Kelowna Has a Large Non-Religious Population

Did you know that since 2021 Kelowna residents are comprised of more atheist or secular oriented residents than religious residents. At least that is according to the 2021 Statistics Canada’s Census. Many people have believed that since Kelowna was previously comprised of a majority of religious residents, then it had remained that way.

Census data from Statistics Canada shows that there is now a growing non-religious population in Kelowna

Go HERE to find the complete compilation data and links that we have created from four decades of census data.

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We are the Kelowna Atheists Skeptics and Humanists Association, an Okanagan Valley community group focused on promoting secular, scientific and humanist values.

The following is an introduction to our organization, intended to provide a broad sense of who we are and what we do.

ATHEISTS

We are atheists…non-believers. An atheist is someone who sees no evidence for and does not accept the proposition that any god exists.

SKEPTICS

We are skeptics. Skepticism involves applying a questioning attitude or doubt towards ideas or “facts” that are asserted. It is basically choosing to not accept ideas or information at face value, especially when that information is extraordinary or important on a personal or societal level.

HUMANISTS

We are humanists. Humanism is a world view which affirms that people have a right to give meaning to their own lives, and a responsibility to participate in the building of healthy, mutually supportive communities and societies. Humanism is an ethical approach to life focused on human rights, social justice and environmental responsibility.

Our Values

Religion:

We believe religious dogma promotes irrational belief and threatens some of the core values of our secular society. We support these two principles related to religious belief in Canada:

– Every person has the right to be religious (freedom of religion).

– Religions should not be allowed to impose theistic-belief-based values on individuals, communities or societies (freedom from religion).

Science:

We value the critical thinking process required by science as the only process that has consistently provided us with fact and evidence based truth about our world. 

Social Justice:

We embrace the social justice values of liberal democracy in building a society based on political responsibility, the rule of law, tolerance and empathy, where everyone has the opportunity to pursue their life goals.

Critical Thinking:

We value critical thinking as an indispensable life skill. Critical thinking is the rational, skeptical, unbiased evaluation of facts to form a judgment. The defining words there are rational, skeptical and unbiased. The opposite of critical thinking would be to evaluate facts irrationally, gullibly and in a biased way. Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking.

Education:

We believe our public education system is critical to the future of our society. As a secular nation, home to people from diverse ethnic, cultural and religious-belief backgrounds, we should not favour or publicly fund any form of religious education. Nor should we allow religious dogma, beliefs or values to influence the content or quality of public education.

Respect for Gender Identity and Sexual Diversity:

We recognize and celebrate the wide range of gender identity and sexual diversity in Canadian Society.

Respect for Canada’s first people:

We support Canada’s First Nations and Indigenous People in their efforts to seek redress for historic and ongoing injustices in Canadian society.

Environmental Responsibility:

We embrace the reality that we live in a complex interdependent natural world that has been and is increasingly impacted and diminished by human activity. For our benefit, and the benefit of future generations we have a responsibility to make every effort to ensure the health of the natural environment, on a local and global scale.