Interesting statistics

[maggie2]

Just heard a piece on the news and wanted to share the information here.

Stats Canada recently released a study showing the religious leanings of Canadians.

Here are a few of the results.

32% of Canadians go to church regularly.
21% of Canadians prefer to pray or meditate or contemplate in private.

Church attendance has dropped over the past 10 years.

It seems more people are finding other avenues for spiritual expression besides church.

Are you one of the regular church-goers or do you express your faith apart from church?

I would have added a poll to this thread but I can't find the button for it. Oh well, I'll be interested in the answers anyway.

 

[maggie2]

Just heard a piece on the news and wanted to share the information here.

Stats Canada recently released a study showing the religious leanings of Canadians.

Here are a few of the results.

32% of Canadians go to church regularly.
21% of Canadians prefer to pray or meditate or contemplate in private.

Church attendance has dropped over the past 10 years.

It seems more people are finding other avenues for spiritual expression besides church.

Are you one of the regular church-goers or do you express your faith apart from church?

 

[jeffrey]

There is no one in our town that has beliefs that are like ours. LOL. If people knew we did not view God their way, we would probably have our house burned down. I believe in a supreme being, my wife believes in multiple Gods, which I don't discount. There are alot of hard core Baptists here, and a pretty cool Catholic church. But if you're not one of those... Katty bar the door!

 

[Revasser]

I went for "Through meditation and/or contemplation and/or prayer on my own."

Firstly, it's completely and utterly impractical for me to attend any sort of group worship considering how thinly spread Kemetics are, especially here in Australia. Secondly, I find other people distracting when I'm trying to focus. I suppose, theoretically, I wouldn't be opposed to attending festivals where there were going to be large numbers of people or joining a small group for a ritual, but for everyday worship, I would rather be alone with the Netjeru.

So, that's pretty much how I go about it. At home I make sure things are as quiet as possible, then sit and contemplate or pray and make offerings at my personal shrine. When I'm out and about, I like find a quiet spot away from people and pray or just experience the world. My favourite lightning-struck tree is my usual place for that.

 

[Mike182]

i wanted to vote for two options.... i mainly practise solitary witchcraft, but i am also part of a coven - i do both group work and solitary..... but i also go to church

HA! good luck to anyone who wants to classify me :jiggy:

.... besides, i don't trust statistics :149:

 

[Unedited]

Currently, I practice my faith by my lonesome. However, I'll be moving in the fall, and I hope to find those of a like-mind.

 

[CaptainXeroid]

...besides, i don't trust statistics :149:

...and in a parallel development, The Department of Education announced that 5 out of 4 Americans don't understand fractions.

I could have answered the first two as well. I appreciate the quiet meditative times when I am alone with my thoughts about God and His plan for my life, and I also enjoy participating in Sunday School and weekly worship because it is there that I have to chance to learn from others and share what I have learned.:162:

 

[Mike182]

...and in a parallel development, The Department of Education announced that 5 out of 4 Americans don't understand fractions.

good job im no american then :biglaugh:

edit: wait a minute.... 5 out of 4 :areyoucra suuure, but only because i have the word "guilable" on my forehead (and yes, i did need to check the spelling of that before i posted )

 

[CaptainXeroid]

good job im no american then :biglaugh:...

Then I won't tell you they took 'gullible' out of the dictionary. btw....only 4 out of 3 people go get a dictionary and check that one out.

methinks I should pray silently about my gooofiness and not bring it up in church.

 

[michel]

21% of Canadians prefer to pray or meditate or contemplate in private.

If I lived in Canada, I would be in that group.

I am sorry to say that what puts me off going to church the most is the attitude of the parashioners, and even those in the choir, and the wardens...................

I was in the choir at our local church for a while, and was so disallusioned by the constant bickerring, gossip; I thought it was doing me no spiritual good whatsoever, and left.

 

[Mike182]

Then I won't tell you they took 'gullible' out of the dictionary.

curses, i still spelt it wrong

 

[jeffrey]

Michel, you talk about the choir, when I went to church, I enjoyed the bible study but didn't like the service part, to much singing! I CAN'T SING! And thee constant nit picking...

