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Exploring Religion and Diversity in Canada pp 237–254Cite as

Atheism and Religious Nones: An Introduction to the Study of Nonreligion in Canada

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Abstract

Atheism is, arguably, as old as theism, yet the sociological study of atheism is relatively new, coinciding with an increase of those who report not having a religion. The study of atheism and “religious nones” is particularly new in Canada, of which religious nones are considered the fastest growing “religion”, according to Statistics Canada. This chapter presents an introduction to the study of atheism and “religious nones” in Canada. It provides context by using two historical cases (the use of blasphemy law in 1901; an immigration case from 1965) as a means of deducing popular opinion about atheists, before shifting to the contemporary with an example of ethnographic research in this area. This is followed by a discussion of key concepts, statistics, questions for reflection, current challenges, future avenues for research, and a list of online resources and references for further reading.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, CA, Canada

    Steven Tomlins

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  1. Steven Tomlins
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Correspondence to Steven Tomlins .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology Department, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

    Catherine Holtmann

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Tomlins, S. (2018). Atheism and Religious Nones: An Introduction to the Study of Nonreligion in Canada. In: Holtmann, C. (eds) Exploring Religion and Diversity in Canada. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78232-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78232-4_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-78231-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-78232-4

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