Recent Migration of Christians

The distribution of religions continues to be altered in modern times by migration. Although most people do not migrate primarily for religious reasons, when they do migrate, they take their religion with them.

The religious composition of international migrants does not match the overall share of adherents of various religions. Christians comprise only one-third of the world’s population but account for one-half of the world’s international migrants. Muslims and Jews also comprise higher percentages of the world’s migrants than their shares of the world’s population. Buddhists, Hindus, folk religionists, and unaffiliated people are less likely to migrate

Religion of International Migrants, 2010

Figures are in millions of people. Christians comprise less than one- third of the world’s population but around one-half of international migrants.

Jews are much more likely to migrate internationally than their share of the world’s population would suggest. Around 25 percent of all Jews have migrated from one country to another at some point in their lives. In comparison, only 3 percent of all people alive today have migrated internationally. Among the more numerous religious groups, around 5 percent of all Christians and 4 percent of all Muslims have migrated, compared to only 1 or 2 percent of other religious groups

Percentage of People Alive Today Who Have Migrated

Migration Patterns of Christians

The destinations of international migrants who are Christian do not match the distribution of Christians. North America is home to 12 percent of the world’s Christians but is the destination for 34 percent of migrating Christians, including 30 percent entering the United States and 4 percent entering Canada. Europe is home to 26 percent of the world’s Christians but is the destination for 38 percent of migrating Christians. On the other hand, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa attract relatively few Christian migrants compared to the share of the world’s Christians living in those two regions. The largest migration flows of Christians are in and out of Russia and into the United States

Origin and Destination of Christian Migrants by Region

Migration of Christians by largest flows

Immigration of Christians to North America

Most immigrants to the United States are Christians. In 2012, approximately 61 percent of immigrants were Christian, according to Pew. Muslims comprised 10 percent of immigrants, Hindus 7 percent, Buddhists 6 percent, other religions 3 percent, and unaffiliated 14 percent. Unauthorized immigrants were 83 percent Christian, 7 percent other religions, and 9 percent unaffiliated.

The percentage of immigrants to the United States who are Christians declined from 68 percent in 1992 to 61 percent in 2012. The decline has been offset by increases in the percentage who are Muslims and Hindus. Similarly, the percentage of Christian immigrants to Canada declined from 88 percent in 1971 to 66 percent in 2011. Most of the increase has been in people unaffiliated with religions

Most Numerous christian branches in Canada

Canada (except Québec) and the United States have Protestant majorities because their early colonists came primarily from Protestant England. Some regions and localities within the United States and Canada are predominantly Roman Catholic because of immigration from Roman Catholic countries. Immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries has concentrated Roman Catholics in the southwest, whereas French settlement from the seventeenth century as well as recent immigration has produced a predominantly Roman Catholic Québec. Similarly, geographers trace the distribution of other Christian denominations within the United States to the fact that migrants came from different parts of Europe, especially during the nineteenth century.

The distribution of Christian branches in Canada is also a function of migration. Roman Catholics form a majority in Québec, a legacy of its settlement by French migrants in the seventeenth century. Protestants form a majority in other provinces, especially as a result of westward migration from Ontario.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, popularly known as Mormons, is an example of a Christian faith that originated in the United States. The group settled at Fayette, New York, near the hometown of their founder Joseph Smith. During Smith’s life, the group moved several times in search of religious freedom. Eventually, under the leadership of Brigham Young, they migrated to then sparsely inhabited Salt Lake Valley in the present-day state of Utah.

Diffusion of Mormons across the US

Pause & Reflect 6.2.4

Based on religious preference, which two provinces of Canada appear to have the largest number of migrants from Québec?