People Group Profiles

“All nations will come and worship before you."

- Revelations 15:4

Acadian, Cajun of North America


People Group Info

Total Population: 186,900

ROP3 Code: 114904
IMB Affinity Group: European Peoples
Affinity Bloc: Eurasian Peoples
People Cluster: French
Language: Cajun French - (frc)
Religion: Christianity - Roman Catholic
Country of Origin: United States

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project.
By Margaret Savard

Majority Located Where

  Moncton (Dieppe, Riverview), NB - 25,400

  Montreal (Laval), QC - 13,220

  New Orleans-Metairie, LA - 6,000

  Baton Rouge, LA - 396

Click here to recommend other locations where this People Group resides.

Learn More

Brief Profile

Acadians, also known as Cajun Acadian or Acadian Creole, are a people group mainly living in the state of Louisiana in the United States and are dispersed in several Canada provinces. They are predominantly descendants of Acadian exiles, French-speakers from Acadia.

In Canada, larger numbers of Acadians reside in New Brunswick and Quebec along with smaller numbers in Ontario. In the United States, many Acadians migrated to present day Louisiana state, where they developed what is known as Cajun culture. Not all Acadians in Louisiana descend solely from Acadians who settled in south Louisiana during the 18th century, as many have intermarried with other groups.

Acadians speak a dialect of French called Acadian French. Many of those in New Brunswick speak Chiac and English. The Louisiana Cajun descendants speak a dialect of American English called Cajun English, with several also speaking Cajun French, a close relative of the original dialect from Canada influenced by Spanish and West African languages.

Prayer Points

  • Pray that churches and mission organizations will accept the challenge of adopting and reaching the Acadian people.
  • Ask God to give Cajun Acadian believers boldness to share the Gospel with their own people.
  • Pray that God will grant wisdom and favor to evangelical Christians and churches to engage the Acadian people with intentional church planting strategies.
  • Ask the Lord to save key leaders among the Acadian people who will boldly declare the Gospel.


Learning Resources

Learn more about "Learning Paths"
Online Courses for embracing, encountering and engaging diaspora people. Work at your own pace. Begin anytime and complete the course according to your schedule. Interactive, Hands-On Application.

Learn more about "Reaching the Nations"
This book delineates five disciplines Christians should develop in order to effectively reach the nations. More specifically, it will guide Christians to develop an engagement strategy in their locale.

World Religions - Beliefs Overview
An overview of major world religions and cults - their beliefs and practices.


Other Resources

Prayer Guide for Unreached Peoples
A 30 day guide to pray for unreached people groups.

Prayer Guide using the GOSPELS acronym
A prayer guide that utilizes the acronym GOSPELS to pray for workers among diaspora.

Displaying 1-4 of 4 results.
Country City Metro Area Name State / Prov. Baseline Population
CanadaMontréalMontreal (Laval)QC13,220
United StatesBridge CityNew Orleans-MetairieLA6,000
United StatesBaton RougeBaton RougeLA396
CanadaMonctonMoncton (Dieppe, Riverview)NB25,400