Comparing Youth Engagement on Either side of the 49th
What are young Canadians and Americans telling church leaders?
When it comes to religion, Canadian and American young adults display a remarkable similarity on at least one point: they’re hungrier for transcendent truth and more interested in matters of faith than previous generations. That’s just one key finding after think tank Cardus partnered with the Angus Reid Institute (ARI) to survey 5,000 Canadians and 5,000 Americans on the state of North American religiosity and faith in public life. This commonality between Canadians and Americans aged 18 to 34 stands in marked contrast to what this massive survey found more generally—that religion is different and operates differently on either side of the Canada-US border. (If you’re interested in those differences, you can read more about them here and here.)
The general context of religion in Canada and the United States
To understand the important similarity between younger Canadians and Americans, it’s important to have some idea of the general picture: Americans are much more religious than Canadians. That’s probably not a surprise for most, but what you may have never seen is the sophisticated way Cardus and ARI measure this. Together, we developed the Spectrum of Spirituality, which scores respondents on a series of behaviours and beliefs to place them in one of four categories:
Religiously Committed: Displaying higher rates of belief in God, behaviours like prayer and reading a sacred text, and regular attendance at religious services, among other factors
Privately Faithful: Engaging in some religious behaviours but are often skeptical of organized religion
Spiritually Uncertain: Generally believing in a higher power and sometimes thinking about a reality beyond the physical world
Non-believers: Completely rejecting religion
Our survey found that 37% of Americans are religiously committed compared to just 18 percent of Canadians. In fact, religiously committed Americans are the largest of all four groups in the United States. By contrast, 44% of Canadians are spiritually uncertain, which is the weakest attachment to faith before rejecting it altogether.
In terms of religious composition, 62% of Americans and 52% of Canadians identify as some sort of “Christian” when asked their religion. In the United States, Evangelicals predominate with smaller numbers of Catholics and mainline churches. In Canada, Catholics predominate, followed by mainline churches and a relatively smaller proportion of Evangelicals. Meanwhile 8% of Americans and 11% of Canadians claim some other religion. In any case, Christians—Evangelicals especially and to some extent Catholics—dominate in the religiously committed category of both countries.
Next Generation Revival?
Bearing in mind the stark difference between Canadians and Americans generally, it’s instructive and interesting to look at the religiously committed data, broken down by age group.
Larger proportions of the 18 to 34 age group on both sides of the border identify as religiously committed compared to previous generations.
While Americans aged 18 to 34 are still less religiously committed than those who are 55 or older, they do display a marked increase in religiosity compared to the immediately previous generation. While the pattern is a bit different in Canada, the direction of growing belief is the same. The highest proportion of religiously committed Canadians is among those aged 18 to 34.
It would probably be an exaggeration to say we’re witnessing a genuine religious revival in either country. However, there is a definite uptick in religiosity among the youngest age group in both countries, a finding that is consistent with other research.
What does it all mean?
Increased religious interest among younger generations on both sides of the Canada-US border suggests that the Canadian-American religiosity divide appears to be narrowing. This raises the question of what church congregations will look like in the not too distant future. And if the trend continues, it could alter the trajectory of religion in North America, possibly away from greater secularization.
The latest numbers also reinforce previous research by Cardus. Many Christian leaders have noted youngers congregants’ interest in their faith’s history and tradition. Some suggest that the depth of the Christian traditions “have become pillars of clarity in a world in which so much is unclear,” especially for younger adults. It stands to reason, then, why young people have shown renewed interest in Latin masses at Catholic churches while Protestant studies of centuries-old Christian creeds have also proven popular. If anything, both the research and the anecdotal evidence confirm church leaders need to be ready to minister to a younger congregation, looking for genuine engagement with their faith.
Ray Pennings
Ray Pennings is the Executive Vice President and co-founder of Cardus, a leading Canadian think tank, and publisher of Comment magazine. He has worked in politics and punditry, is published on education, law, and theology, and has led the research arm of a labour organisation. He speaks and writes widely and provocatively about God and Canadian public life.
