Religion
Religion in British Columbia, and in Canada as a whole for Chinese Canadians is not in the majority. As British Columbia holds about 350 000 Chinese Canadians (Statistics Canada 1), which is over 35% of the total Chinese Canadian population as of 2001, it would be expected that a majority of Chinese Canadians would be affiliated with a religion. However, a general poll taken by Statistics Canada on Religious Affiliations in Chinese Canadians proved that over half of Chinese Canadians, about 56% total are not affiliated with a distinct religion (It is undecided on if atheism, the belief that there is no God, is considered a religious group or not). The polls results proved similar with Chinese Canadians in British Columbia. A noteworthy vote in the poll shows that only 14% of Chinese Canadians are affiliated with Buddhism, one of the 3 religions that vastly shaped Chinese culture. Catholics also take up 14% in the Chinese Canadian poll and about 9% belong to a Protestant religious group. This is a major influential factor in Chinese Canadian immigration and cultural diversity as all religions are "free" to worship whom they choose in British Columbia and Canada as a whole (The Chinese Community in Canada 1).