Religious participation down, but religious affiliation not shaken during the second wave of the pandemic

Canadians of faith were less likely to participate in organized religious activities during the second wave of the pandemic in the fall of 2020 than they were in 2019. Their religious affiliation overall, however, was not shaken.

Just over two-thirds (68%) of Canadians reported having a religious affiliation in 2019, and over half (54%) said their religious or spiritual beliefs were somewhat or very important to the way they lived their lives.

Losing our religious affiliation

Canadians are much less likely to profess faith and to participate in organized religious activities today than they were during the latter half of the 20^th Century. 

In 1985, 9 in 10 Canadians professed a religious affiliation. By 2019, this rate had fallen to two thirds. The share of Canadians attending a group religious activity at least once a month fell by almost half, from 43% to 23%.

Pandemic prompts further drop in organized religious group activities

The pandemic changed virtually every aspect of our lives; how Canadians practiced their faith was no exception. Fear of contracting COVID-19, social distancing measures and lockdowns all contributed to a further drop in regular religious participation during the first two waves of the pandemic.

Just under 1 in 5 Canadians (19%) attended group religious activities at least every month in the fall of 2020, down four percentage points from 2019.

The decrease in the share of Canadians participating in organized religious activities at least once a year was more pronounced, falling from 47% in 2019 to 40% in the fall of 2020.

Members of the Hindu faith most likely to participate in organized religious activities prior to and during the pandemic, Christians least likely to do so

Members of the Hindu faith were the most likely to participate in at least one group religious activity over the previous 12 months, both prior to the pandemic, in 2019 (78%), as well as in the fall of 2020 (70%) during the second wave of the pandemic.

Conversely, members of the Christian faith were least likely to participate in at least one group religious activity over the previous 12 months, both prior to the pandemic, in 2019 (60%), as well as in the fall of 2020 (50%).

Organized religious participation was also down from 2019 to 2020 among adherents of the Jewish (75% to 67%), Buddhist (74% to 50%) and Muslim (71% to 57%) faiths.

Religious affiliation not shaken by the pandemic

While religious participation was down for all major faith groups, religious affiliation did not appear to be affected by the pandemic.

The pandemic had no measurable effect on the frequency of individual religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer or meditation. Similarly, it did not appear to affect self-reported religious affiliation.

Just under two thirds of Canadians (66%) aged 15 and older reported a religious affiliation in the fall of 2020, down from 68% in 2019. This slight decline follows the general trend that has been occurring since 2017, when 78% of Canadians professed a religious affiliation.

On October 26, new data from the 2021 Census will provide a more detailed picture of the diversity of religious affiliation groups in Canada and the people that form them.