Religious Beliefs

Editor: Justin Healey
ISBN 978 1 921507 02 1
Year 2009

Price: $20.95

  

Religious Beliefs
Volume 292, Issues in Society

‘A religion is generally regarded as a set of beliefs and practices, usually involving acknowledgement of a divine or higher being or power, by which people order the conduct of their lives both practically and in a moral sense’ (ABS, 2008). Australia does not have an official state religion and people are free to practise any religion they choose, within the law. Australians are also free not to have a religion. This book presents an overview of the major religions in Australia; the gradual decline in religious belief; the popular rise of evangelical youth churches; the nature and source of religious belief; religious tolerance and vilification; agnosticism and atheism; and a range of arguments in the debate between secularism and faith in our society.

Chapter 1  Religious Trends and Tolerance
Religions in Australia, A summary of world religions, Major religions of the world ranked by number of adherents, Religious freedom, Australia is not "God's own country", Godlessness is a growth market, I believe, Souls are not shaken, just stirred, Drop in youth religion a matter of interpretation, God on the nose with the 'Me' generation, New religious beliefs focus too much on self, God is in the detail, including your genes, God under a microscope, Towards a godless Australia?, What atheists believe and what agnostics don't believe, Do we really need religious vilification laws?, Why vilification should be against the law.

Chapter 2  Secularism and Faith: The Debate
The greatest debate, An uneasy marriage of necessity, In God's name, God is not responsible for war and suffering, Humanity the loser in rigid models of rule and religion, Christianity vital to democracy's future, The voices of religion must be respected.

Glossary; Fast Facts; Web Links; Index



fast facts
FAST FACTS from this volume
  • A religion is generally regarded as a set of beliefs and practices, usually involving acknowledgment of a divine or higher being or power, by which people order the conduct of their lives both practically and in a moral sense.
  • Growth in the numbers and proportions of persons of all ages affiliating with Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism are largely due to changes in the countries of origin of recent immigrants.
  • In 2006, 80% of persons aged 65 years and over identified themselves as Christian, compared with 55% of 18-24 year olds. In contrast, the other religions have a younger age profile. For example, 17% of all Christian affiliates were aged 65 years and over, compared with 6% of Buddhist affiliates; and 8% of Christian affiliates were aged between 18 and 24 years, compared with 12% of Buddhist affiliates. The largest group of adult Buddhist affiliates was 35-44 year olds. Similar trends were evident for Hindu and Muslim affiliates.
  • According to the 2006 ABS household survey, 20% of adults participated in religious or spiritual groups or organisations during the 12 months prior to interview. Among 18-24 year olds, 21% of women and 14% of men had participated in religious or spiritual groups or organisations. Rates for people 65 years and over were higher at 25% for women and 23% for men. While participation for this age group is similar for both men and women, in general women (23%) were more likely than men (16%) to have participated in religious or spiritual groups or organisations. People born overseas (25%) were more likely than those born in Australia (18%) to have participated in religious or spiritual groups or organisations.
  • The major 10 religions of the world, ranked by estimated number of adherents in descending order are: Christianity (2.1 billion people); Islam (1.5 billion); Secular/non-religious/agnostic/atheist (1.1 billion); Hinduism (900 million); Chinese traditional religion (394 million); Buddhism (376 million); Primal-indigenous (300 million); African traditional and diasporic (100 million); Sikhism (23 million); Juche (19 million).
  • Australia has no official state religion and people are free to practise any religion they choose, as long they obey the law. Australians are also free not to have a religion.
  • In the 2006 Census, 12.7 million Australians reported that they were Christian, compared to around 12.6 million in the 1996 Census. However, as a proportion of the total population, the number of Christians fell from 71% to 64%. During the same period, people affiliated with non-Christian faiths increased from around 600,000 to 1.1 million and collectively accounted for 5.6% of the total population in 2006, compared to 3.5% in 1996.
  • The biggest Christian denominations in the 2006 Census continue to be Catholic (25.8% of the population) followed by Anglican (18.7%) and the Uniting Church (5.7%). The biggest non-Christian religions were Buddhism (2.1%), Islam (1.7%) and Hinduism (0.7%).
  • The number of Australians who stated in the Census that they had no religion increased from 2.9 million in 1996 to 3.7 million in 2006 – almost 19% of the total population.
  • According to the international Religion Monitor survey, 28% of the Australian population see themselves as not at all religious, with religious practices and beliefs barely featuring in their lives. A similar number classify themselves as deeply religious (25%) whilst 44% of Australians say they consider themselves religious but that religion does not play a central role in their lives. 48% of Australians do not partake in personal prayer, and 52% never or very seldom visit a church, mosque, synagogue or temple for religious reasons. 31% said that they did not believe in God or a divine power or in life after death.
  • In an international comparison from the Religion Monitor survey, Australians rank at the bottom end of the scale (ranked 17 out of 21 nations polled) in terms of their religiousness. This is a stark contrast to the U.S, where over 60% are deeply religious and only 11% are not religious. The only countries to show less interest in religion than Australia were Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
  • According to the latest population censuses, 64% of Aust-ralians classify themselves as Christian, while 31% classify themselves as not religious or give no information. Totalling over five million people, or 25% of the population, Catholics represent the largest faith group and Christian denomination in Australia. Yet the Religion Monitor reveals that they are not the most religious group. Religion is strongest among the small group of free-church and Pentecostal Protestants, which also includes the Charismatic Movements.
  • Religious belief in Australia is also very much a women’s thing, according to the Religion Monitor. While 34% of Australian women are deeply religious, the proportion of deeply religious men is less than half that figure (16%). 20% of women and 36% of men are not religious. There is also a wide generation gap when it comes to the importance of religion. In the over 60 age group, 40% are deeply religious and 37% religious. In the younger age groups, only half that number are considered deeply religious. The proportion of non-religious people amongst adults aged between 18 and 59 varies between 28 and 33%, about 50% higher than amongst those aged over 60.
  • 56% of 15 to 34-year-olds called themselves Christian in the census, compared with 64% of all Australians and 79% of those over 65. Young Australians are generally less religious than older ones. Among those over 65, only 7.9% have no religion. For those aged 15-34, 8.6% belong to other religions, and 23.5% say they have no religion.
  • Australia faces a multi-faith future, in which the non-religious will be a major influence. Moral issues will be argued about between the religious and the non-believers and within the ranks of both. But the trend since the 1950s has been all in the direction of adopting laws, practices and attitudes less sensitive to religious susceptibilities. There will remain some important issues which will need some sort of resolution, but which will not lead to the domination of one form of religion over all others.
  • At present religious vilification laws exist in three Australian jurisdictions – Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. Laws that restrict free speech by making unlawful vilification on the ground of religion are extremely controversial. The encouragement of tolerance in a multicultural society is one thing; its enforcement by means of religious vilification laws something different again.