The Rapid Decline of Religion in Canada: 89% No Longer Attend Services

A couple of years ago, data on the scale of secularization in Europe over the last half-century were released, revealing that a mere 18% of those who identify as Christian regularly show up at services. Even those who still identify with a Christian denomination, it turned out, do so for largely cultural reasons, and very few actually go to church, read the Bible, or engage in any of the practices that would have defined the lives of generations of their forebears.

In Canada, it turns out, the situation is even more dire. Earlier this year, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada released the result of a poll examining both church attendance and affiliation at two different points in people's lives -- first, at age twelve, and second, how they practice and identify currently. The results of this poll reveal a nation utterly transformed by secularization -- and the data also explain a lot about the state of Canadian politics. To start off, half of Canadians identify as agnostic, atheist, or no specific religion. A mere 11% of Canadians attend any kind of religious service on a weekly basis. That's not just Christian services; that includes Muslim mosque attendance, Sikh temple events, Jewish synagogue services, Hindu gatherings, and other religious services. 

To spell it out, this means that a full 89% of Canadians do not attend religious services weekly. Those affiliating with evangelical churches have dropped from 12% of the population in 1996 to 9% in 2015, to 6% in 2019. For context, following the Second World War a full 67% of Canadians attended church services weekly, with most of these services being a Christian denomination of some sort. By 1996, this number had plunged to 30%.  Since then, attendance at religious services in Canada has gone from one third of the population to one fifth. Religious observance in Canada is dying out, and if this trend continues, those who still do participate in religious services of some sort will be an extraordinarily tiny minority in a very short amount of time.

Surprisingly, secularization is occurring across all age categories. In Canada, the stereotype of faithful older people and faithless young people doesn't hold up. For those over 75 years old who attended church as children, 62% attend church today. For the Boomer generation (those between 55 and 74), church attendance has fallen to 53%, and for the Gen-Xers (ages 39 to 54), it plummets further to 33%. 

Only 26% of Generation Y (24 to 38) attends church, and for Generation Z (age 18 to 23), the number falls to 22%. According to this analysis, this means that for young men and women who attended church when they were twelve years old, the falling-away rate is a full 78%. These numbers are simply staggering. According to the report: "The new normal is not having attended a single religious service in the last 12 months. Of those who went to church as 12 year olds, half have moved to the 'never' (i.e. never attend) category." And even Canadians who do attend church at least once a month do not appear to be particularly concerned with engaging in religious practice. A 2013 survey of 1,100 Canadian church-goers indicated that a third -- 34% -- admitted to saying they "rarely" or "never" read the Bible outside church. 

A mere 11% read the Bible daily, and barely over a quarter -- 27% -- say they read the Bible a few times a week or at least once a month. Only 3% said they engage in Bible study on a daily basis, while over half -- 53% -- said they "rarely or never" study the Bible.  Sixty-two percent of respondents did not agree with the statement, "If I go several days without reading the Bible, I find myself unfulfilled." A majority did not feel guilty about leaving their Bibles closed, either. The implications here are obvious. Increasingly, a majority of Canadians not only are irreligious, but do not even have a basic understanding of the minority who are. Thus, freedom of conscience, religious liberty, and even differing views of sexual ethics appear to many Canadians to be flimsy excuses for bigotry and hatred. How do you explain concepts like religious liberty to somebody who does not understand religion, religious people, or religious motivation? 

These do not understand the worldviews of religious Canadians, and they have little or no desire to learn. This is also why pro-abortion politicians insist that pro-lifers are advocating an exclusively religious position rather than presenting a science-based view of human rights -- because they know that it is a clever rhetorical tactic.

Many people operate under the assumption that Canada was -- at least very recently -- a Christian nation, and that a residual understanding of Christianity yet exists. These data tell a different story.  The upcoming generation of Canadians do not understand Canada's past, are utterly unfamiliar with the founding beliefs of Western civilization, and are unaware of the philosophies that animated their forefathers. The political and social impact of this secularization is undeniable, and it poses a challenge to the minority who believe that Christianity is as true now as it was fifty, one hundred, and two thousand years ago. It is why I am so concerned about the future of freedom of conscience and religious liberty: how do we defend our rights to those who do not understand them and do not recognize their validity?

China Raids Churches for 'Illegal' Bibles, Threatens Fines up to $1,400

Government officials within China have confiscated Bibles from churches in recent months and threatened fines as part of an intensified crackdown on Christianity and an effort to eradicate “illegal publications,” according to a new report. 

The campaign has targeted illegal underground churches as well as legal Three-Self churches, which are registered with the government.

“If our Bibles are taken away, we have no more,” a pastor of a Three-Self church in Jiangxi province told Bitter Winter, the watchdog behind the report. “We are thinking of asking our congregation members to hide them in the mountains.”

In December, around 10 government officials raided a different Three-Self church in Jiangxi in search of “pirated Bibles” either not printed in the country or printed at illegal printers, Bitter Winter reported. The pastor told them the church owned only legal Bibles printed within the country, but the officials nevertheless seized 30 Bibles.

According to the persecution watchdog, similar raids have taken place “all over the country” as part of a nationwide campaign to “eradicate pornography and illegal publications.”

Government officials raided an underground church in Jiangxi province and seized multiple boxes of Bibles, hymn books and other literature. They also wrote down the IDs of church members and threatened to arrest them if they met again, Bitter Winter said.

In some locations, church members have stopped bringing their Bibles to church out of concern they will be taken. Such is the case at a Three-Self Seventh-day Adventist Church, where over 100 “pirated” Bibles were taken during a December raid.

“According to a church co-worker, believers don’t bring their Bibles to the church anymore, fearing the government might take them away,” Bitter Winter reported. “They read from the sacred text at home after each service, according to chapter numbers the preacher gives them during sermons.”

Trump Urges Americans to Pray: 'With God's Help, We Will Overcome This Threat'

President Trump on Saturday asked Americans to pray for God’s protection and healing during the coronavirus pandemic, borrowing words from Scripture and saying in a proclamation, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

“In our times of greatest need, Americans have always turned to prayer to help guide us through trials and periods of uncertainty. As we continue to face the unique challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, millions of Americans are unable to gather in their churches, temples, synagogues, mosques, and other houses of worship,” the proclamation said.

“But in this time, we must not cease asking God for added wisdom, comfort, and strength, and we must especially pray for those who have suffered harm or who have lost loved ones. I ask you to join me in a day of prayer for all people who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and to pray for God’s healing hand to be placed on the people of our Nation.”

Trump named Sunday (March 15) a “National Day of Prayer” and urged Americans to pray for the “health and well-being of your fellow Americans and to remember that no problem is too big for God to handle.”

“Let us pray that all those affected by the virus will feel the presence of our Lord’s protection and love during this time,” Trump wrote. “With God’s help, we will overcome this threat.”

The proclamation quoted 1 Peter 5:7 (“casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you”), Psalm 91 (“He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust”) and Luke 1:37 (“for with God nothing shall be impossible.”). Trump asked Americans to pray for those “on the front lines of the response, especially our Nation’s outstanding medical professionals and public health officials.”

“As one Nation under God, we are greater than the hardships we face, and through prayer and acts of compassion and love, we will rise to this challenge and emerge stronger and more united than ever before,” Trump wrote. “May God bless each of you, and may God bless the United States of America.”