Counting down

There isn't much good news for Christians in the 2006 Census figures released today, with a continued decline to 64 per cent of the Australian population.

Nominally, they are still a large majority but the main churches lost ground. Catholics rose 6.8 per cent from 1996 but failed to keep pace with the general population (up 11.8 per cent).

The Uniting Church dropped 14.9 per cent to 1.13 million, the Presbyterians and Reformed dropped 11.7 per cent to 597,000 and Anglicans lost 4.7 per cent to 3.7 million. They form 18.7 per cent of the population, the same as those who have no religion.

Does it mean religion in Australia is in decline? Not necessarily, according to Monash University professor of the sociology of religion Gary Bouma - other aspects have to be examined before he can say that.

His recent book, Australian Soul suggested Australians have a distinctive approach to religion - an understated, "shy hope in the heart" which is nevertheless deeply grounded in their lives, and which is still strong.

What the Census results suggest to him is that such denominations as Anglicans and Presbyterians that were big in the 1950s - to which people belonged to be socially acceptable - will continue to decline as members die. Today it is acceptable to have no religion or to belong to a minority.

Non-Christian religions nearly doubled in the past decade to 5.6 per cent of the population. The number of Hindus rose 120 per cent to 148,000, Buddhists were up 109 per cent to 419,000 and Muslims were up 69 per cent to 340,000. Immigration accounts for most of this. Also rising, as expected, were Pentecostals (up 26 per cent to 220,000), Eastern Orthodox churches (up 9.5 per cent to 544,000) and Baptists, a conservative denomination (up 7.3 per cent to 317,000). "That's where the Christian growth is," according to Professor Bouma, "in the small conservative and charismatic churches."

Some 2.2 million did not state any or no religion. Most are probably non-believers, but Professor Bouma thinks their number (11.2 per cent of the population) includes many Muslims who are wary post-2001, many Jews, and many members of small religious groups who object to the Census. Those claiming no religion surged to 18.7 per cent, after rather surprisingly showing a small decline in the 2001 Census. The biggest church remains the Roman Catholic, with 5.13 million or 25.8 per cent of the population. They are the biggest group in every state except Tasmania (18 per cent), where they are outnumbered by Anglicans (29 per cent).

Posted by Barney Zwartz June 27, 2007

http://blogs.theage.com.au/thereligiouswrite/archives/2007/06/there_isnt_much.html