Going, Going, Gone: The Impact of Geographical Mobility on Religious Involvement

Abstract

Geographical movement has important implications for organized religion. As people move from place to place, they create a revolving door situation for religious groups. Congregations and denominations gain members and lose them in accordance with the participation inclinations of geographically-mobile individuals. Some retain denominational ties; some switch; some drop out. Despite the frequency and importance of residential movement, limited research on the mobility-involvement issue has been carried out to date, with most studies focusing on the themes of immigration and migration. In this paper, the author looks at the question in the Canadian setting, drawing upon national survey data for 1990. The extent of residential and provincial movement since 1980 is examined, with the relationship between religious involvement, mobility, and a number of additional pertinent variables explored. Seven variables, including residential mobility, emerge as the most salient, and are assembled in a causal model to examine their direct and indirect effects on participation. Residential mobility is found to have a noteworthy total effect, partly because of its indirect influence through age. The relative importance of residential mobility as a determinant of involvement is discussed, along with region of destination, religious identification, and childhood socialization. The paper concludes with reflections on the implications of the findings for religious involvement and religious organizations.