 

[robtex]

I am in a part of the usa called the Bible belt. See diagram below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Belt

That map is really good except you could probably pull the red over Texas (the biggest state in that with red on it) just a bit more. The general concensus in the Christian community here is that church attendance is part of ones relationship with God. I don't have any stats but in some of the smaller towns around central Texas (in the middle of texas where I live), there are churches on every few blocks. In the major cites mega-chuches which can house a few thousand people fill-up on the sundays and many times on weekday evenings. I have quite a few friends that spend more than 20 hours in a church every single week. I get asked at least once a week which churchI belong too (they assume I am a christian). I think here culturally at least, if you are a Christian, that public worship is considered part of the program. I don't know if that is true of other states in the bible belt.

 

[Booko]

I chose "none of the above" because:

1. I'm not a Christian. I don't do church. Baha'is have regular services (called Feast), but I can't always go.

2. I do pray/meditate on my own daily. That's part of what Baha'is are supposed to do.

3. I would have chosen the small group of like-minded people, except in my community it's more like a small group of people with diverse opinions, backgrounds, etc. Baha'is don't get to choose what community they're in. It's based on where you live. What that means is we have to learn go get along with people unlike ourselves. We can't just go community shopping and avoid learning anything.

So it's actually more like "all of the above."

 

[Booko]

There is no one in our town that has beliefs that are like ours. LOL. If people knew we did not view God their way, we would probably have our house burned down. I believe in a supreme being, my wife believes in multiple Gods, which I don't discount. There are alot of hard core Baptists here, and a pretty cool Catholic church. But if you're not one of those... Katty bar the door!

I consider it something of a testament to my neighborhood that we have a Wiccan family a few houses from me and no one's gotten their knickers in a twist over it. They have a kid in school, Mom's very active there, and still no one has their knickers in a twist over it. I fielded a couple of questions from some of the older Garden Ladies at a meeting once, but it was obvious they just asked about Wicca because they'd never heard of it before, and they weren't upset by it.

But I can think of a lot of places in Atlanta you could go, and the reception wouldn't be so nice.

 

[Booko]

I am in a part of the usa called the Bible belt. See diagram below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Belt

That map is really good except you could probably pull the red over Texas (the biggest state in that with red on it) just a bit more. The general concensus in the Christian community here is that church attendance is part of ones relationship with God. I don't have any stats but in some of the smaller towns around central Texas (in the middle of texas where I live), there are churches on every few blocks. In the major cites mega-chuches which can house a few thousand people fill-up on the sundays and many times on weekday evenings. I have quite a few friends that spend more than 20 hours in a church every single week. I get asked at least once a week which churchI belong too (they assume I am a christian). I think here culturally at least, if you are a Christian, that public worship is considered part of the program. I don't know if that is true of other states in the bible belt.

It's a little milder in Georgia, I think, but the description isn't too far off. Maybe we have a higher percentage of people who are "fallen away." It seems to be fairly acceptable, even in less urban areas, to be "unchurched."

I don't think there are many people in Atlanta who spend 20 hours in church -- they spend 20 hours on the road commuting, maybe.

There's a megachurch within walking distance of my house. I mistook it for an office building when we first moved here. In some parts of town, there are yellow street signs that say "Church." I wondered about those when I first moved here. I mean, should I stop the car and pray or something?

It's not hard to meet people, even intown where I live, who seem to think that just everyone is a Christian, and the most different religious thing around them are the Catholics. That's disappearing pretty fast, though.

Thank God the younger folks get out more.

 

[Ciscokid]

I don't have any faith.

 

[ChrisP]

I'm a contemplater... most days the contemplating begins over the first coffee, and doesn't end til after the last... (with coffee being the first and last things in the day)

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

Lilke Booko, I'm Baha'i, and I also checked "None of the above" because "All of the above" would be more correct!

We Baha'is tend to have very diverse communities, so it's not merely "like-minded" people I'm with!

And we have many different activities!: I participate in Nineteen-day Feasts and other Baha'i meetings, including firesides (informational Q & A meetings), deepenings (study classes), and more! I also sing in several Baha'i chorales, including two touring choirs. And I'm also teachings a study class here in my area (in addition to attending other deepenings I mentioned above).

And no, as she said, we don't have "churches!"

So I would humbly suggest that the poll is unnecessarily restrictive in the choices it offers, and would probably work better with a "check all that apply" format!

Peace,

Bruce

 

[Mike182]

I'm a contemplater... most days the contemplating begins over the first coffee, and doesn't end til after the last... (with coffee being the first and last things in the day)

and such is the way of the caffine addict..... a way i am so very familiar with