TORONTO, Canada, April 24, 2002 — An overwhelming majority of Canadians today believe both in the existence of God, and that God cares for them personally; so says Dr. Reginald W. Bibby, in his new book, Restless Gods — The Renaissance of Religion in Canada.
Bibby, a Professor of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge, has been charting and analyzing religious trends in this country for three decades. Drawing on data from extensive national surveys of adults every five years since 1975, along with complementary surveys of youth in 1984, 1992 and 2000, the author sees many indications Canadians are moving beyond simply believing in the existence of God, and are, literally, "hungering" for God.
"God is simply far more important in the lives of most Canadians than we (Bibby and his research team) thought. If we were just looking at belief - belief levels for starters are so high. Only about 5% of Canadians will actually say, "no", (they don't believe in God). God is doing very well in the polls -- by any measure!"
One of the major proofs Bibby's book points to as indicating that desire for God, is the Canadian propensity for asking, what he calls, "life's ultimate questions". Fully nine in ten people from across the country, feel the need during the course of their lifetimes, to address the question, "What is the purpose of life?" Eighty-six percent of Canadians agree, "life has meaning beyond what we ourselves give to it". And the number of people who indicate they definitely do not believe in life after death has fallen to 10%, down from 17% in 1975.
Number of Canadians Reading Scripture Doubles Since 1975
Restless Gods: The Renaissance of Religion in Canada
By Reginald W. Bibby
Published in 2002 by Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited
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While not detailed in his book, Dr. Bibby says The Project Canada Surveys also asked the question, "How often do you read the Bible or other scriptures?" In 1975, eight percent of respondents nationally, said they were reading scriptures privately on a weekly (or more frequent) basis. By the year 2000, that figure had doubled to 16%.
Canadians in surprising numbers also claim to be talking to God regularly. Seventy-four percent admit to private prayer (on an anywhere from daily to occasional basis) and almost half of those surveyed, Bibby says, claim to have experienced the presence of
God.
"Close to one in two Canadians is actually claiming that they've experienced God. Three in four believe in a god who cares for them personally. The fact that so many people today openly acknowledge their spiritual needs points, it seems to me, to a desire for something or someone that can satisfy deep and personal longings."
Given that Canadians seem to be searching for God, one might expect Canada's churches to be filled to overflowing. Not so, says Bibby; Canadians may be hungering for God, but "that is hardly to say they are hungering for the churches."
His findings indicate, in terms of regular church attendance, the downward trend of the past few decades continues. Nationally, the percentage of people who attended church on a weekly basis in 1957 stood at 53%. By 1975 that number had dropped to 31%. Over the next fifteen years, the figure decreased to 24%, and by the year 2000, only 21% of Canadians were attending church regularly.
But far from being bad news for churches, Dr. Bibby offers this encouragement, "The overwhelming majority of Canadians have simply not left the churches. They continue to identify (with the religious groups of their up-bringing) in large, large numbers. Even when the Churches have given up on Canadians, Canadians haven't given up on the churches. People are almost in a religion a-la-carte kind of mode. They are extremely receptive to further involvement. Fifty-five percent of Canadian adults say they would be receptive to greater involvement in the churches, if they found it to be worthwhile for themselves or their family."
When asked for his opinion on what would make it worthwhile, Dr. Bibby emphasises ministry. "They (Canadians) continue to have spiritual needs and interests. One of the first things we're (the churches) going to have to do is to try to engage the people who at least identify with us. The number one thing that people are stressing that it would take for them to become more involved is simply, ministry (meeting their needs). It's more than a fair expectation on the part of Canadians. If churches will touch their lives in a significant way as far as ministry -- then they will want to have more to do with churches."
Next week part two of our series:
CANADIANS "CLING" TO CHRISTIANITY - SURVEYS SHOW
Written by: Patricia L. Paddey, Bible Network News
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