The religious switching of immigrants in Canada

• Published in: Journal of ethnic and migration studies Vol. 44; no. 15; pp. 2582 - 2602
• Main Authors: Caron-Malenfant, Éric, Goujon, Anne, Skirbekk, Vegard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 18.11.2018; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Canada; Censuses; Demographic change; Demography; Ethnicity; Immigrants; Immigration; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Noncitizens; Polls & surveys; Population; Religion; Religious identity; religious switching; secularisation; Sociodemographics; Canada
• ISSN: 1369-183X; 1469-9451
• DOI: 10.1080/1369183X.2017.1392848

Although the contribution of immigration and religious switching to the changing religious landscape in Canada seems well established, we lack knowledge on the religious switching of immigrants. In this study, we address if and to what extent immigrants to Canada change religion after their arrival. We use data on religious affiliation and other demographic characteristics from the 1981, 1991 and 2001 censuses, as well as from the 2011 National Household Survey and the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey to study, in a demographic perspective, the magnitude of religious switching among the immigrant population in Canada across the 30 years of observation. We compare it with the religious switching of the Canadian-born population and look for characteristics associated with religious switching among the population of immigrants. The results show that the patterns of religious switching of immigrants present similarities with that of the Canadian-born even if, in relative terms, net population change associated with religious switching is of a lower magnitude among the immigrant population in the most recent period. Religious background and place of birth appear to be related to religious change among immigrants in Canada.