A poll conducted in March 2017 by Ipsos Public Affairs, a global market research and a consulting firm, found Canadians to be very tolerant of the religious beliefs of others.
Most Canadians, 91 percent in fact, are “completely comfortable” around people who do not share their own religious beliefs. And while 64 percent do not consider that religion “defines” themselves as a person, finding out that another person is religious does not cause them to lose respect for them.
Of the 1,001 Canadians adults Ipsos surveyed, these attitudes held true among all age groups and the percentages, one generation to another, were very similar.
To the majority of those surveyed, there is at least one important benefit of religion in society; 57 percent agreed with the statement that religious practices are an important factor in the moral lives of Canadians.
Despite that, the survey found that 51 percent consider religion does more harm in the world than good.
The poll did not look into the factors influencing this viewpoint. But in an interview in the Catholic Herald, Ipsos Public Affairs Vice President Sean Simpson said that in a technological age where information is so easily accessed, Canadians have a “higher sensitivity” to news of religious radicals committing acts of violence and terrorism.
The survey also found that identification with traditional religion seems to have waned in the lives of most of those sampled. For example, 80 percent were raised in a specific religious denomination and only 26 percent as atheists, agnostics or with a spiritual but nonreligious background. But when interviewed on how they describe their religious beliefs today, 58 percent no longer self-identify with a specific faith.
