Change in religious affiliation over time Over the past 50 years, there has been a steady decline in the proportion of Australians who reported an affiliation with Christianity. The same period has seen a consistent rise in Other religions and No religion, particularly in the last 20 years.
The 2021 Census shows that nearly 10 million Australians indicated they had no religion; the data also shows a reduction of over a million Christians since the 2016 Census. These statistics highlight an increasing rate of decline in Christianity and a trend that has continued since the 1960s.
RELIGION RECESSION: Almost 40 per cent of the Australian population has reported having "no religion", according to data from the 2021 census. Although Christianity remains the most common religion, the last 10 years have seen a 60 per cent decline of people identifying as Christian.
Recent Trends – Church Attendance. IBISWorld forecasts church attendance to fall by 1.1% in 2022-23, to total 579,642 people. This result is partly due to a rise in international travel by Australians, which is anticipated to reduce time available to attend services for some individuals.
How Hinduism is the fastest growing religion in Australia.
Christianity is the largest religion in Australia, though its share of total population has declined significantly over the past several decades.
Other religions are growing but continue to make up a small proportion of the population. Hinduism has grown by 55.3 per cent to 684,002 people, or 2.7 per cent of the population. Islam has grown to 813,392 people, which is 3.2 per cent of the Australian population.
Among self-identified Christians, the predominant reason that non-churchgoers offer for not attending worship services is that they practice their faith in other ways. Upwards of four-in-ten (44%) say this is a very important reason for not going to church more often.
Among non-churchgoers who self-identify as Christians, the predominant reason offered for not attending worship services is that they practice their faith in other ways. Almost half of evangelicals in this category (46 percent) say this is a very important reason for not going to church more often.
Not only does most of Australia identify with Christianity, but more than half (55%) of the population believes in God, as defined as the Creator of the universe, the Supreme Being.
Yezidi: Highest growing religion from 2016 to 2021
Many Yezidis fled their country in the past decade due to religious persecution. The number of Yezidis in Australia increased from 63 people in 2016 to 4,123 in 2021 (an increase of 6,444%). Most of this group arrived in Australia in 2018 and 2017.
As with all major religions in Australia, its flock is declining: at the 2021 census, 20 per cent of Australians identified as Catholic, down from 22.6 per cent five years earlier.
Hinduism is one of the fastest growing religion in absolute numbers in every state and territory of Australia.
Tasmania had the highest rate of citizens reporting no religion, at 50% while the rate was lowest in New South Wales (33%).
According to the 2021 Census in Australia, the combined number of people who self-identified as Muslims in Australia, from all forms of Islam, constituted 813,392 people, or 3.2% of the total Australian population.
Modern growth. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. In 1990, 1.1 billion people were Muslims, while in 2010, 1.6 billion people were Muslims.
The Church helps us to maintain organization, teachings, and to create a support system for members. By establishing a church, the Lord ensures that the correct doctrines are taught. The Church provides members with revelations, standards, and guidelines that help us live as Christ would have us live.
Most people who stop attending church services still believe in God, according to new research commissioned by the Church of Scotland. Many who no longer attend church choose to express their faith in new ways, said Scotland's national Church.
While the Nones include agnostics and atheists, most people in this category retain a belief in God or some higher power. Many describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” or “SBNR,” as researchers refer to them.
Church attendance has rebounded recently but remains slightly below pre-pandemic levels. A 2021 Gallup poll revealed another grim number for Christians: church membership in the US has fallen below 50% for the first time.
Another study, published last year in PLOS One, found that regular service attendance was linked to reductions in the body's stress responses and even in mortality–so much so that worshippers were 55% less likely to die during the up to 18-year follow-up period than people who didn't frequent the temple, church or ...
Canon law requires Catholics to go to church “on Sundays and other holy days of obligation” and to abstain from work or other business that would inhibit their worship on those days.
Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion. If current trends continue, by 2050 … The number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world.
Halal food in Australia
There is a wide range of halal and Muslim-friendly food options in the country: from simple kebab joints to upscale places, and halal Australia food products in supermarkets.
As Professor Riaz Hassan and his team at the Hawke's International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding expertly identify, Muslims currently constitute 2.2% of the Australian population, and it is estimated there will be almost one million more Muslims in Australia by 2050.