Canada and irreligion

The Canadian national anthem, which is the song Oh, Canada, declares, "God keep our land glorious and free!"

Atheists, agnostics and various other non-Christians have been unable to change the lyrics to the Canadian national anthem.[1]

In 2014, the Vancouver Sun, citing the scholarship of Eric Kaufmann and other data, declared in article entitled Think religion is in decline? Look at who is 'going forth and multiplying':

“  |  What about Canada?

The most recent figures available confirm Kaufmann’s thesis. Muslim women in Canada have the highest birthrate — at 2.4 babies per woman, followed by Hindus (2 babies per woman), Sikhs (1.9), Jews (1.8), various Protestants (1.6) and Catholics (1.6). Non-religious Canadian women have only 1.4 babies per woman.

Kaufmann has also discovered that children of immigrants do not easily walk away from the family religion — not like many of the offspring of parents born in the West.

Children of immigrants often engage in “cultural defence,” says sociologists. They tend to stay with their parents’ traditional, ethno-religious customs to affirm their identities. When secularism does gain newcomers, Kaufmann says, they come mainly from the offspring of domestic-born moderate or liberal religious parents. “The middle ground,” as Kaufmann puts it, “is being hollowed out.” There is a “higher cost” for members of conservative religions to reject their parents’ faith, he says. “To leave a conservative religion is a big, big step. You’re leaving more behind.” With such lines of reasoning, Kaufmann makes a case that is worth taking seriously regarding who shall inherit the Earth.[2]

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## Contents

* 1 Canada, atheism and agnosticism
* 2 Canadian atheist activist Pat O'Brien on the difficulty of atheist fundraising
* 3 2015 Poll: Canadians' view of atheists
* 4 2011 poll: Canadians and Americans distrust atheists as much as rapists
* 5 A postsecular Canada in the 21st century
* 6 See also
* 7 External links
* 8 References

## Canada, atheism and agnosticism[edit]

A 2008 Canadian Press Harris-Decima telephone survey of just over 1,000 Canadians found that 23% indicated that they do not believe in any god (but this would include both atheists and agnostics).[3]

## Canadian atheist activist Pat O'Brien on the difficulty of atheist fundraising[edit]

See also: Atheist fundraising vs. religious fundraising and Atheism and charity

The Canadian atheist activist Pat O'Brien is a Canadian atheist, an activist, and ex-president of Humanist Canada and British Columbia Humanist Association (Secular humanism is a form of atheism).

O'Brien said about the willingness atheists/humanists to support national and provincial atheist organizations: "The biggest problem is fundraising. It is difficult to get Humanists to part with their money."[4]

## 2015 Poll: Canadians' view of atheists[edit]

See also: Distrust of atheists and Views on atheists

A 2015 poll of 3,041 Canadians conducted by Angus Reid Institute and Dr. Reginald Bibby of the University of Lethbridge found that 27% of Canadians had an unfavorable view of atheists while 27% of Canadians had an favorable view of atheists (the remainder were neutral).[5]

## 2011 poll: Canadians and Americans distrust atheists as much as rapists[edit]

See also: Distrust of atheists and Atheism and rape and Atheism and social outcasts

Studies and web traffic data appear to indicate that women in the Western World tend to be more religious than men.[6] See: Atheism and women

On December 10, 2011, USA Today reported in a story entitled Study: Atheists distrusted as much as rapists:

“  |  The study, conducted among 350 Americans adults and 420 Canadian college students, asked participants to decide if a fictional driver damaged a parked car and left the scene, then found a wallet and took the money, was the driver more likely to be a teacher, an atheist teacher, or a rapist teacher?

The participants, who were from religious and nonreligious backgrounds, most often chose the atheist teacher.

The study is part of an attempt to understand what needs religion fulfills in people. Among the conclusions is a sense of trust in others.

"People find atheists very suspect," Shariff said. "They don't fear God so we should distrust them; they do not have the same moral obligations of others. This is a common refrain against atheists. People fear them as a group."[7]

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See also:

* Irreligion and domestic violence

* Atheism and rape

## A postsecular Canada in the 21st century[edit]

See also: Desecularization and Desecularization and aging populations and Acceleration of 21st century desecularization and Postsecularism

Jens Köhrsen, a professor for religion and economics at the Centre for Religion, Economy and Politics (ZRWP),[8] wrote:

“  |  [ Jürgen Habermas ] ...argues that a new age, the age of post-secularity, has begun. Previously vastly secularized societies, like the highly developed countries of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, would experience a new awareness of religion and attribute a new public role to religion. From now on, religion would constitute a relevant dialogue partner in the public debates of these societies (Habermas, 2008). Moreover, Habermas presents a normative argument about public religion: he recommends that post-secular societies should facilitate religious contributions to the public sphere. Religious reasoning could contribute to public debates about the ethical values of contemporaneous and future societies. Habermas believes that modern societies might find some answers to the moral questions of our time by listening to religion in public debates (Habermas, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008). A similar position to that of Habermas is proposed by Leclerc (2001) and French sociologist Willaime (2004a, 2004b, 2005[1995]: 76-78, 2008). Willaime observes that even the highly secularized public and political sphere of France is exhibiting a new, more open attitude towards religion. The hypersecularity of France would stimulate a restructuration process of religion. According to Willaime, religion can form an important resource for public debates and be engaged in the identity construction process of individuals and collectives.[9] |  ”

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## See also[edit]

* American atheism

* Atheism in the Anglosphere

* Atheism and fertility rates

* Desecularization

## External links[edit]

* Canadian atheists face a tough slog ahead

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Changing O Canada: Is God next? by Terry Milewski, CBC Canada
2. ↑ Think religion is in decline? Look at who is 'going forth and multiplying', Vancouver Sun
3. ↑ "Almost a quarter of Canadians don't believe in any god, new poll says". CBC News. Jun 3, 2008. A sample of the same size has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
4. ↑ Interview – ​Pat O’Brien on Humanism in Canada and British Columbia by Scott Jacobsen, Conatus News, 2016
5. ↑ A God? That's complicated. Canadians hanging on to personal faith as organized religion declines: poll , National Post, 2015
6. ↑ Multiple references:
* Kosmin, Barry A., et al. (2008). "American nones: Profile of the no religion population". American Religion Survey website [Trinity College, Hartford, CT]. Retrieved from Internet Archive.
* Britt, Robert Roy (February 28, 2009). "Women more religious than men". Live Science website.
7. ↑ Study: Atheists distrusted as much as rapists
8. ↑ Prof. Dr. Jens Köhrsen, University website faculty page
9. ↑ How religious is the public sphere? – A critical stance on the debate about public religion and post-secularity, Draft Version, Jens Koehrsen (Köhrsen). Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology, Germany. École des hautes études en sciences socials, France. Published in: Acta Sociologica 55 (3), S. 273-288.