The pandemic and public health measures have had an impact on the religious practice of Canadians, in particular on group activities and involvement with religious organizations.

According to Statistics Canada data, released Monday, the rate of participation in group religious activities had already declined in the country in recent decades, from 43% in 1985 to 23% in 2019.

However, this decrease experienced “an acceleration in 2020”, going from 23% to 19%. It is group religious activities and more broadly involvement with religious organizations that have been most impacted by the pandemic.

Thus, within the general population, the percentage of people who participated in a religious activity in a group during the previous year decreased from 47% in 2019 to 40% in 2020.

Participation in at least one religious activity in a group has, for some religions, decreased more than for others. This is the case for Buddhists, going from 74% in 2019 to 50% in 2020, and for Muslims, going from 71% to 57%. This proportion also fell from 60% to 53% among Christian-affiliated groups, from 75% to 67% among Jews, and from 78% to 70% among Hindus.

Moreover, among people who have always used to be involved with a religious organization, 35% said they had reduced the number of hours they devoted to it in 2020.

However, the study reveals that religious or spiritual practice on an individual basis (for example: prayer and meditation) and religious affiliation do not appear to have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.