Canadian teenagers are showing a surprising inclination to return to churches and other religious institutions, according to one of the country’s leading pollsters.
In his new book, “Canada’s Teens: Today, Yesterday and Tomorrow” (Stoddart), Reginald Bibby says he was taken aback when he discovered that religious attendance rates among teenagers have bounced back to higher levels posted 20 years ago. The three out of four Canadian adults who claim that today’s teenagers are no longer interested in religions are dead wrong, said Bibby, a veteran sociologist of religion based at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta.
In 1992, Canadian teenagers’ weekly attendance rates at religious institutions had dropped to 18 percent from the 23 percent recorded 20 years ago. Bibby had thought the downward trend would continue.
But, after repeating his earlier surveys and polling 3,600 teenagers last year, Bibby found regular attendance among teens had bumped back up to 22 percent, roughly the same as that of adults.
The emphasis that religious institutions, especially evangelical churches, are placing on youth ministries may be bearing fruit, Bibby said.
Although Canadian teenagers maintain some skepticism about organized religion, Bibby found the number of teens agreeing they are “committed to Christianity or another faith” has rebounded to almost 50 percent from 22 percent in 1992.
More than eight out of 10 teens across the country also want to have their wedding or funeral in a religious institution.
Released just prior to the central Christian holiday of Easter, Bibby’s book shows that 65 percent of Canadian teenagers believe Jesus was the divine Son of God, contrasted with 72 percent of adults.
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