muslim (religion is Islam) and Buddhist, Hindu, and Sikh has increased significantly in the past decade. The next table gives a breakdown of the religious groups that experienced the biggest increase percentage wise in Canada between 1991 - 2001. The percentage in their increase is given in the table as well.

______

- 2 - 1. Includes persons who report "Christian", as well as those who report "Apostolic", "Born-again Christian" and "Evangelical".

DENOMINATION/ RELIGION GROWTH PERCENTAGES BETWEEN 1991 TO 2001 Islam +128.9% Christian n-i-e +121.1% Hindu +89.3% Sikh +88.8% Buddhist +83.8% Christian Orthodox +27.8%

The graph below denotes the six religious groups who experienced the biggest increase in members (percentage wise) between 1991 and 2001 in Canada. Islam increased by 128.9%, Christian n-i-e (not included elsewhere) increased by 121.1%, and, Christian Orthodox increased by 27.8%. The three other religions, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism increased by 89.3%, 88.8%, and 83.8% respectively.

2.5

1.5

0.5

0 Islam Christian n-i- Hindu Sikh Buddhist Christian e Orthodox

1991 2001

Figure 1

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ONTARIO: A PROVINCIAL PICTURE

Protestant denominations accounted for 35% of the province’s population, slightly more than the share of 34% for Roman Catholics. In 1991, the gap was much wider with Protestants accounting for 43%, and Roman Catholics 35%. The situation occurred as the result of a decline among Protestant faiths, accompanied by a gain among Roman Catholics. The census in 2001 counted 3,935,745 Protestants, down 8% from 1991, and 3,866,350 Roman Catholics, a 10% increase from 1991.

At the same time, the number of Ontario residents who reported that they had no religion increased 48% to more than 1.8 million. They accounted for 16% of the population in 2001, compared with 12% in 1991. All major Protestant denominations, except one, declined during the 1990s. The only gain occurred among Baptists, whose numbers rose 9% to almost 289,500. The 1.3 million members of the United Church, the largest of the Protestant faiths, accounted for 12% of the province’s population. The second largest Protestant group was Anglican, followed by Baptist and Presbyterian.

The number of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs grew substantially in Ontario. The census enumerated more than 352,500 Muslims, well over double the total of 145,600 a decade earlier. Muslims in Ontario accounted for 61% of all Muslims in Canada. There were also substantial increases in the number of Buddhists, and in Hindus and Sikhs, whose ranks also doubled. Provided now is a table that highlights the largest religious groups in Ontario by their total percentage. A comparison chart from 1991 has also been provided.

Religion 2001 Total 2001 1991 Total 1991 Percentage Percentage Protestant 3,935,745 34.9% 4,291,785 43.0%

Roman 3,866,350 34.3% 3,506,820 35.1% Catholic

- 4 - No religion 1,809,535 16.0% 1,226,300 12.3%

Muslim 352,530 3.1% 145,560 1.5%

Christian, n-i-e 301,935 2.7% 136,515 1.4%

Christian 264,055 2.3% 187,905 1.9% Orthodox

Hindu 217,560 1.9% 107,705 1.1%

Jewish 190,800 1.7% 175,650 1.8%

Buddhist 128,320 1.1% 65,325 0.7%

Sikh 104,785 0.9% 50,085 0.5%

Figure 2

- 5 - The top 10 religious denominations in Ontario in 2001 were

DENOMINATION/ RELIGION PERCENTAGES Roman Catholic 34.3% No religion 16.0% United Church 11.8% Anglican 8.7% Muslim 3.1% Christian, n-i-e 2.7% Baptist 2.6% Presbyterian 2.5% Protestant, n-i-e 2.3% Hindu 1.9%

Six religions experienced a massive growth in percentage from the 1991 census to 2001 census. These religions along with the growth percentage in the 10 year span are given below.

DENOMINATION/ RELIGION PERCENTAGES Muslim 142.2% Christian n-i-e 121.2% Sikh 109.2% Hindu 103.9% Buddhist 96.4% Christian Orthodox 40.5%

The religion that experienced the largest growth was Islam (142.2%) followed by Christian n-i-e at 121.2%. Sikhism experienced a growth of 109.2%, Hinduism 103.9%, Buddhism 96.4% and Christian Orthodox 40.5%. The growth of Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism has been attributed to the large number of immigration to the province of Ontario. The following graph shows a comparison of the religions with the largest growth between 1991 and 2001 in the province of Ontario.

