Statistics Canada reported the following data on
Christian faith groups
in their 1991 and 2001 census. Membership include adults and children, and is
self-reported. There are major problems with this method of counting:
Some individuals identify themselves with a particular religion, even though they have
never been to a religious service in years, or do not consider religion
important in their life.
Some religious groups are widely hated by some Canadians. Examples include Wicca,
other Neopagan faiths, Satanism,
Atheism, Agnosticism
and Humanism. Some followers are reluctant to reveal their
religious affiliation to a census taker or pollster who might be a neighbor.
According to Statistics Canada, anyone who says they are of a certain
faith is counted as being from that faith. But many people use
other
definitions. Many conservative Protestants, for example, do not regard
Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Spiritualists, etc. as Christian.
Some major Christian shifts over the decade:
Christians remain the largest religious group in
Canada,
by a large margin.
Overall, Christianity is growing slowly in total numbers, by about 0.15%
annually.
Most Christian faith groups are shrinking in numbers. Most of the groups
which are growing in size are from the conservative wing of Protestantism.
However, expressed as a percentage of the population, the religion
is in decline -- having lost 8.3% "market share" in ten years. A
decline of over 0.8% a year is of little consequence over the short
term. But if it continues over generations, the faith will be seriously
weakened.
It is difficult to see why Statistics Canada classified the Unitarian
faith as Christian. A survey of almost 10,000 Unitarian Universalists in the
U.S. found that over 46% were Humanists, and fewer than 10% identified
themselves as Christian.
"n.o.s." means "not otherwise specified."
References:
"Religion (95A), Age Groups (7A) and Sex (3) for Population, for
Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas 1 and Census
Agglomerations, 1991 and 2001 Censuses - 20% Sample Data," Statistics
Canada, at:
http://www12.statcan.ca/
This list also gave membership breakdowns by age groups. This appears to be no
longer a valid URL. A chart remains online at the Stats Can web site at:
http://www12.statcan.ca/
Copyright information
Census data from "Statistics Canada...is used with the permission of
Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy the data and redisseminate them, in an original or modified form, for commercial
purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada.
Information on the availability of the wide range of data from
Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada's Regional
Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.ca,
and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136."
