Atheism, agnosticism, scepticism, freethought, secular humanism or general irreligion are increasing in Australia. Post-war Australia has become a highly secularised country. Religion does not play a major role in the lives of much of the population.
Religious affiliation in 2021
In 2021, the number of people who answered the religion question was 93.1% of the population, an increase from 90.9% in 2016. In 2021 the most common religions were: Christianity (43.9%) No religion (38.9%)
Legal Framework
The state of Tasmania is the only state or territory whose constitution specifically provides citizens with the right to profess and practice their religion. In Queensland, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory, freedom of religion is protected in statutory human rights charters.
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.
Australia is a secular country, with a high degree of religious freedom and religious diversity. Although the state and religious groups are maintained as separate entities, religious institutions continue to play a large role in Australian society.
Religion in Canada encompasses a wide range of groups and beliefs. Christianity is the largest religion in Canada, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. Christians, representing 53.3% of the population in 2021, are followed by people having no religion at 34.6% of the total population.
Australia is often described as a secular country and this ongoing movement from religion to “no religion” is one way this manifests.
According to sociologists Ariela Keysar and Juhem Navarro-Rivera's review of numerous global studies on atheism, there are 450 to 500 million positive atheists and agnostics worldwide (7% of the world's population) with China alone accounting for 200 million of that demographic.
The survey, to be released today, showed that 42 per cent of Australians believe Jesus had divine powers and 54 per cent believe he rose from the dead. But even among those who do not identify as born again, 45 per cent believe in the resurrection.
Aboriginal people are very religious and spiritual, but rather than praying to a single god they cannot see, each group generally believes in a number of different deities, whose image is often depicted in some tangible, recognisable form.
Islam in Australia is a minority religious affiliation. 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.
Christianity was introduced to New Zealand by European missionaries at the time of colonisation and remains the largest religious affiliation in the country. However, roughly half of the New Zealand population do not identify as religious.
Australia has more churches (13,000) than schools (9,500), and more Australians attend a church service each week (1.8 million) than there are people in South Australia (1.6 million).
Studies in the 21st century suggest that, in terms of percentage and worldwide spread, Islam is the fastest-growing major religion in the world.
Tasmania had the highest rate of citizens reporting no religion, at 50% while the rate was lowest in New South Wales (33%).
These statistics highlight an increasing rate of decline in Christianity and a trend that has continued since the 1960s. In 1971, Christians represented 86.2% of the Australian population. In 2021, Christians were down to 43.9% of the population.
Christianity is the largest religion in Australia, with a total of 43.9% of the nation-wide population identifying with a Christian denomination in the 2021 census. The first presence of Christianity in Australia coincided with the foundation of the first British colony at New South Wales in 1788.
Christianity is the largest religion in Australia, though its share of total population has declined significantly over the past several decades.
Australia's major religion is Christianity with the major denominations, in order of size, being Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Eastern Orthodox, Presbyterian and Reformed, Baptist and Pentecostal. 30% of the Australian population reported that they were either Anglican or Catholic in the 2021 Census.
The Chinese government is wary of religion for several reasons. China is officially an atheist state and Communist Party members are banned from believing in or practicing any faith; there is concern that religion can function as an alternative to Communism and thus undermine loyalty to the government.
Hindus by state or territory
Hinduism is one of the fastest growing religion in absolute numbers in every state and territory of Australia.
Freedom of religion in Australia is allowed in practice and protected to varying degrees through the constitution and legislation at the Federal, state and territory level. Australia is a pluralist country with legislated principle of state neutrality and with no state religion.
Islam has grown to 813,392 people, which is 3.2 per cent of the Australian population.