For the first time, there are more non-religious than religious people in British Columbia.
Statistics Canada released 2021 census data last week examining religion, and the percentage of B.C. residents who have no religious affiliation is now 52.1, an increase from 44 per cent in 2011. B.C. is Canadasa国际传媒檚 least religious province sa国际传媒� nationally, 34.6 per cent of Canadians have no religious affiliation.
In B.C., 34.3 per cent of residents are Christian: 12 per cent of British Columbians are Catholic, 8.8 are not-otherwise-specified Christian, 2.8 are Anglican, and 2.6 are affiliated with the United Church. Among non-Christian religions, 5.9 per cent of British Columbians are Sikh and 2.6 per cent are Muslim.
Canadasa国际传媒檚 six most non-religious census metropolitan areas are all in British Columbia. Nanaimo is the most non-religious metro area at 62.9 per cent, Kamloops is next at 60.8 per cent, then Victoria (60.5), Kelowna (54.4), Chilliwack (49.4), and Vancouver (47.1). Rounding out the top 10 are Red Deer, Alta., Belleville, Ont., Peterborough, Ont., and Kingston, Ont. The only B.C. census metropolitan area outside Canadasa国际传媒檚 top 10 is Abbotsford-Mission at 37 per cent.
Outside of census metropolitan areas, Canadasa国际传媒檚 most non-religious community is Squamish at 70.1 per cent.
Father Harrison Ayre of St. Petersa国际传媒檚 Roman Catholic Church in Nanaimo said when considering the data, the terms sa国际传媒榓ffiliationsa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒榬eligionsa国际传媒� can be problematic. Someone is Catholic by virtue of their baptism, for example, but someone who attests to being Catholic sa国际传媒� or any religion for that matter sa国际传媒� might not necessarily be sa国际传媒渁ttempting to live what they believe,sa国际传媒� he pointed out.
The B.C. Humanist Association, a non-profit that seeks to provide a community and voice for humanists, atheists, agnostics and other non-religious people, is also keenly interested in what the numbers represent. Ian Bushfield, executive director, said while the census data is accurate, the question about religious affiliation is open to interpretation.
sa国际传媒淲e do think it undercounts the number of non-religious and it paints a picture that shows people as being more actively religious than is necessarily the case,sa国际传媒� he said.
A StatsCan study from last year found that 18 per cent of Canadians say they have a religious affiliation but donsa国际传媒檛 participate in religious or spiritual activities and consider their religious or spiritual beliefs sa国际传媒渢o be of little or no importance to how they live their lives.sa国际传媒�
Bushfield said itsa国际传媒檚 important to have the best available data because of sa国际传媒済overnment entanglement with religionsa国际传媒� with funding for religious private schools, health-care facilities and homeless shelters, for example.
sa国际传媒淭hey may be more open to funding religious ones on a perception that there are lots of religious people who would be able to access that, but in reality, those can often discriminate or be barriers for people who are non-religious or of minority faith communities,sa国际传媒� he said.
Bushfield said British Columbia surpassing the 50-per cent non-religious threshold is sa国际传媒渧ery symbolicsa国际传媒� and worthy of attention, but stressed that the majority shouldnsa国际传媒檛 necessarily direct government policy because even small minority beliefs should have their place.
sa国际传媒淲e should be taking a secular approach because itsa国际传媒檚 the best way to make sure wesa国际传媒檙e reflecting a neutrality that makes space for everyone and doesnsa国际传媒檛 privilege one viewpoint over another,sa国际传媒� he said.
Morality and meaning found in churches and secular society
If Nanaimo is Canadasa国际传媒檚 most non-religious metro area, it isnsa国际传媒檛 evident in the pews at St. Petersa国际传媒檚, where there is a sort of sa国际传媒渃ounter trendsa国际传媒� to the census datasa国际传媒檚 trajectory. Ayre said church attendance is at pre-pandemic levels and there is sa国际传媒渁 spectrum of ages and culturessa国际传媒� that he attributes in part to Vancouver Island University attracting young adults from around the world.
Broadly, there has sa国际传媒渙bviouslysa国际传媒� been a decline in church participation over the years that has been discussed and studied by church leaders at various levels.
sa国际传媒淧eople think it is a pragmatic question and thus deal with it in a pragmatic way sa国际传媒� rather, it is the question of culture and human nature,sa国际传媒� Ayre said.
He suggested the sa国际传媒渟ecular culturesa国际传媒� is itself a sort of religion, as sa国际传媒渢here is no such thing as a culture that doesnsa国际传媒檛 attempt to answer the questions of human existencesa国际传媒� such as sa国际传媒渨hy am I here? Who am I? Is there a purpose to existence? Is there something more to life?sa国际传媒�
Ayre said truth has a universal hold on people, so if Christians arensa国际传媒檛 making the claim that what they believe is the truth, thatsa国际传媒檚 a failing of the churches. However, he added that they can only propose, never impose.
sa国际传媒淚f the sa国际传媒榬eligious questionsa国际传媒� is really a public question, if religion is really a universal human phenomenon sa国际传媒� then it is also the fault of culture and society to refuse to take these questions seriously,sa国际传媒� he said.
He thinks the decreased rate of people who are religious has brought with it some decrease in sa国际传媒渕oral reason or moral truth.sa国际传媒� If human beings are soulless products of chance, the priest said, then they lose worth.
sa国际传媒淚f humanity has no value, then living itself becomes meaningless. So why should I treat others well? At best, we do it because it is politically or socially expedient, but even that crumbles over time,sa国际传媒� Ayre said.
Bushfield argued that cultures develop in different ways, and in places where traditional religions arensa国际传媒檛 for most people, residents look elsewhere for their morality and their sense of community. He noted that in B.C., environmental groups are sa国际传媒渇oundationalsa国际传媒� and the province also the home of important civil liberties and human rights work.
sa国际传媒淲e can easily see that people can be good without God in British Columbia. Lots of people care deeply about the state of the worldsa国际传媒a国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭here is a deep commitment thatsa国际传媒檚 not necessarily tied to religion but is tied to creating a better world.sa国际传媒�
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