Irreligion in Australia

Last updated

Religion in Australia as declared in the 2021 census [1] [2]

Contents

  No religion (38.9%)
   Roman Catholicism (20%)
   Anglicanism (9.8%)
  Other Christian (14.1%)
   Islam (3.2%)
   Hinduism (2.7%)
   Buddhism (2.4%)
   Sikhism (0.8%)
  Other religions (0.9%)
  Not stated or unclear (7.2%)
Major religious affiliations in Australia by census year AustralianReligiousAffiliation 2.svg
Major religious affiliations in Australia by census year

Atheism, agnosticism, scepticism, freethought, secular humanism or general irreligion are increasing in Australia. [4] Post-war Australia has become a highly secularised country. [5] Religion does not play a major role in the lives of much of the population. [6]

In the country's 2021 census, 38.9% of Australians (or 9,886,957 people) selected either "no religion" or specified their form of irreligion, almost nine percent higher (and 2,846,240 more people) than the 2016 census. 7.2% did not state their religion, or gave an unclear response, meaning that over 46% of Australians did not state a religious affiliation in the 2021 census, a 6.4% increase from the last census. [7]

When asked of their religious affiliation in the 2016 census, 29.6% of Australians (or 6,933,708 people) selected "no religion." This was more than seven percent higher (and 2,240,546 more people), than in the 2011 census. Additionally, in 2016, another 0.5% instead opted to specify their form of irreligion, writing it under "other," hence resulting in 30.1% of Australians (or just over 7,040,700 people) selecting "no religion." [1] A further 9.6% either did not state a religion, or gave a response that was unclear, meaning that 39.7% of Australians did not expressly state a religious affiliation in the 2016 census. [8]

In the 2011 census, 22.3% of Australians (or 4,796,787 people) described themselves as having "no religion." This was more than three percent higher (and 1,090,232 people more) than in the 2006 census and was the second largest category. [8] Another 2.014 million (9.4%) were in the "not-stated or inadequately-defined" category: so more than 31% of Australians did not state a religious affiliation in the 2011 census. [9]

In the 2006 census, 18.7% of Australians (or 3,706,555 people) had described themselves as having "no religion." This was three percent higher than in the 2001 census and was the largest growth in total number of any religious option in that census (800,557 people). [4] A further 2.4 million (11.9%) did not state a religion (or inadequately described it). [10] So just over 30% of Australians did not state a religious affiliation in the 2006 census.

In a 2004 worldwide study by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, 25% of Australians stated they do not believe in any gods. [11]

History

The first systematic recording of the religious affiliation of non-aboriginal Australians took place in the 1901 census. Since the 1901 census, the percentage of the census population not aligned with a religion has grown from 0.4% to just over 30% of the population. The census question about religion has been clearly labelled as "optional" since 1933. In 1971 the census instructed, "If no religion, write none." This was followed by "a seven-fold increase" in the figures from previous years for those declaring lack of religious beliefs. [12]

Melbourne hosted the 2010 Global Atheist Convention (branded as the largest event of its kind in the world), [13] sponsored by the Atheist Foundation of Australia and Atheist Alliance International. It took place at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from 12 to 14 March 2010. Over 2,000 delegates attended, with all available tickets selling out more than five weeks prior to the event. [14]

In 2010 The Australian Book of Atheism [15] was published as "the first collection to explore atheism from an Australian viewpoint". [16] The book was prompted by the disparity between Australia's increasing secularism and the increasing political and educational influence and funding of religion in Australia and contains essays by 33 authors (including Leslie Cannold, Robyn Williams, Tim Minchin, Graham Oppy, Philip Nitschke, Ian Hunter, Lyn Allison, Russell Blackford and Ian Robinson) on atheism-related topics in areas including history, law, education, philosophy and neurobiology.

Irreligion in politics

Section 116 of the Constitution of Australia established Freedom of religion in 1901.

John Latham, who in the 1930s served as Deputy Prime Minister and later as Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, was an atheist and early member of the Rationalist Society of Australia. Johnlatham.jpg
John Latham, who in the 1930s served as Deputy Prime Minister and later as Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, was an atheist and early member of the Rationalist Society of Australia.

