Ashburton is the most Christian place in Canterbury, while Lyttelton is one of the least religious, according to new census data.
Growing Filipino and Pacific Island communities have swelled congregations in the Mid-Canterbury town, which has the biggest proportion of Christian people in the district.
About 71 per cent of the 1500 people that live in three central Ashburton areas identified themselves as Christian in the 2013 census.
At the other end of the scale, about 58 per cent of the 2600 people in Lyttelton who answered the question said they had no religion – one of the highest levels in Canterbury.
Ashburton, which has a population of about 30,000 people, has seven churches clustered around the main highway.
Rev Geoff Gray, of the St Augustine of Canterbury parish, said his congregation had grown by about 200 in the last few years. Continue reading