CartoVista
CartoVistaWelcome to CartoVista’s StoryMap on world religions! The month of April serves with big religious importance to many religions around the world. Whether it was Easter for Christians or Ramadan for the Muslims, many countries across the world observed some form of religious occasion throughout April.
This Story Map will visually highlight global religion demographics and deep dive into religions in Canada with the help of recent census data by subdivisions.
Which Regions are Densely Populated by a Given Religion?
World Religion Statistics
- Christianity: 2.382 Billion People (31.11%)
- Islam: 2.01 Billion People (24.9%)
- Agnosticism: 1.193 Billion People (15.58%)
- Hinduism: 1.161 Billion People (15.16%)
- Buddism: 506 Million People (5.06%)
- Chinese Traditional Religion: 394 Million People (5%)
- African Traditional Religions: 100 Million People (1.2%)
Christianity and Islam are the world’s largest religions with an increase in agnosticism globally.
Christianity in Canada
Canadians predominately follow Christianity. Approximately 19.2 million Canadians follow some form of Christianity according to the 2021 Census. Meaning that about 52.3% of Canadians are Christians.
The following map visualizes the percentage of Christian citizens by province and territory throughout the country. Furthermore, the locations of some of Canada’s largest churches have also been mapped.
Interestingly, even though Christianity is predominant in the Northern and Eastern regions of Canada, the largest Churches are still located in the Southern parts of the country. This is due to larger population densities in the central Southern regions of Canada.
Why is the proportion of Christians less in the Southern provinces?
Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia have the least percentage of Christians in the country due to their multicultural diversity and large volume of immigrants.
Where is Canada’s largest Church?
The Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal is Canada’s largest church. It is located in Montreal, Quebec. It was founded in 1904 by Saint Andre Bessette with a capacity of up to 10,000 attendants.
Religions in Ontario
Ontario is home to a vast majority of Canada’s immigrants. In 2022 alone, Ontario welcomed almost 200,000 immigrants from across world. This accounted for 40.1% of immigrants coming to Canada. These immigrants are primarily from Asia and Africa. Meaning that Ontario is also home to religious diversity. Although Christianity is still the predominant religion in the province, there are a lot of citizens practicing different religions especially across Southern Ontario and along the Great Lakes. The following map visualizes proportions of religions by census subdivision in Ontario.
Where are Ontario’s most Religiously Diverse Regions?
Southern Ontario, especially around the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Thunder Bay Area, are home to multiculturalism. Consequently, we can see that citizens of these regions follow different religions. Surprisingly, a chunk of Ontario is comprised of Agnostic individuals; those who do not follow any religion. The aboriginal traditional religions are amongst the least followed religions in Ontario.
Religions in British Columbia
Like Ontario, British Columbia is also home to a large number of Canada’s immigrants; second to Ontario. In 2022 alone, British welcomed 29.1% of immigrants coming to Canada. These immigrants are primarily from Asia. Meaning that British Columbia is also home to religious diversity. Unlike Ontario, Christianity is not the predominant religion in the province, there are a lot of citizens practicing different religions especially across Southern Vancouver and along the American border. The following map visualizes proportions of religions by census subdivision in British Columbia.
Where are Vancouver’s most Religiously Diverse Regions?
Southern Vancouver, especially around the Greater Vancouver Area and Cowichan, are home to multiculturalism. Consequently, we can see that citizens of these regions follow different religions. Surprisingly, a majority of British Columbia is comprised of Agnostic individuals; those who do not follow any religion. The aboriginal traditional religions are amongst the least followed religions in British Columbia.
Check out our data sources to know more about World Religions in Canada data: Statistics Canada, ESRI ArcGIS Data Hub, and Wikipedia.
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