Australians tend to be very suspicious of religion being intertwined with politics. Critic and commentator Robert Hughes stated "Any Australian political candidate who declared their God was on their side would be laughed off the podium as an idiot or a wowser (prude, intrusive bluenose)." [17] Conversely, Australia has had many openly atheist or agnostic political figures elected to high positions, including prime ministers Gough Whitlam (whose philosophical position has been called "post-Christian" [18] ) John Curtin, John Gorton, Bob Hawke and Julia Gillard. Governor-General Bill Hayden was voted as the Australian Humanist of the Year by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies (although he subsequently converted to Catholicism in 2018, many years after leaving office). [19] Politicians Gareth Evans, Olive Zakharov and Lionel Murphy have also received this award.

A 2010 survey by The Sunday Age asked all 30 members of the First Rudd Ministry about their religious beliefs. Fifteen declined to comment, ten said they were "Christian" and three stated that they were atheists: health minister Nicola Roxon, defence personnel minister Greg Combet and financial services minister Chris Bowen. The remaining two, finance minister Lindsay Tanner and treasurer Wayne Swan, both described themselves as agnostic Christians, with Swan believing that "values, rather than religion, are important in public life". Tanner added, "I doubt whether it would make much difference to a political career for someone to describe themselves as atheist." [20]

According to a 2009 Nielsen survey, 84% of 1000 respondents agree that religion and politics should be separate. [21]

The Fusion Party refers to itself as a secular humanist party. It supports the separation of church and state and removing religious prayers, rituals, and bias from government and public institutions and their documentation, and abolishing blasphemy laws. [22]

The political party, Reason Australia, supports a secular Australia. [23]

Polls, surveys and statistics

People who are affiliated with no religion as a percentage of the total population in Australia at the 2011 census, divided geographically by statistical local area Australian Census 2011 demographic map - Australia by SLA - BCP field 2793 No Religion Persons.svg
People who are affiliated with no religion as a percentage of the total population in Australia at the 2011 census, divided geographically by statistical local area

Although many Australians identify themselves as religious, the majority consider religion the least important aspect of their lives when compared with family, partners, work and career, leisure time and politics. [24] This is reflected in Australia's church attendance rates, which are among the lowest in the world and in decline (reference from 2004). [25] In explaining this phenomenon, writer and broadcaster Paul Collins said "Australians are quietly spiritual rather than explicitly religious" and the prominent historian Manning Clark defined Australian spirituality as "a shy hope in the heart ... understated, wary of enthusiasm, anti-authoritarian, optimistic, open to others, self-deprecating and ultimately characterized by a serious quiet reverence, a deliberate silence, an inarticulate awe and a serious distaste for glib wordiness." [26]

Donald Horne, one of Australia's well-known public intellectuals, believed rising prosperity in post-war Australia influenced the decline in church-going and general lack of interest in religion. "Churches no longer matter very much to most Australians. If there is a happy eternal life it's for everyone ... For many Australians the pleasures of this life are sufficiently satisfying that religion offers nothing of great appeal", said Horne in his landmark work The Lucky Country (1964). [5]


The 2021 census found that 38.9% of Australian-born Australians claim no religion. [27] In 2011 adults aged 18–34 were more than twice as likely as those in 1976 to have no religion (29% compared with 12%). The highest proportion of people who had no religion were young adults. [28] The ABS has revealed that in 2011, the number of males claiming no religion was higher than females, that women claiming no religion were more likely to have no children, and that marriages were mostly performed by civil celebrants. [29] [30] Tasmania had the highest rate of citizens reporting no religion, at 50% while the rate was lowest in New South Wales (33%). [27]


Census data

Irreligious declarations of Australians by State or Territory according to the censuses from 2001 to 2021

This graph illustrates the increasing trend of irreligiosity across Australian states from 2001 to 2021, with Tasmania showing the highest percentage in 2021 Irreligious Declarations in Australia by State.jpg
This graph illustrates the increasing trend of irreligiosity across Australian states from 2001 to 2021, with Tasmania showing the highest percentage in 2021
State/Territory [27] % 2021% 2016 % 2011 % 2006 % 2001
Australian Capital Territory 44.236.228.923.419.6
New South Wales 33.225.117.914.311.7
Victoria 39.331.724.020.417.3
Tasmania 50.037.828.621.517.3
South Australia 45.835.428.124.220.6
Northern Territory 38.529.423.923.118.7
Western Australia 42.932.525.522.919.7
Queensland 41.229.222.118.614.8
Total38.929.622.318.715.5