- 6 - 3.5

2.5

1.5

0.5

0 Islam Christian n-i-e Sikh Hindu Buddhist Christian Orthodox

1991 2001

Figure 3

The next section has detailed statistical breakdowns of the religious groups in the Windsor and Essex region. Groups with the largest members are listed first. If two groups have the exact same number of members, they are listed in ascending alphabetical order. All data is from the census conducted in Canada in 2001 since religious data is only collected in Canada every 10 years. The next census that included religious data will be conducted in 2011. Given below is a definition of certain religious groups (as defined by Statistics Canada).

Catholic - Includes Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, Polish National Catholic Church, and Old Catholic.

Christian n-i-e (not identified elsewhere) - Includes persons who report "Christian", as well as those who report "Apostolic", "Born-again Christian" and "Evangelical".

Eastern religions - Includes Baha'i, Eckankar, Jains, Shinto, Taoist, Zoroastrian and Eastern religions, not identified elsewhere.

Other religions - Includes Aboriginal spirituality, Pagan, Wicca, Unity - New Thought - Pantheist, Scientology, Rastafarian, New Age, Gnostic, Satanist, etc.

No religious affiliation - Includes Agnostic, Atheist, Humanist, and No religion, and other responses, such as Darwinism, etc.

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WINDSOR – RELIGIOUS BREAKDOWN – 2001 CENSUS

DENOMINATION/ TOTAL NUMBER PERCENTAGE OF RELIGION TOTAL POPULATION CATHOLIC 99,525 48.3% PROTESTANT 49,180 23.8% NO RELIGIOUS 25,335 12.3% AFFLIATON MUSLIM 9,875 4.7% CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX 8,835 4.2% CHRISTIAN , n-i-e 6,545 3.1% BUDDHIST 1,985 0.96% HINDU 1,540 0.74% SIKH 1,405 0.68% JEWISH 1,175 0.57% OTHER RELIGIONS 295 0.14% EASTERN RELIGIONS 180 0.08%

- 8 - 50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

48.30%

25%

20%

15% 23.80%

10% 12.30%

4.70%

4.20% 5% 3.10%

0.96%

0.74%

0.68%

0% 0.57% 0.14% 0.08%

Catholic Protestant No religious affl Muslim Christian Orthodox Christian n-i-e Buddhist Hindu Sikh Jewish Other Religions Eastern Religions

Figure 4

KINGSVILLE – RELIGIOUS BREAKDOWN – 2001 CENSUS

DENOMINATION/ TOTAL NUMBER PERCENTAGE OF RELIGION TOTAL POPULATION PROTESTANT 9,800 50.7% CATHOLIC 6,905 48.3% NO RELIGIOUS 1,920 9.9% AFFLIATON CHRISTIAN , n-i-e 510 2.6% CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX 110 0.56% MUSLIM 20 0.10% BUDDHIST 15 0.07% EASTERN RELIGIONS 0 0% HINDU 0 0% JEWISH 0 0% OTHER RELIGIONS 0 0% SIKH 0 0%

- 9 - 60%

50%

40%

30% 50.70%

48.30%

20%

10% 9.90%

2.60%

0.56%

0.10%

0.07% 0.00% 0.00%

0% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

Protestant Catholic No religious affl Christian n-i-e Christian Orthodox Muslim Buddhist Eastern Religions Hindu Jew ish Other Religions Sikh

Figure 5

LEAMINGTON – RELIGIOUS BREAKDOWN – 2001 CENSUS

DENOMINATION/ RELIGION TOTAL NUMBER PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION PROTESTANT 12,910 48.4% CATHOLIC 10,455 39.2% NO RELIGIOUS AFFLIATON 1,940 7.2% CHRISTIAN , n-i-e 930 3.4% CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX 155 0.58% MUSLIM 105 0.39% BUDDHIST 55 0.20% HINDU 30 0.11% OTHER RELIGIONS 25 0.09% EASTERN RELIGIONS 10 0.03% JEWISH 10 0.03% SIKH 0 0%

- 10 - 50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

48.40%

25%

39.20%

20%

15%

10%

7.20%

5% 3.40%

0.58%

0.39%

0.20%

0.11% 0.09%

0% 0.03% 0.03% 0%

Protestant Catholic No religious affl Christian n-i-e Christian Orthodox Muslim Buddhist Hindu Other Religions Eastern Religions Jewish Sikh

Figure 6

AMHERSTBURG – RELIGIOUS BREAKDOWN – 2001 CENSUS

DENOMINATION/ RELIGION TOTAL NUMBER PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION CATHOLIC 12450 61.6% PROTESTANT 4945 24.4% NO RELIGIOUS AFFLIATON 2235 11.0% CHRISTIAN , n-i-e 390 1.9% CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX 155 0.76% MUSLIM 15 0.07% OTHER RELIGIONS 15 0.07% JEWISH 10 0.04% BUDDHIST 0 0% EASTERN RELIGIONS 0 0% HINDU 0 0% SIKH 0 0%

