Media misses the story, Canadians  who attend religious services say

Media misses the story

65% of regular attenders say the media does a poor job of covering faith and religion: Angus Reid poll The results of this survey were presented to the Faith and the Media Conference by Andrew Grenville of Angus Reid. This first-ever probe of the public's views on media coverage of faith in Canada was conducted by Angus Reid for the June 7-9 Faith and the Media Conference. To obtain the results, telephone calls were made between May 12th and May 17th, 1998 to a representative cross-section of 1,516 adult Canadians. The data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's age composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census. With a national sample of 1,516, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within +/-2.5 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within the various sub-groupings of the survey population. (The phrase "Canadians who attend religious services" refers to Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and all others who attend religious services. Over 95% of all Canadians who attend religious services weekly identify themselves as Christians.)

Two thirds (65%) of Canadians who attend religious services weekly feel "the media does a poor job of covering faith and religion and that this area does not get the kind of media coverage it should."

Further, 55% of Canadians who attend religious services weekly feel faith and religious issues receive less coverage than they should, while just 12% feel the same about business news and analysis.

This view declines with decreased frequency of attendance at religious services. Among those who attend services once a month or so, 46% feel the media does a poor job, as do 34% of occasional attenders and one quarter (24%) of those who never attend.

Women (45%) are more likely than men (35%) to feel the media does a poor job of covering faith and religion. Those from Quebec (62%) and British Columbia (59%) are more likely to feel the media does a good job of reporting on faith.

One third (36%) of all Canadians (and 55% of weekly churchgoers) feel that faith and religious issues receive less media coverage than they should

The poll also found that a majority of Canadians say that religion is an important part of their lives. Six in ten Canadians (60%) say religion is an important part of their lives, with most of these (62%) saying it provides a great deal or quite a bit of guidance in their day-to-day lives. Seven in ten (71%) Canadians attend religious services at least once a year, with one in five (22%) attending once a week or more and an additional 18% at least once a month.

Women (68%), those age 55+ (70%) and those without a high school diploma (68%) are more likely to report religion is an important part of their lives. British Columbians (42%) and Quebecers (55%), meanwhile, are less likely to report religion is important to them.

Weekly churchgoers are more likely to be Atlantic Canadians (35%), age 55 + (34%), women (29%) and have less than a complete high school education (29%). Quebecers (15%) and British Columbians (17%) are least likely to attend religious services weekly.

For more information on this poll, visit the Angus Reid web site, featuring complete tables and charts.

Andrew Grenville is Senior Vice-President for the Global Research division of the Angus Reid Group. In 1993 he was asked to answer the seeming simple question: "How many evangelicals are there in Canada?" He took the bait and was hooked. Since that time he has directed numerous probes into the depth, nature and effect of faith in Canada, the U.S. and 30 other countries around the world, often in collaboration with scholars such as the late George Rawlyk, Don Posterski, Mark Noll, David Lyon and John Green. When the media do get around to reporting on faith in Canada, they sometimes call him.

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