Fewer Canadians identify themselves as religious

Toronto — A growing number of Canadians do not identify themselves as religious, according to Census figures released this month.

Statistics Canada said results from the 2001 national head count showed 16 percent of Canadians were secular, up from 12 percent in 1990.

That means 4.8 million people consider themselves without a faith, roughly the same number of Canadians who identify themselves as followers of the Anglican Church and the United Church of Canada combined. The United Church is a union of Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational and other faiths.

“It may be that they don’t attend (church). It may be that they are atheists or agnostics and don’t want to write that down,” said Jane Badets, an analyst with Statistics Canada.

Almost 40 percent of those with no religion were age 24 or younger, the statistics agency said.

Survey: Ordination age increases for priests

Washington — The average age of ordination to the Roman Catholic priesthood has risen and the percentage of foreign-born among the newly ordained has also increased, a new survey has found.

A study of the 2003 ordination class found the average age jumped from 34.8 to 36.8 in the last five years, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, whose Vocations Office commissioned the report. About 10 percent of the men were age 50 or older.

Over the same period, the share of new priests from other countries rose from 24 percent to 28 percent, with the greatest percentage coming from Vietnam and Mexico, according to the May 1 report.

Mormon president dedicates historic site

Salt Lake City — Historic Kirtland, the Ohio site that served as headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1831 to 1838, has been restored and opened for public tours.

The site includes a wood-frame schoolhouse, a pioneer home, stocked store, inn, water-powered sawmill and an operating ashery for making potash.

“As I sat in this beautiful chapel, in this place sanctified by sacrifice by those who stopped here for a season, I thought of the miracle that came to pass,” Church President Gordon B. Hinckley said at a dedication ceremony Sunday for the restored village. “Those who walked these roads could not have dreamed of the marvelous expansion of this great work.”

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jeanette Bradley presented Hinckley with a historical marker for the restored Kirtland village as part of the state’s bicentennial celebration.

“Although it has great religious value to members of the church, it has great historic value to Ohio,” Bradley said.