"Generally,
not only across Canada but the entire Western world, we're aware of a trend that
says that institutionalized religion is not central to peoples' lives, as is
individualized religion." 3
Rev. Harry Oussoren, executive minister of the United Church of Canada's
Support to Local Ministries. 1
Overview:
Like the United States, Canada is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world.
South-eastern Ontario has been called the most religiously diverse region of any
country in the world. A major contributor to this trend is the large number of
immigrants to Canada who have settled in the Toronto, ON area.
Some trends in Canada:
The percentage of Christians is in relatively rapid decline in Canada, dropping at
about 0.9 percentage points per year. Although this is a miniscule drop over
the course of a year, it amounts to almost 10% a decade. This rate is
close to that of the U.S.
Small non-Christian faith groups are increasing in number and popularity.
The percentage of Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, secularists, and persons of no religious adherence is increasing rapidly.
Many Canadians identify themselves as adherents of a specific religion, religious group or denomination, but no longer attend services.