Authors and Sources


Authors

Religious Adherence (Volume III, Plate 34, Concise Plate 33)
MURDO MacPHERSON Historical Atlas of Canada, Toronto
DOUGLAS CAMPBELL Sociology, University of Toronto

The authors are indebted to Neil Semple for help and advice on the process of church union and the Presbyterian vote on the church union.

Sources

Religious Adherence, 1921 (Map)
Religious Diversity Across Canada, 1921 (Static Map)

  • Canada. Census. 1921. Vol 1. Table 38
  • Newfoundland. Census of Newfoundland. 1921. Pp 502-3

    Religious Diversity in Saskatchewan, 1921 (Map)

  • Canada. Census. 1921. Vol 1. Table 38

    Presbyterian Vote on Church Union, 1924-1925 (Map)

    Prior to union there were 174 Congregationalist, 4 797 Methodist, and 4 512 Presbyterian congregations. Union brought 8 691 of these congregations into the United Church, with 8 Congregationalist and 784 Presbyterian congregations not taking part in union (the continuing Presbyterians claimed that 814 congregations did not take part).
    The presbytery boundaries shown on the map are generalized and are based on the pastoral charges or mission fields within each presbytery.
  • United Church Archives. 'The Act and Proceeding of the 51st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.' 1925
  • United Church Archives. Church Union Collection. Box 8-13, 'Presbyterian Church.' Box 27, files 625-6, and Box 28, files 634-5, 'Bureau of Literature and Information'

    The Road to Church Union, 1758-1931 (Graph)

    To approximate the number of adherents in each church both census figures and the annual reports of each church were used. For Methodist and Congregational churches differences in figures between the two sources was relatively minor, but for Presbyterian churches the differences were sufficiently great that Synod General Assembly figures have been factored upwards to achieve greater comparability with the census For all Presbyterian churches prior to 1869 the annual Minute of the Synod were used.
    For the Presbyterian Church of Canada (Church of Scotland) the Minutes were succeeded in 1870-4 by the General Assembly, Acts and Proceedings. For the Presbyterian Church in Canada the Acts ami Proceedings of the General Assembly from 1875 to 1926 were used.
    For the Methodist Church and the Methodist Church of Canada the annual Journal of the General Conference (1884-1925 and 1874-83 respectively) was used. For all other Methodist churches the Minutes of the Annual Conference were used. For all Congregational churches The Canadian Congregational Year Book {annually 1871/2-1925) was used.
  • Canada. Census. 1850-1: Vol 1, App 2, 4. 1860-1: Vol 1, App 3, 4. 1870-1: Vol i. Table n. 1880-1: Vol 1, Table 11. 1891: Vol 1i, Table 1V. 1901: Vol 1, Table V111. 1911: Vol 2, Table III. 1921: Vol I. Table 34. 1931: Vol 2, Table 38
  • United Church Archives. Chart prepared by Rev. W.T. Gunn. 'Union of Churches in Canada leading toward The United Church.' In Research Tool 15: United Church of Canada. This chart, while visually useful, contains inaccuracies. The United Church of Canada. Year Book. 1926

    Religious Diversity in Canada: 1891, 1921, 1931, 1961 (Graph)

  • Leacy. Historical Statistics. Series A164-84

    Further Readings

  • Grant, J.W. The Canadian Experience of Church Union. London: Lutterworth Press, 1967
  • Grant, J.W. The Church in the Canadian Era: The First Century of Confederation. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1972
  • Silcox, Claris Edwin. Church Union in Canada: Its Causes and Consequences. New York: Institute of Social and Religious Research, 1933