Ottawa, Canada - The number of interreligious couples is on the rise in Canada alongside the nation's increasing cultural diversity, according to findings released Tuesday.
But most of these unions still consist of partners from the same broad religious affiliation group, Statistics Canada reported.
The study, which is based on census data found that in 2001, 19 per cent of couples were in an interreligious union, either marriage or common-law.
Twenty years earlier, 15 per cent of couples were in an interreligious union.
Of the 14.1 million Canadians in couples, nearly 2.7 million were in a union with a partner from a religious group different than their own.
"Not surprisingly, over half of these unions were between Catholics and Protestants, the two largest broad religious groups in Canada," the government agency said in the report.
"The 1.3 million people in Catholic/Protestant unions represented 9.6 per cent of all people in couples in 2001, up from 8.6 per cent in 1981."
But unions between Catholics and Protestants were not evenly dispersed through Canada.
For example, in the province of Quebec -- where 83 per cent of the population was Catholic in 2001 and only 5 per cent Protestant -- just 2 per cent of Catholics in couples were in unions with Protestants.
In Ontario, where there were nearly equal numbers of the two religious groups, 18 per cent of Catholics in couples were in unions with Protestants.
"The study found that the likelihood of an interreligious union was associated with where you lived, how homogeneous the religious mix of your community was, how religious you were, how traditional the doctrine of your religion was, and how long you had been in Canada," the report said.
Those who lived in religiously homogeneous communities were less likely to be in interreligious unions.
It was also less probable that immigrants, older individuals, and people who were highly religious part of an interreligious couple.
Furthermore, StatsCan found that interreligious unions were less likely for immigrants who cited Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism as their religion in 2001 than in 1981.
They were more likely to feel a strong cultural attachment with the marital traditions of the country they came from, Statistics Canada reported.
Muslims who were in interreligious couples were most likely to be with Catholics, unions which made up 4 per cent of Muslims in couples.
Buddhists were more likely to be in interreligious unions than Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus, the government agency found.
The study also found that interreligious unions had become more widespread among Jewish individuals in couples.
About 17 per cent were in such unions in 2001, nearly twice the proportion of 9 per cent who were in interreligious couples two decades earlier.