As in earlier Censuses, the largest Christian denominations are Catholic (20.0 per cent of the population) and Anglican (9.8 per cent). While fewer people are reporting their religion as Christian, more are reporting 'no religion'.
It is the second largest church in Australia after the Catholic Church. According to the 2016 census, 3.1 million Australians identify as Anglicans. As of 2016, the Anglican Church of Australia had more than 3 million nominal members and 437,880 active baptised members.
In an optional question in the 2021 Australian National Census, 43.9% of respondents declared some variety of Christianity, with the Christian denominational distribution as follows: Catholicism 20.0%, Anglican 9.8%, Uniting Church 2.7%, Orthodox 2.1%, Presbyterian and Reformed 1.6%, Baptist 1.4%, Pentecostal 1.0%, ...
Hindus by state or territory
Hinduism is one of the fastest growing religion in absolute numbers in every state and territory of Australia.
In Australia in 2021, the largest religious group was Western (Roman) Catholic (19.6% of all people), while 38.7% of people had no religion and 6.9% did not answer the question on religion.
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.
For more than a decade the number of people identifying as Catholic has been in decline, and from 2011 to 2016, the number of people identifying as atheist rose by a staggering 48 per cent. 'We are seeing a decline, but this is true of mainline Protestant denominations as well.
Religious affiliation in 2021
Christianity (43.9%) No religion (38.9%) Islam (3.2%) Hinduism (2.7%)
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.
Studies in the 21st century suggest that, in terms of percentage and worldwide spread, Islam is the fastest-growing major religion in the world.
Anglicanism forms one of the branches of Western Christianity, having definitively declared its independence from the Holy See at the time of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. Many of the new Anglican formularies of the mid-16th century corresponded closely to those of historical Protestantism.
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces.
Anglicanism is both Reformed AND Catholic
Anglicans tend to define their church as both catholic and reformational, or both catholic and evangelical. Here's the fun part though: when we say 'catholic' we don't mean we are “Roman Catholic,” and when we say 'reformed' we don't necessarily mean we are all “Calvinists.”
St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney.
The Church of England, or Anglican Church, is the primary state church in England, where the concepts of church and state are linked. The Church of England is considered the original church of the Anglican Communion, which represents over 85 million people in more than 165 countries.
Tasmania had the highest rate of citizens reporting no religion, at 50% while the rate was lowest in New South Wales (33%).
While Langwarrin has the most people with no religion, hipster hotspot Byron Bay in northern NSW had a higher proportion of nonbelievers. More than 6511 said they did not follow a faith, compared with 2711 who said they are Christian.
Hinduism had the most significant growth between 2006 and 2016, driven by immigration from South Asia. The growing percentage of Australia's population reporting no religion has been a trend for decades, and is accelerating.
Most common religions in 2021 Census
But as Christianity declines, the number of Australians who follow other faiths including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism are on the rise.
Anglicanism, one of the major branches of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation and a form of Christianity that includes features of both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism.
The Presbyterian Church has had the sharpest decline in church membership: between 2000 and 2015 it lost over 40% of its congregation and 15.4% of its churches. Infant baptisms have also decreased; nationwide, Catholic baptisms are down by nearly 34%, and ELCA baptisms by over 40%.
Among former Catholics who are now Protestant, 71% say they left Catholicism because their spiritual needs were not being met, making this the most commonly cited reason for leaving the Catholic Church among this group.
Recently, in Australia, there is a new phenomenon on which to hang Christian decline —COVID restrictions. Yet again, the greater problem stems from the majority of bishops and priests who did not actually strive to keep their churches open.