Religious Canadians are Hated in Their Own Country

Synagogues and Jewish schools targeted by firebombings and shootings. Muslims attacked outside their mosque. Dozens of churches burned to the ground. Headlines like these over the past few months bear witness to a troubling rise in violence perpetrated against religious communities in Canada. I say troubling but not, perhaps, surprising. Today the minority of Canadians regularly active in organized religion (any religion) are just that—a minority. As of 2019, less than a quarter (23%) of Canadians attend religious services on even a monthly basis, according to Statistics Canada. A 2022 Angus Reid poll puts the number even lower, at just 15%. As the number of actively religious people in Canada shrinks, there is a corresponding rise in people holding mostly negative views of religion and faith communities in Canada.