CANADA 150 - A Look at The Religious Practices and Beliefs of Canadians скачать в хорошем качестве

CANADA 150 - A Look at The Religious Practices and Beliefs of Canadians

It's Canada’s 150th anniversary and for the next year, we Canadians celebrate the sesqui-centennial anniversary of Canadian Confederation. And what a great time to look at some stats behind behind our beliefs and religious practices across the country. A recent survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute in partnership with Faith in Canada 150 grouped respondents into categories according to their answers on a wide range of questions to gauge their beliefs and religious practices. And the results were very interesting. While the survey found that most Canadians keep the faith in varying degrees, only a few, actually reject it entirely. This study categorizes Canadians into 4 standard mindsets on religion, from total rejection of any spirituality on one end, to a strong embrace and practice of an organized religion on the other. It then summarizes their beliefs. Now, you can imagine that such an exhaustive survey brings forth many findings but the more interesting conclusions drawn from the study are this: close to 70% of all Canadians believe that God or some 'higher-power' exists. If you break the stats down by Gender, Age & Province, it suggests that 13% of males aged 35-54 are Religiously Committed vs 20% of females in the same age range. The province with the highest Religiously Committed is Saskatchewan at 32%, followed by Alberta at 29%. Sadly, however, Quebec, which was historically the most religious, sits at 14%, but surprisingly it’s BC that has the highest percentage of non-believers at 27%. One stat in particular caught my eye. When respondents were asked if they believe that Pope Francis is having a positive impact on the world, 72% of all people said yes, including 54% of those who are non-believers. How is that for a Francis Impact? One last interesting finding from the study, which I think we all know to be true is this: the Angus Reid study has statistically confirmed that higher levels of belief are correlated with higher levels of personal happiness, charitable giving, volunteerism and overall community engagement. Now, isn’t that a surprise! Happy Birthday Canada! Catch all the details of the study on the Angus Reid website here