Nearly two thirds of Campbell Riverites identify as having no religion, according to data from the 2021 Canada Census.
According to the census, which sampled 25 per cent of respondents about their religious views, 63.7 per cent of Campbell Riverites (22,235) identified as having no religion and secular perspectives. That’s almost twice as many as those who identified as Christian (11,585), which came in at 33.2 per cent.
After Christians (which were further split into different denominations, the highest being non-specified at 2,995, followed by 2,970 for Catholics), the next highest denomination was Sikh, at 200, then 175 identifying as Hindu, and 150 as Buddhist. Sixty five identified as Muslim, 50 as Jewish and 35 as having traditional North American Indigenous spirituality. Four hundred and five said they had other religions or traditions.
Religious data is collected every other census, with the last time being 2011. In 2011, non-religious people were still the majority, but only 54.4 per cent. Christians were second at 43.4 per cent. Other religions made up the remaining 2.2 per cent.
The trend follows the rest of the country, which saw a growth in the amount of people choosing “none” for the religion question. Across the country the share of non-religious people has doubled over the past twenty years, according to a Canadian Press report earlier this week.
Data about religion was released on Oct. 26.
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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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