- 11 - 70%

60%

50%

40%

61.60%

30%

20%

24.40%

10% 11.00%

1.90%

0.76%

0.07% 0.07%

0.04% 0.00%

0% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

Catholic Protestant No religious affl Christian n-i-e Christian Orthodox Muslim Other Religions Jewish Buddhist Eastern Religions Hindu Sikh

Figure 7

LaSALLE – RELIGIOUS BREAKDOWN – 2001 CENSUS

DENOMINATION/ RELIGION TOTAL NUMBER PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION CATHOLIC 14,800 58.5% PROTESTANT 6,265 24.7% NO RELIGIOUS AFFLIATON 2135 8.4% CHRISTIAN , n-i-e 705 2.7% CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX 620 2.4% MUSLIM 470 1.8% HINDU 125 0.49% SIKH 75 0.29% JEWISH 35 0.13% BUDDHIST 25 0.09% OTHER RELIGIONS 25 0.09% EASTERN RELIGIONS 0 0%

- 12 - 60%

50%

40%

58.50%

30%

20%

24.70%

10%

8.40%

2.70%

2.40%

1.80%

0.49%

0.29%

0.13%

0% 0.09% 0.09% 0.00%

Catholic Protestant No religious affl Christian n-i-e Christian Orthodox Muslim Hindu Sikh Jewish Buddhist Other Religions Eastern Religions

Figure 8

TECUMSEH – RELIGIOUS BREAKDOWN – 2001 CENSUS

DENOMINATION/ RELIGION TOTAL NUMBER PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION CATHOLIC 15300 61.1% PROTESTANT 5845 23.3% NO RELIGIOUS AFFLIATON 1800 7.1% CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX 970 3.8% CHRISTIAN , n-i-e 425 1.6% MUSLIM 320 1.2% SIKH 155 0.61% JEWISH 85 0.33% HINDU 50 0.19% OTHER RELIGIONS 35 0.13% BUDDHIST 25 0.09% EASTERN RELIGIONS 10 0.03%

- 13 - 70%

60%

50%

40%

61.10%

30%

20%

23.30%

10%

7.10%

3.80%

1.60%

1.20%

0.61%

0.33%

0.19%

0% 0.13% 0.00% 0.00%

Catholic Protestant No religious affl Christian Orthodox Christian n-i-e Muslim Sikh Sikh Jewish Buddhist Other Religions Eastern Religions

Figure 9

LAKESHORE – RELIGIOUS BREAKDOWN – 2001 CENSUS

DENOMINATION/ RELIGION TOTAL NUMBER PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION CATHOLIC 18,455 64.5% PROTESTANT 6,720 23.5% NO RELIGIOUS AFFLIATON 2225 7.7% CHRISTIAN , n-i-e 525 1.8% CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX 250 0.87% HINDU 170 0.59% BUDDHIST 70 0.24% MUSLIM 65 0.22% EASTERN RELIGIONS 35 0.12% JEWISH 35 0.12% OTHER RELIGIONS 10 0.03% SIKH 0 0%

- 14 - 70%

60%

50%

40%

64.50%

30%

20%

23.50%

10%

7.70%

1.80%

0.87%

0.59%

0.24% 0.22%

0.12%

0% 0.12% 0.03% 0.00%

Catholic Protestant No religious affl Christian n-i-e Christian Orthodox Hindu Buddhist Muslim Eastern Religions Jewish Other Religions Sikh

Figure 10

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

1) Statistics Canada - is the federal government agency commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture (also known as Stats Can)

2) Census - Every five years, Statistics Canada gathers important information on the Canadian population in order to provide a statistical portrait of Canada and its people. However, religious data is only gathered every 10 years. The last available data was collected during the 2001 census. The next census in 2011 will gather religious data once again. Even though there was a census held nation-wide in 2006, religious data was not gathered during that particular census .

- 15 - 3) Catholic - Includes Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, Polish National Catholic Church, and Old Catholic.

4) Christian n-i-e (not identified elsewhere) - Includes persons who report "Christian", as well as those who report "Apostolic", "Born-again Christian" and "Evangelical".

5) Eastern religions - Includes Baha'i, Eckankar, Jains, Shinto, Taoist, Zoroastrian and Eastern religions, not identified elsewhere.

6) Other religions - Includes Aboriginal spirituality, Pagan, Wicca, Unity - New Thought - Pantheist, Scientology, Rastafarian, New Age, Gnostic, Satanist, etc.

7) No religious affiliation - Includes Agnostic, Atheist, Humanist, and No religion, and other responses, such as Darwinism, etc.

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