Ian M. Williams

Religion is an integral component of identity for many people and often, attendance at a place of worship associated will help create and maintain community tics. Places of worship have thus long been considered focal points in neighbourhoods, where belonging to a given religion will draw community members to the area. This study explores the expected spatial pattern that Muslim and Jewish religious groups will choose to live in close proximity to their respective places of worship in the Toronto CMA. The settlement pattern of Muslim and Jewi sh populations is examined by applying ordinary least squares (OLS) and spatially lagged (SL) regression analysis methods that incorporate the size and location of places of worship, as well as other external amenity factors located throughout the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).

The results of this study indicate that both Muslim and Jewish populations will choose to live nearby a place of worship. For Jewish populations, proximity to a place of worship appears to be of utmost importance, whereas Muslim populations put emphasis on other factors.