The least religious part of Australia, based on the highest percentage of people reporting "No Religion," tends to be the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT), with Tasmania also showing very high levels of irreligion, particularly in recent years, while metropolitan areas like Melbourne and Sydney also have significant non-religious populations.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2021 census showed just 43.9 per cent of Australians were Christians, while the "no religion" cohort had grown to 38.9 per cent.
The 2021 Census found 43.9 per cent of people in Australia identified as Christian. This was down from 52.1 per cent in 2016, and 61.1 per cent in 2011 and marks a 17.2 per cent decrease over a decade.
Relative to its own populations, Zuckerman ranks the top five countries with the highest possible ranges of atheists and agnostics: Sweden (46–85%), Vietnam (81%), Denmark (43–80%), Norway (31–72%), and Japan (64–65%).
Some older adults may have disaffiliated when they were young and then came back to a religion as they aged. In short, these age patterns might be signs of secularization, indicating that countries like Spain, Canada, Italy and the U.S. are gradually becoming less religious.
Gen Z's turn toward Christianity reflects a desire for stability, community, and meaning in uncertain times.
Whilst atheism has been prominent in our culture for some time – be it through Karl Marx, George Eliot, or Ricky Gervais – it is only now that atheists have begun to outnumber theists for the first time in our history."
Happiness is deeply personal and endlessly diverse.
And many, without any religious belief at all, find it in the simple act of living. Atheists are no exception. Like everyone else, they laugh, love, create, explore, and grow. Their happiness is not missing something — it's just rooted elsewhere.
Atheism is prohibited in Saudi Arabia and can come with a death penalty, if one is charged as an atheist.
The proportion of people identifying as religious declined from 68 % in 2005 to 56 % in 2024, reflecting a steady global trend toward secularization. Meanwhile, the share of those identifying as not religious increased from 21 % to 28 %, and convinced atheists rose from 6 % to 10 %.
Atheism is often considered acceptable within Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism in India.
Nicholas Everitt (1943–): English philosopher and atheist writer who specializes in epistemology and philosophy of religion.
Vermont ranked the lowest, with just 13% claiming to be highly religious, while Mississippi ranked the highest with 50%.
Religion in Australia
The total Catholic population in Australia was 5,075,910 in 2021, representing 20% of the total Australian population. This marks a decline from 27% in 1996, reflecting broader trends in secularisation and religious disaffiliation.