page_title: English Canadians
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: English Canadians / Culture / Religion
caption_attribution_description: Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton, New Brunswick (2005)
context_page_description: English Canadians, or Anglo-Canadians, refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadians. Canada is an officially bilingual country, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but often retain elements of their original cultures. The term English-speaking Canadian is sometimes used interchangeably with English Canadian.
  Although many English-speaking Canadians have strong historical roots traceable to England or other parts of the British Isles, the population as a whole belongs to a multitude of ethnic backgrounds. They or their ancestors came from various European, Asian, Caribbean, African, Latin American, and Pacific Island cultures, as well as French Canada and North American Aboriginal groups. As such, although the office of the Governor General is said to alternate between "French" and "English" persons, two recent Governors General show that this refers to language and not culture or ethnicity.
context_section_description: The population of the provinces other than Quebec in the 2001 Census is some 22,514,455. It is impossible to know with certainty how many of that number would self-identify as 'English Canadians' under the broadest interpretation of the term. Persons self-identifying with 'English' as their primary ethnic origin as part of the 2001 census - Quebec included - totaled slightly less than 6,000,000 persons. However, many Canadians who identify other ethnic origins for the purpose of the census might identify as 'English Canadian' in the broader sense of 'English-speaking Canadians' and possibly share some cultural affinities with the group identifying itself as 'English Canadian' in the more limited sense.
  Of the total population of the provinces outside Quebec, the following numbers provide an approximation of the two largest religious groupings: *Protestant: 8,329,260; *Roman Catholic: 6,997,190.
  Those claiming no religious affiliation in 2001 numbered 4,586,900.
  For comparison purposes, other religious groups in the provinces other than Quebec in 2001:
  Orthodox Christian: 379,245
  Other Christian:  723,700
  Muslim:  471,620
  Jewish:  340,080
  Hindu:  272,675
  Sikh:  270,185
  Buddhist:  258,965
  In sum, while the single largest religious affiliation of 'English Canadians' - in the Rest of Canada sense of the term - may for convenience be slotted under the different Christian religions called Protestantism, it still represents a minority of the population at less than 37%. So-called 'English Canadians' include a large segment who do not identify as Christian. Even with a clear majority of almost 73%, English Canadian Christians represent a large diversity of beliefs that makes it exceedingly difficult to accurately portray religion as a defining characteristic.
caption: Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton, construction began in 1845
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