Residential Patterns among Religious Groups in Canadian Cities

Abstract

This study, based on 2001 Canadian census data for 16 census metropolitan areas, explores residential segregation among eight religious groups. We include nonChristian religious groups to reflect the emerging religious diversity of Canadian society. Our study provides the first comprehensive comparison of the residential patterns of people affiliated with major religious groups in Canada. We argue that each religion is associated with unique sets of religious institutional behaviors, which in turn shape each religious group's relationships with other religious groups. In this study, we identify four religious institutional behaviors that can affect the residential segregation of various religious groups: institutional orientation of religious community services, subcultural identity, religious identity, and discrimination. The findings indicate that these religious institutional behaviors are related to the residential segregation patterns of different religious groups.

Mnemonic Institutions and Residential Clustering: Jewish Residential Patterns in Toronto

“…We also include proportions of other religious groups to control for Jewish residential concentration that may result from residential avoidance between religious groups. For example, Fong and Chan () showed that other religious groups, including Jews, may hesitate to share neighborhoods with Muslims.…”

“…Rather than resolve the extent to which these institutional processes may be mutually exclusive, our analysis centers on the association between mnemonic institutions and Jewish residential clustering in light of the institutions’ underutilization and the widespread integration of Jews into the political and economic mainstream of Canadian society. Despite their collective economic achievement, civic participation, and political efficacy, research shows that Jews have among the highest levels of residential segregation in Canada (Fong and Chan ). Contrary to the literature on residential patterns, the socioeconomic and civic achievements of Jews do not seem to lead to lower levels of residential clustering.…”

“…THE RESIDENTIAL PATTERNS of racial, ethnic, and religious groups have been of long‐standing interest to social science (Blanchard ; Fong and Chan ; Fong and Shibuya ; Iceland ; Massey and Denton ; Peach and Gale ). The typical analysis, strongly influenced by the Chicago ecological approach, focuses on how current socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of groups shape their residential patterns (Alba and Logan ; Charles ; Clark ).…”

Neighborhood Dynamics with Unharmonized Longitudinal Data

“…We consider a region that corresponds approximately to the administrative border of the current city of Toronto, using all seven available aspects with equal weights. While Chicago was fairly stable, Toronto is known to be a more dynamic and diverse city, with significant and increasing immigrant population (Hulchanski et al 2010; Fong and Chan 2011), especially Asian (Fong and Wilkes 2003). Toronto is also known for a stable and well‐defined Jewish community (Fong and Chan 2011; Harold and Fong 2018).…”

“…While Chicago was fairly stable, Toronto is known to be a more dynamic and diverse city, with significant and increasing immigrant population (Hulchanski et al 2010; Fong and Chan 2011), especially Asian (Fong and Wilkes 2003). Toronto is also known for a stable and well‐defined Jewish community (Fong and Chan 2011; Harold and Fong 2018). Therefore, we expect a combination of stable and dynamic regions on the results, with Place of Birth, Home Language, and Religion identified as relevant aspects.…”