Lifeway releases new study on the religious beliefs of Canadians

Lifeway Research on Tuesday posted the results of a new study on the state of theology in Canada. The survey collected over 3,000 Canadians’ responses to questions in six major categories. Those categories included their beliefs about God, goodness and sin, salvation and religious texts, judgment and punishment, the church, and authority. The study was intended to assess what people in Canada really believe about God and religion.

Ligonier Ministries sponsored the study and said it identified specific doctrines and heresies for the study to detect and quantify. Ligonier expressed its desire to identify errors trending in religious beliefs and combat them with sound doctrine. The data was collected in October 2025 and Ligonier ultimately refined it into more precise findings related to evangelicals.

Respondents read statements and selected whether they strongly agreed, somewhat agreed, somewhat disagreed, strongly disagreed, or were not sure about the statements. One such statement was, “God is unchanging.” Another was, “Abortion is a sin.” Lifeway says it created a demographically balanced group of respondents that included Christians and non-Christians from different regions, religions, ethnicities, incomes, and age groups.

What did respondents say about Biblical authority? Many respondents didn’t believe in the authority or accuracy of the Bible. Only 34% of respondents said the Bible has authority to tell people how to live, and 56% of the group said Jesus was a great teacher, but not God. The majority, 54%, said the Bible has helpful accounts of ancient myths but isn’t actually true. Those respondents equated the Bible with other spiritual texts. A slight majority also said religious beliefs aren’t about objective truth. Many respondents, 63%, even said they believed God accepts the worship of all religions, with only 20% disagreeing.

What did respondents say about involvement in church? The majority of respondents said Christians don’t have an obligation to regularly attend or join a local church. Others, 61%, said worshipping alone in one’s home or with family is a valid replacement for attending church.

What did respondents say about cultural and social issues?Approximately 57% of respondents said sex outside of marriage is not a sin. Additionally, 50% thought the Bible’s condemnation of homosexual behavior doesn’t apply today, and 55% said abortion is not a sin.