Resilient Gods

Reg Bibby is Canada's foremost accountant of religious trends, a sociologist who has told us more about our religious make-up than - not just anyone else, but everyone else. He has been telling us about ourselves in clear, simple, and suggestive terms with unequalled influence. -- John G. Stackhouse, Jr., Samuel J. Mikolaski Professor of Religious Studies, Crandall University Among contemporary sociologists I can think of no one that has been more acclaimed, and in such diverse places, as Professor Bibby. His scholarship has been consistent and compelling. Bibby's work has touched ordinary Canadians in ways that few sociologists have achieved. Today we understand a great deal more about Canadian society because of his important contributions. -- Neil Guppy, Professor of Sociology, University of British Columbia Professor Bibby's data are a national treasure. But his abiding contribution is making that research "talk" to us as Canadians. He is the best-known public sociologist in Canada - a sociological rock star. -- Susan A. McDaniel, Director of the Prentice Institute, University of Lethbridge Reginald Bibby is one of Canada's most talented, prolific, and popular sociologists. While he has achieved elite status in the discipline, he also writes incisively and with flair for the educated public. Bibby is one of the three or four most widely read Canadian sociologists ever. -- Robert Brym, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto

An unmatched, up-to-date reading of religious and non-religious inclinations in Canada, accompanied by an examination of the consequences of such choices for Canadians and their way of life.

Are Canadians becoming less religious? After playing a central role in our lives for nearly a century, religion did seem to be losing its salience in Canada. Many observers saw this trend as inevitable, reflecting secularization patterns seen elsewhere in the Western world. But there is more to the story.

Reginald Bibby’s Resilient Gods takes an in-depth look at the religious landscape in Canada today. Pulling together extensive data, he finds that a solid core of some 30 percent continue to embrace religion, while a similar proportion is rejecting it. The remaining 40 percent are somewhere in the middle. The picture that emerges is not one of religious decline but rather of religious polarization, with the numbers of “pro-religious,” “no religious,” and “low religious” in flux. Such proclivities are influenced by social and cultural factors, one being increased immigration, which is ensuring the viability of a pro-religious core.

The gods are here to stay, Bibby argues, but so what? Using the most current information available, including unique national survey data, he explores the implications of pro-religious, no-religious, and low-religious choices for personal and social well-being, spirituality, and attitudes towards death. The questions he asks are compelling and the answers thought-provoking whether one embraces the gods or not.