Marriage data

Irreligious marriages in Australia accounted for 80.3% of marriages in 2019 [31] and 2020 [32] slightly more than in England and Wales in 2017 (78 per cent). [33] The Australian figure is up from 41.3% of marriages in 1988 and just over 50% in 1999. [34] Secular funerals have also risen in popularity: in 2014 the Sydney Morning Herald surveyed 104 funeral directors and 514 people over 50, finding that 6 in 10 funerals were conducted by civil celebrants. [35]

Belief

The proportion of Australian respondents to the World Values Survey saying religion is "Not at all important" to them has increased from 19% in 1994-98 to 37% in 2010-2014 WVS-religion-aus2.png
The proportion of Australian respondents to the World Values Survey saying religion is "Not at all important" to them has increased from 19% in 1994-98 to 37% in 2010-2014

A Roy Morgan survey of 4,840 Australians between October and December 2013 found that 52.6% of Australians were Christian, while 37.6% had no religion. [37] Norman Morris, the company's communications director, noted that the change in religious affiliation could indicate a growth of atheism and agnosticism, or a move away from identification with organised Christianity by theistic believers. He identified possible causes for the change, including "morally conservative religious doctrines" contrasting with progressive attitudes on abortion, same-sex marriage, the use of condoms in the global fight against the HIV pandemic. He also noted the drop coincided with public media attention around alleged religious cover-ups of child sexual abuse in the Child Abuse Royal Commission.

A 2006 study by Monash University, the Australian Catholic University and the Christian Research Association found that 52 per cent of Australians born between 1976 and 1990 had no belief in a god. [38]

A 2008 global Gallup poll found nearly 70% of Australians stated religion as having no importance, [39] much higher than their American counterparts and on par with similarly secular countries such as Japan, the Netherlands, Finland and France. Only a few Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) and post-Soviet states (Estonia) are markedly less religious. A 2008 Christian Science Monitor survey of 17 countries reported that youth from Australia and the United Kingdom were the least likely to observe religious practice or see any "spiritual dimension" to life. [40]

A 2002 study by Gregory Paul found that 24% of Australians are atheist or agnostic. [41] A 2009 Nielsen survey of 1,000 respondents, found 68% of Australians believe in god and/or a "universal spirit", while 24% believe in neither. The survey found that 49% of respondents claimed religion was not important in their lives. [21] A 2009 survey of 1,718 Australians conducted by NCLS research found that 61.5% say that "religious faith or spirituality" was of little or no importance to career and lifestyle decisions. [42]

In 2011, an Ipsos MORI survey found that 32% claimed no religion, [43] while a Galaxy poll found 43% claimed no religion. [44] A 2011 report by the American Physical Society claimed that religion may die out in Australia and eight other Western world countries. [45] [46]

According to NORC of Chicago, 20.6% of Australians don't believe in God and never have, while 9.7% are "strong atheists". Of those aged under 28, 26.8% have never believed in God and just 14.7% are certain God exists. [47] A 2012 poll by Win-Gallup International found that 48% of Australians were not religious; 37% were religious; 10% declared themselves "convinced atheists". Australia placed in the bottom 14 for religiosity and in the top 11 for atheism. [48]

An October 2011 McCrindle survey polled 1,094 respondents on attitudes Christianity, finding 50% of the respondents did not identify with a religion, and 17% claimed Jesus did not exist. [49] A follow-up survey that 30% claimed no religion, 64% identified with Christianity and 6% belonged to other religions. 9% of the Christians were actively practising and regularly attending. [50]

A 2011 survey by McCrindle Research found that for Australians, Christmas is predominantly secular. 46% of respondents said the highlights of Christmas were celebrations with family and friends, 36% said gift giving, Christmas trees and the general Christmas spirit; and 15% said attending religious services, carol singing and nativity plays. 19% said they would "definitely" attend a religious service, while 38% have never attended. 87% of people who are not religious celebrated Christmas to some extent. [51]

