This section is meant to provide the following types of resources: descriptions of our current reality (as congregations, as a denomination, or of our society's culture), tools for discerning the current reality of your congregation, book reviews on these topics, as well as a place to share your experiences. This area is broadly known as "Congregational Studies".

Membership Decline in the Presbyterian Church in Canada  This is the first report of the study group which was presented to the General Assembly in 2000. The written report, as well as a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation of it are available here.

2000 PCC Demographic Study.   This is the second study into membership decline. This study  considers the makeup of our membership (in 2000) and what we may look like 20 years from now. This report was presented to the General Assembly in June of 2001. This is a PowerPoint presentation.

Patterns of Religious Attendance.   This is an article from Statistic Canada's Winter 2000 volume of their journal Canadian Social Trends. It looks at the decline in worship attendance in Canada from 1988 to 1998.  It looks specifically at trends relative to demographics, location, marital and family status, and so on. An excellent summary of the observations but sadly very short on analysis as to why this decline is happening. This is an important read for anyone interested in the future of the Church in Canada. The article is in a PDF format requiring an Adobe Acrobat reader.

Who's Religious?  From Statistics Canada Summer 2006 volume of Canadian Social Trends.  It highlights Canadian identification with various religions and its importance to people.

The Christian Commitment Research Institute. This Canadian Institute is committed to exploring and encouraging Christian commitment through the understanding and awareness of the nature, causes and consequences of Christian commitment in Canada.  Their "exploring" is carried out by means of research, often taken from the work of Statistics Canada.  There are many fine studies at this site. Visit and explore!

Restless Gods: The Renaissance of Religion in Canada, by Dr. Reginald Bibby.  Here is a review of Bibby's 2002 book, written by Rev. Dr. Stuart Macdonald, Associate Professor of Church and Society at Knox College, Toronto.

2001 Canadian Census: Religion in Canada. Find here the general report from Statistics Canada on the shifting religious scene in Canada.

Organizational Behaviour 101:  (Posted 1 November 2006)  This is a PowerPoint presentation that provides a simple overview of the factors that cause congregations to feel a pressure to change. . It can help you appreciate that the basic issue for churches is the same for all types of organizations... thus the title. It is available as a downloadable presentation as well as being viewable on this site.

Peter's Top 11 List: (Posted 1 November 2006)  This is a nine page PDF file that describes the top 11 societal shifts which have (IMHO) had the greatest effect on the Mainline Church in North America. It summarizes each shift, the reasons for the cultural change and the impact this shift had had on the Church.

Our Declining Sunday Schools: (Posted 1 November 2006).  This short report was presented to the 2006 General Assembly. It talks about some of the reasons for the overall decline in our denomination and some ways to address the issue.

Hartford Institute for Religion Research: (Posted 1 November 2006). This is the most comprehensive website I know of for gathering in one place research from the fields of Congregational Studies and Sociology of Religion. Visit and cruise away! The real way into its vast collection of materials is the colour-coded index at the top left-hand corner of the page.  Despite the focus on the U.S.A., there are many gems here that pertain well to Canada.