Faith on the rise among boomers
Churchgoing up among Protestant denominations
Marites N. Sison staff writer
Dec 1, 2006

Anyone who thinks that organized religion in Canada is dying “would be wise to think again,” says sociologist Reginald Bibby.

Mainline Protestants (Anglican, United, Lutheran and Presbyterians) in Canada have collectively experienced an increase in monthly-plus attendance in church services since a decade ago, from 26 per cent in 1995 to 31 per cent in 2005, according to Mr. Bibby of Alberta’s University of Lethbridge.

In his latest book, The Boomer Factor: What Canada’s Most Famous Generation is Leaving Behind, Mr. Bibby – who has been monitoring social trends in Canada for 30 years – said that while most observers have assumed that the “Mainliners” (whose numbers dropped to 20 per cent in 2001 from 50 per cent in 1931) have been losing adherents to evangelical groups and increasing secularization, the reality is that “they weren’t having enough kids and their immigration pipeline was going dry.” the rest