Sharing Information About Australia
|
|
AUSTRALIAN FACTS AND FIGURES
Religions in Australia
The Australian Constitution states that . . .
Section 116 The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.
Although Australia is considered a Christian country, there are a variety of religions that can be found here. The question about a person's religious affiliation has been asked on every census taken in Australia. Since 1933 the answer has been specifically stated as voluntary.
In 1971 the choice of "if no religion, write none" was introduced. As a result, there was a seven-fold increase over the previous census in people stating "none".
Religious Affiliations in Australia
| 2006 | 2001 | 2006 | 2001 | |
| Total Christian | 63.9% | 68.0% | 12,685,829 | 12,764,342 |
| ... Roman Catholic ... Anglican ... Uniting Church in Australia ... Presbyterian and Reformed ... Orthodox ... Baptist ... Lutheran ... Pentecostal ... Other Protestant ... Oriental Orthodox |
25.8% 18.7% 5.7% 3.0% 2.7% 1.6% 1.3% 1.1% 3.7% 0.2% |
26.6% 20.7% 6.7% 3.4% 2.8% 1.6% 1.3% 1.0% 3.6% 0.2% |
5,126,884 3,718,250 1,135,423 596,668 544,162 316,740 251,108 219,689 736,004 40,901 |
5,001,624 3,881,162 1,248,674 637,530 529,444 309,205 250,365 194,592 675,422 36,324 |
| Buddhist | 2.1% | 1.9% | 418,753 | 357,813 |
| Muslim | 1.7% | 1.5% | 340,397 | 281,578 |
| Hindu | 0.7% | 0.5% | 148,123 | 95,473 |
| Jewish | 0.5% | 0.5% | 113,876 | 98,125 |
| Other Religions | 1.2% | 0.5% | 242,848 | 92,369 |
| No Religion | 18.7% | 15.5% | 3,706,556 | 2,905,993 |
| Unknown | 11.2% | 11.6% | 2,223,959 | 2,187,688 |
| Total Population | 100.0% | 100.0% | 19,855,293 | 18,769,249 |
The Australian Bureau of Statistics Census Dictionary defines "No Religion" as a category of religion which has sub categories such as agnosticism, atheism, Humanism and rationalism.
Updated August 2011. You may notice that we show information from a variety of dates. We are unable to find the same type of information for more recent dates than what we show here. Note: This information is for entertainment purposes. We assume no liability resulting from any errors or omissions. Translation . . . we've done our best to bring you accurate information. For official facts and figures, please visit any of the many Australian government websites available such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
