TORONTO: Hinduism is the most positively viewed religion after Christianity in Canada, says a survey by a premier magazine.

This was revealed by a survey by Maclean's weekly. Hinduism was viewed most positively after Christianity.

When the respondents were asked whether they thought that "the mainstream beliefs" of the major religions "encourage violence or are mostly peaceful", only 10 per cent said Christianity taught violence.

While 70 per cent said they hold a positive view of Christianity, 41 per cent said they viewed Hinduism positively.

Showing how deep anti-Semitism is still in this liberal country, 44 per cent respondents said they would not want their children to marry a person of Jewish faith. Even fewer said they would be comfortable with their children marrying a Sikh or a Muslim. Worse still, 62 per cent Canadians said they opposed changes to laws to accommodate new ethnic immigrant groups and minorities.

In the French-dominant province of Quebec, this figure rose to 74 per cent. As part of the survey, 1,002 Canadians from all walks of life were selected randomly to elicit their views on various religions. The magazine said Canadians like to think of their country as a model of multi-ethnic and multi-cultural harmony, but when it comes to the major faiths other than Christianity they harbour shocking biases.

Requesting anonymity, a Toronto-based Sikh leader said: "The survey shows that the Air India bombing of 1985 and the ongoing violence among the Indo-Canadian Punjabi youth in British Columbia have created stereotypes about the Sikhs."

Among the more than a million South Asians in Canada, Sikhs and Hindus are the two biggest groups.

The survey revealed disturbing facts about both Islam and Sikhism. Respondents said that both these faiths encouraged hatred and violence.

But, Hinduism found many takers.