Editor: Justin Healey
ISBN 1 920801 06 5
Year 2004

Price: $19.95

  
Religions and Beliefs in Australia

Volume 197, Issues in Society
The most recent Census indicates that Australians have not become more godless in the past 5 years – if anything, we have become more spiritual or confused, according to how the data is interpreted. Although Christianity remains the nation’s major faith with more than 12.8 million followers, numbers have declined, while eastern religions have grown, and 25% of people claim to have “no religion”. This book explores the key issues of religious diversity and tolerance in Australia. Topics include: statistics for religious adherents; the decline in church attendance among Christians; freedom of religion and belief; religious discrimination, vilification and intolerance; and Islamophobia.

Chapter 1: Religious Diversity
– Religion in Australia; Diversity of religion and spiritual beliefs; Mostly Christian, or faithless; While Christianity declines, Buddhism is growing rapidly; No rest for the Wicca – growing pagan population shows its political spirit; Small religious groups in Australia; What we believe; Major religions of the world – ranked by number of adherents; Student numbers surge at religious schools; Divided we stand on the street and in the playground; Searching for a modern god; Bad service to blame for mass exodus

Chapter 2: Religious Tolerance
– Freedom of religion and belief; Discrimination based on religion & religious vilification in Australian States & Territories; United Nations declarations on religious intolerance; Believing what we want and not pushing it on each other; Dangerous protections; Work and pray; The fear that renders ordinary people outcasts; Islamophobia

Glossary; Facts and Figures; Further Links and Resources; Index.
 

Facts & Figures

• At the time of European settle-ment, the Aboriginal inhabitants followed their own religions which were animistic in nature, involving beliefs in spirits behind the forces of nature, and the influence of ancestral spirit beings.

• During the 1800s, European settlers brought their traditional churches to Australia. These included the Church of England (now the Anglican Church), and the Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Baptist churches.

• In response to the 2001 Census question, Australians’ stated religious affiliations were: 27% Catholic, 21% Anglican, 21% other Christian denominations and 5% non-Christian religions. Just over one-quarter of all Australians either stated that they had no religion, or did not adequately respond to the question.

• In the 2001 Census, people in the 18-24 years age group were the most likely to state that they had no religion (20%).

• In the 2001 Census, Christians represented 68% of the population. Non-Christians represented about 4.9% of the population. Around a quarter of the population stated they had no religion or did not state their religion. The 2001 Census recorded about 100 different religious denominations. The religious composition of the States and Territories varies.

• Australia’s major religion is Christianity with the major denominations including Catholic, Anglican, Uniting, Presbyterian, Orthodox, Baptist and Lutheran. The two major denominations, Anglican and Catholic, account for 47.3% of the Australian population.

• The non-Christian religions represented in Australia include Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. Buddhism is the largest non-Christian religion and accounts for 1.9% of the total population. Islam, the second largest non-Christian religion represented in Australia today accounts for 1.5% of the total population.

• Between 1996 and 2001, the representation of Buddhists in Australia grew by almost 80%. Comparatively, Hinduism and Islam experienced a growth of about 40% over the same period.

• Since contact, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been affiliated with various religions. However, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the concept of ‘spirituality’ refers to a more holistic view of life – in particular one’s link with the land, sea and air. Consequently, this relationship confirms one’s identity and place as an Aboriginal person and or a Torres Strait Islander person.

• Australians identifying with nature religions grew 140 per cent between 1996 and 2001. More than 24,000 people Australia-wide are now adherents to a nature religion. The largest single group (44 per cent) are Pagans. 36 per cent are Wiccans or witches, growing at a rate of 373.5 per cent since 1996.

• A variety of religions have emerged as people have sought, in a variety of ways, to combine the traditions of religion, the theories and findings of science and deep personal experiences which are indicative of spiritual realm of reality. Since the 1960s, the religious turmoil has been particularly great. Many have rejected the well-established traditions and structures of religion. People’s experiences of life – often accompanied by cynicism towards traditions and institutions, people’s new-found sexual freedom, their desire for extraordinary experiences – have led them in search of new possibilities.

• Roman Catholic schools have the largest number of students, recruiting almost two-thirds of the 1 million students enrolled in non-government schools in Australia. In 2002, 653,690 went to a Roman Catholic school. Anglican schools came a distant second, enrolling 112,225 students. Both had increased their numbers significantly in the past 17 years, by 78,686 and 43,458 respectively.

• There were 38,185 students enrolled in 2002 in the fast-growing non-mainstream Christian schools – up from 1856 in 1985 and 14,230 in 1997.

• The number of children enrolled in Muslim schools jumped from just 144 in 1985 to 4199 in 1996 – the year the Howard Government came to power. With significant migration from Muslim countries, the numbers increased to 10,743 in 2002.

• A survey of 8500 Australians shows that just over 67 per cent still identify themselves as Christians. However, less than 20 per cent of those interviewed for the National Church Life poll see regular church-
going as a prerequisite for identification with the Christian religion.

• Since 11 September 2001, Muslims around Australia have reported increased levels of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice, discrimination and vilification.

• In 1998 the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission recommended that religious discrim-ination be made unlawful in all areas of public life, albeit with appropriate exemptions for religious institutions. This recommendation has not yet been taken up by the Government. Yet discrimination and vilification because of religion persist, particularly affecting Muslims and Jews.

• Jews and Sikhs are currently covered by the Racial Discrimination Act because they are recognised as ethnic groups as well as religious groups. However, Australian courts have yet to decide whether Muslims share an ‘ethnic origin’ as well as a religion.