Resilient Gods

Being Pro-Religious, Low Religious, or No Religious in Canada

Bibliographic Data

ID19916969
AuthorsReginald W Bibby (corresponding author)
Year2017
Publication date2017-04-15
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueResilient Gods (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherUniversity of British Columbia Press (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.59962/9780774890076
OpenAlexW4385594521
Open LibraryOL43453119M
ISBN9780774890076
LanguageEN
Citations received16

Are Canadians becoming less religious? After playing a central role in our lives for nearly a century, religion did seem to be losing its salience in Canada. Many observers saw this trend as inevitable, reflecting secularization patterns seen elsewhere in the Western world. But there is more to the story. Reginald Bibby’s Resilient Gods takes an in-depth look at the religious landscape in Canada today. Pulling together extensive data, he finds that a solid core of some 30 percent continue to embrace religion, while a similar proportion is rejecting it. The remaining 40 percent are somewhere in the middle. The picture that emerges is not one of religious decline but rather of religious polarization, with the numbers of “pro-religious,” “no religious,” and “low religious” in flux. Such proclivities are influenced by social and cultural factors, one being increased immigration, which is ensuring the viability of a pro-religious core. The gods are here to stay, Bibby argues, but so what? Using the most current information available, including unique national survey data, he explores the implications of pro-religious, no-religious, and low-religious choices for personal and social well-being, spirituality, and attitudes towards death. The questions he asks are compelling and the answers thought-provoking whether one embraces the gods or not

Art · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Religion and Society Interactions