Religious attendance

According to the National Church Life Survey, between 1950 and 2007 monthly church attendance declined from 44% to 17%. [52] A 2009 Christian Research Association survey of 1,718 Australians concurred, finding that 16% attended a religious service at least once a month, down from 23% in 1993. Subsequently, there have been claims that the rate of decline in church attendance has slowed; in 2016 there was a claim that monthly attendance at church was 16%. [53] Yet, a 2013 survey by McCrindle Research found just 8% of Christians attend church at least once a month. The McCrindle survey also discovered that 47% of respondents do not go to church because it is "irrelevant to my life", 26% "don't accept how it's taught", while 19% "don't believe in the bible". [54]

In 1996, 17.9% of Roman Catholics attended Mass on a typical Sunday, [55] falling to 12.2% in 2011. [56] [57] In 2006, the median age of all Catholics aged 15 years and over was 44 years. [58] [59] In 1996, 27% of Roman Catholics aged 50 to 54 years regularly attended Mass, falling to 15% in 2006. [58] While 30% aged 55–59 years regularly attended in 1996, only 19% attended in 2006. [58] From 1996 to 2006 Mass attendance for Roman Catholics aged between 15 and 34 declined by just over 38%, going from 136,000 to 83,760 attendees. [58]

In 2009, more than 40% of those brought up as Anglicans or Lutherans, 36% of those brought up in the Uniting Church and 28% of those brought up as Roman Catholics described themselves as having no religion. 33% of 15- to 29-year-olds identified with a Christian denomination in 2009, down from 60% in 1993. [6]

A study in 2011 by the Christian Research Association discovered that the attendance of Uniting churches has declined by 30% over the previous 10 years. The association's president, Philip Hughes, has predicted that the decline in church attendance would continue "at least for the next 20 years". The study also found that the average age of people attending Catholic and Anglican churches is around 60 years. [60]

See also

Related Research Articles

Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, skepticism, rationalism, and secularism. These perspectives can vary, with individuals who identify as irreligious holding a diverse array of specific beliefs about religion or its role in their lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State atheism</span> Official promotion of atheism by a government

State atheism or atheist state is the incorporation of hard atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It is considered the opposite of theocracy and may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. To some extent, it is a religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically linked to irreligion and the promotion of irreligion or atheism. State atheism may refer to a government's promotion of anti-clericalism, which opposes religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, including the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen. In some instances, religious symbols and public practices that were once held by religions were replaced with secularized versions of them. State atheism in these cases is considered as not being politically neutral toward religion, and therefore it is often considered non-secular.

Religion in the United Kingdom is mainly expressed in Christianity, which dominated the land since the 7th century. Results of the 2021 Census for England and Wales showed that Christianity is the largest religion, followed by the non-religious, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Among Christians, Anglicanism is the most common denomination, followed by Catholicism, Presbyterianism, Methodism, Unitarianism, and Baptism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irreligion in Canada</span>

Irreligion is common throughout all provinces and territories of Canada. Irreligious Canadians include atheists, agnostics, and secular humanists. The surveys may also include those who are deists, spiritual, pantheists. The 2021 Canadian census reported that 34.6% of Canadians declare no religious affiliation, which is up from 23.9% in the 2011 Canadian census and 16.5% in the 2001 Canadian census. According to Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, among those estimated 4.9 million Canadians of no religion, an estimated 1.9 million would specify atheist, 1.8 million would specify agnostic, and 1.2 million humanist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Australia</span>

Religion in Australia is diverse. In the 2021 national census, 43.9% of Australians identified with Christianity and 38.9% declared "no religion".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Europe</span>

Religion has been a major influence on the societies, cultures, traditions, philosophies, artistic expressions and laws within present-day Europe. The largest religion in Europe is Christianity. However, irreligion and practical secularisation are also prominent in some countries. In Southeastern Europe, three countries have Muslim majorities, with Christianity being the second-largest religion in those countries. Ancient European religions included veneration for deities such as Zeus. Modern revival movements of these religions include Heathenism, Rodnovery, Romuva, Druidry, Wicca, and others. Smaller religions include Indian religions, Judaism, and some East Asian religions, which are found in their largest groups in Britain, France, and Kalmykia.

Some movements or sects within traditionally monotheistic or polytheistic religions recognize that it is possible to practice religious faith, spirituality and adherence to tenets without a belief in deities. People with what would be considered religious or spiritual belief in a supernatural controlling power are defined by some as adherents to a religion; the argument that atheism is a religion has been described as a contradiction in terms.

