Buddhists worship at a temple in Vancouver. In 2011, 2.4 million Canadians were Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist.
(Photo: Sue Careless)

Muslim, Hindu, Sikh & Buddhist populations growing

(Staff)  NEARLY ONE in four Canadians claim to have no religious affiliation. Almost one quarter of the Canadian population (23.9 per cent) or 7.8 million do not belong to any particular religion. The percentage of people who do not align themselves  with an organized system of belief has nearly

(Staff)  WHILE ONE in four Canadians have no religious affiliation and even many of those who do attend places of worship do so infrequently, a major new study reveals that regular attendance at religious services lowers rates of depression significantly.

The study tracked more than 12,000 Canadians over a period of 14 years and found that regular attendance at religious services offers significant protection against depression.

The study found that people who identify themselves as spiritual, but who do not attend religious services, did not experience any

Peter Fenty

(Photo: www.toronto.anglican.ca)

PETER FENTY has been elected the new suffragan bishop of Toronto succeeding George Elliott, the area bishop of York-Simcoe, who retired in April. When he is consecrated on June 22 in St James Cathedral in Toronto, Fenty will become the first bishop of African descent

(Photo: Sue Careless)

Staff) THE REV. Dr George Westhaver, Rector of St George’s in Halifax, has been appointed Principal of Pusey House in Oxford, England, effective Aug. 1^st. 

According to Westhaver, “Pusey House was founded to promote theological study and to encourage holiness of life, a combination which represents in a large part Dr E.B. Pusey’s contribution both to the Oxford Movement and to the Church of England in the 19th century.”

Pusey House is neither a seminary nor a graduate school, although traditionally

THE FORMER Executive Archdeacon of Brandon appeared before a Manitoba court yesterday to answer charges that he had embezzled approximately $190,000 from diocesan coffers.

The Ven. Noah James Bernard Njegovan, 30, was arraigned on charges of having committed a fraud of over $5,000 while serving as executive archdeacon of the diocese and

FOLLOWING TWO YEARS of promises and planning by the Conservative government, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has established Canada’s new Office of Religious Freedom. The announcement was made Feb. 18 in the immigrant-dense neighbourhood of Vaughan, north of Toronto, in a mosque and community centre run by Ahmadiyya Muslims – a minority group facing religious persecution in Pakistan.

The venue was a fitting one as the Office’s development had been spurred on by the 2011 assassination of Pakistan’s minister for minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, by extremists in Islamabad. Bhatti, a Christian, had, just

Over 130 of these federally-mandated residential schools for aboriginal people were

Earlier on the day of the fire, the staff had held an important strategy meeting and had concluded it by praying, “Lord, in the coming year, let whatever happens, happen!” Then at dinner time an accidental fire

Elliot Rossiter

LAST YEAR the Ottawa Branch of the Prayer Book Society of Canada sponsored a national essay contest in celebration of the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and of the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Canadian Prayer Book, in order to raise interest in the BCP amongst young adults. Contestants had to be between the ages of 17 and 30. The essay topic was “The relevance of the Book of Common Prayer in the 21st Century.” Three prizes were awarded,