An Investigation into the Swiftness and Intensity of Recent Secularization in Canada: Was Berger Right?

Measuring religious polarization: Application with American and Canadian data

“…The very religious, on the other hand, are most likely to reside in East South Central and West South Central states. Overall, the United States appear more religious than Canada, as previously known (Hay, 2014; Reimer, 2017; Wilkins-Laflamme, 2014). Additionally, the regional discrepancies in the United States seem to be slighter than those observed in Canada.…”

“…Wilkins-Laflamme (2016a), analysing British data from 1991, 1998 and 2008, found mounting differences in the degree of religious commitment and attitude towards public religion, between the growing segment of the unaffiliated and the more stable portion of the highly religious. For Canada, the stabilization of the number of regular churchgoers has been reported by various scholars (Bibby, 2004; Bowen, 2004), in the face of sharp drops in average religious attendance rates (Eagle, 2011a; Hay, 2014). This pattern means that while the steady churchgoers continue to attend regularly, the sporadic churchgoers generally reduce the frequency of their attendance.…”

Trans‐Congregational Triadic Closure: Churchgoers’ Networks Within and Beyond the Pews

“…The theory stipulates that urbanization results in the growing autonomy and disconnection between the various institutions that meet human needs—that is, a social differentiation at the level of institutions. To the extent that social differentiation is a harbinger of secularization (Hay ), our findings imply that secularizing (urban) contexts will be ones of increasing segmentation between church relationships and the other ties in believers’ close networks. Urban adults, in general, are most likely to have far‐flung social ties spanning different social groups and not connected one to another (Fischer ).…”

“…In addition to religious tradition, TCTC is also likely shaped by various contextual factors operating at distinct geographical levels. Several theorists argue that urbanization is a socio‐spatial manifestation of social differentiation—the growing modern distinction between various (and autonomous) spheres of social life such as church, education, and economic activity (see Hay ). Urban areas, this argument suggests, have pushed religious institutions further from the other bases of activity that generate people's network structure (i.e., foci).…”

“…Again, less compatibility between foci means a lower likelihood of triadic closure between the people attached to these discrete foci. Small towns and rural areas, on the other hand, enable a tighter integration between congregational life and other spheres of activity because their socio‐spatial organization is more akin to a traditional community than to a fully modern, rationalized, and bureaucratic society (Hay ; see also Ellison and Sherkat ; Wilson ). This brings us to our second hypothesis: H2 : Likelihood of TCTC is lower for churchgoers who live in more populated areas . …”