Accurate demographics of atheism are difficult to obtain since conceptions of atheism vary considerably across different cultures and languages, ranging from an active concept to being unimportant or not developed. Also in some countries and regions atheism carries a strong stigma, making it harder to count atheists in these countries. In global studies, the number of people without a religion is usually higher than the number of people without a belief in a deity and the number of people who agree with statements on lacking a belief in a deity is usually higher than the number of people who self-identify as "atheists".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in New Zealand</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in the Republic of Ireland</span>

The predominant religion in the Republic of Ireland is Christianity, with the largest denomination being the Catholic Church. The Constitution of Ireland says that the state may not endorse any particular religion and guarantees freedom of religion.

In the United States, between 4% and 15% of citizens demonstrated nonreligious attitudes and naturalistic worldviews, namely atheists or agnostics. The number of self-identified atheists and agnostics was around 4% each, while many persons formally affiliated with a religion are likewise non-believing.

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Irreligion in New Zealand refers to atheism, agnosticism, deism, religious scepticism and secular humanism in New Zealand society. Post-war New Zealand has become a highly secular country, meaning that religion does not play a major role in the lives of many of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Latvia</span>

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Irreligion in the Netherlands pertains to atheism, agnosticism, and other forms of irreligion in the Netherlands. The majority of the population has stated that they were irreligious since 2015. There remains a historical and prominent Christian minority, as well as a large secular lapsed Christian minority. Also, about a million, mostly Sunni Muslims make up about a 5% Islamic minority, making Islam the second largest religion in the Netherlands – a new development through immigration, mostly since ca. 1970. Until World War II, the Netherlands had a small but influential Jewish minority for centuries. The Holocaust all but irradicated them, but not the Jewish influences in Dutch history and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irreligion in the Republic of Ireland</span>

Irreligion in Ireland pertains to the population of Ireland that are atheist, agnostic, or otherwise unaffiliated with any religion. The 2022 census recorded that 14% of the population was irreligious; the second largest category after Roman Catholicism. The population was traditionally devoutly Catholic throughout much of Ireland's modern history, with a peak of 94.9% identifying as Catholic in the 1961 census. This percentage has declined to 69% in the 2022 census, the lowest recorded. Conversely, those with no religion made up less than 0.1% of the population in 1961; the proportion grew slowly until the 1991 census where it began to rapidly increase to its current share of 14% of the population in 2022.

Irreligion in Azerbaijan is open to interpretation according to differing censuses and polls. Although Shia Islam is the predominant faith in Azerbaijan, religious affiliation is nominal in Azerbaijan and percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower. It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists or agnostics in Azerbaijan as they are not officially counted in the census of the country.

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Irreligion in Romania is rare. Romania is one of the most religious countries in Europe, with 92% of people saying that they believe in God. Levels of irreligion are much lower than in most other European countries and are among the lowest in the world. At the 2011 census, only 0.11% of the population declared itself atheist, up from the 2002 census, while 0.10% do not belong to any religion. While still one of the most religious countries in Europe, practicing, church and mass attendance is quite low, even compared to some less religious countries than Romania. It is mainly practiced by elderly people, mainly in rural areas, while in urban areas church attendance and practice is much lower. As of 2021, almost 85% are declared religious, of which about 73% are declared orthodox, 12% other religions, about 1% atheists or irreligious and about 14% declared nothing about religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decline of Christianity in the Western world</span> Decline Christian affiliation within Western society

A decline of Christian affiliation in the Western world has been observed in the decades since the end of World War II. While most countries in the Western world were historically almost exclusively Christian, the post-World War II era has seen developed countries with modern, secular educational facilities shifting towards post-Christian, secular, globalized, multicultural and multifaith societies.

References

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  57. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions" . Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  58. 1 2 3 4 Wilkinson, Peter J. (April 2012). "Catholic Parish Ministry in Australia: The Crisis Deepens" (PDF) (Press release). Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  59. ↑ Barney Zwartz (23 September 2013). "A thinning flock of Catholics at all-time low" . Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  60. ↑ "Fear that traditional churches are in decline as attendance dwindles". Herald Sun. 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
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