Recent census statistics show that more than 18 per cent of teenagers 15 to 19 years old say they have "no religion." In 1981, that figure was under seven per cent. Teens are part of a larger social trend -- the overall number of Canadians who don't identify themselves with a religion has also increased in the last 20 years, from 7.3 per cent in 1981 to 16.2 per cent in 2001.
But the trend is concentrated more heavily among younger Canadians, says Reginald Bibby, a professor of sociology at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta.
A majority of teens are still connected to a religion of some sort, census figures suggest. The traditional Canadian faiths of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism still represent the lion's share of young people, at 42 and 27 per cent of the population respectively. But these numbers have dropped from the 1981 levels of 50 and 38 per cent.
However, the number of teens who say they are "Christian" without specifying if they are Catholic, Protestant or Christian Orthodox has jumped. More than 66,000 teens 15 to 19 fall into this category, one of the largest percentage increases among all major religious groups.
The numbers of young Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists are also growing, largely because of immigration.
Bibby thinks that many of those who say they have no religion are people whose parents identified with the Protestant or Catholic faiths. As they get older, these people will rejoin their faith, he says. Coming back to religion "seems to be directly tied with getting older, having children and needing the rites of passage carried out. Then they tend to revert back to the religion of their parents."
Father Pat O'Dea, executive director and pastor at the Newman Centre Catholic Mission at the University of Toronto, says many young people take time off from organized religion.
"It's often a time when people need to search. Young people are often looking for meaning," says O'Dea, who added that before he became a priest he left the Church for some time and then found his way back.
"It's not only a time when people want to know 'What is God,' they also want answers to 'Who am I?' "
O'Dea says society should look at such searches as evidence of courage, to be supported, not negated. He also feels it's the Church's role not so much to draw in new members, but to concentrate on those who already attend and make youth feel not so far removed from religion.
"There are a lot of distractions for young people today and it's a great challenge to make faith meaningful.''
Mike Hauser, director of youth ministries at Orangeville Baptist Church, has taken up the challenge. Hauser runs two programs, for younger kids and teens, at his church northwest of Toronto. One of his goals is to reach out to kids who aren't Christian "so they can see we are normal people."
Hauser, 24, understands the reluctance that non-church-goers may feel. He became a Christian at age 14 when some friends dragged him along to church activities.
"I was shocked that it wasn't just a place for dopes and losers."
It's not easy reaching out to today's teens, says Hauser, because they "see the greyness of life" and don't accept black-and-white, simplistic answers. They want to talk and be heard on spiritual issues, but not preached to.
His church's weekly youth meetings focus on a specific issue and try to provide teens with tips on how to make sure their actions reflect their religious beliefs.
Social events, such as movie and sports nights, are also held as a way for the church's teens to introduce their non-Christian friends to the faith.
Although Canada's mainstream churches are struggling to hold onto their members, new waves of immigrants have caused large increases in the numbers of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. In 1981, there were fewer than 7,000 Muslims aged 15 to 19 in Canada. Today, that number has swelled to about 50,000. Members of these religions also tend to be younger than the traditional Protestant faiths.
While these religions are growing, Bibby points out that they still represent small numbers. And if these teens want to marry within their faith, they will have to pick mates from a small number of people.
"For all the efforts of parents and all the taboos on inter-faith marriages, kids from these religions can choose from maybe three per cent of the population, while Catholic kids have close to 50 per cent of the population.
"They will probably end up marrying outside their religion."
Religious vocations have also had a hard time attracting new recruits. Most of Canada's Roman Catholic nuns are senior citizens. This has resulted in a fairly dramatic downsizing, as nuns die of old age and are not replaced by younger women.
In 1985 there were nearly 35,000 Catholic nuns in Canada, but by 2002, there were fewer than 22,000. Declining membership means that instead of a dozen or so nuns living together in the same house and working on social justice projects, "maybe it's going to be one, two or three women and they are going to have to collaborate (with lay people)," says Sister Susan Kidd, the Toronto-based vocation director for one of Canada's largest women's congregations.
Despite the "depressing" statistics, Kidd says she's seen an increased interest among young women who want to learn more about possibilities within the church.
They're not necessarily joining up, but they are asking for information, she says, adding that the Catholic-sponsored World Youth Day, held in Toronto last summer, seemed to generate more interest.
