Fewer christians (and other religions) and more with NO RELIGION in Australia

by fulltimestudent 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  fulltimestudent

  The results of the last Australian census are trickling out, and the results offer an insight into the changing concepts of contemporary Aussies.

  In 1966 only 0.8 % marked 'No religion' on their census form.

  In 2001 those marking 'No Religion" had grown to 16%.

  And in 2016 those marking 'No Religion" had grown to 29.6%.

  So more non-believers than any other group. Catholics (the previous largest group) were now only 22.5% of Australians.

  ________________________
  

  The other interesting change is language,

  Of course, English remains the most spoken language at home- 2016 - 72.7% of the population, but the second most spoken language (Mandarin Chinese) is now 2.5% (against 1.6% in 2011) reflecting a major change in the ethnic background of Australians.

  If more results are of interest to you, they can be found at this Guardian (Australian web edition) at:

  https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/27/australian-census-religious-affiliation-falls-as-population-changes-rapidly
• 

  zeb

  Yes Australia was ever thankfully a secular country. Your religion was yours and not spoken about very much.
  
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  honest

  Australia is pretty much becoming a atheistic country. Those who have a religion are usually moderate. I am happy how my homeland is starting to see the effects of religion.
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  Hairtrigger

  What is the Muslim population at present?
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  steve2

  Does anyone have access to the Australian census data on numbers of those identifying as Jehovah's witnesses for the years 2011 and 2016?

  I have the data for 1996 (83,414), 2001 (81,069) and 2006 (80,919) - but not for 2011 or 2016.

  Thanks in advance.
  
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  fulltimestudent

  • Hairtrigger : What is the Muslim population at present?

    OK! It seems like it numbers about 2,2% which makes it about 500,000 out of a population of 25 million.

    But in my opinion, its the wrong question, the better question should be, "How many radicalised moslems are there in Australia?"

    But an accurate answer is unlikely to be forthcoming. But it could be that there are only a few thousand. But only one is needed to commit an act of terror.

    You may find this undercover story interesting:

    http://www.smh.com.au/national/my-year-undercover-with-australias-islamic-radicals-20160615-gpjtoi.html
    

    Link Dislike Like
• 

  possum

  
  

  On the 2011 census (it takes places every five years) 64,390 Australians put "Jedi" down as their religion, an increase of from 58,053 on the 2006 census, according to The Brisbane Times. Numbers like that put "Jedi" right behind Sikh on the list of religions in the country. It seems unlikely that all these people truly believe themselves to be actual Jedi, and most of them make the claim as a harmless way to declare their Star Wars fandom and give the government the middle finger at the same time.
  

  However, a group called the Atheist Foundation of Australia is leading a campaign to get people to stop making this joke. Their reasoning is, that when officially counted, Jedi gets classified as a "Not Defined" religion instead of "No Religion." When that happens, they believe "it makes Australia seem more religious than it really is." Which, again, doesn't sound like a problem, but "data on religious affiliation is used for public policy, city planning, community support facilities and more.
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  Crazyguy

  Hopefully in ten more years 40% or better will not be religious. The sooner religion dies the sooner mankind will be better off.
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  smiddy

  possum

  Thanks for that post .I was listening to the ABC radio in my car and heard this same thing on talk back radio today

  However, a group called the Atheist Foundation of Australia is leading a campaign to get people to stop making this joke. Their reasoning is, that when officially counted, Jedi gets classified as a "Not Defined" religion instead of "No Religion." When that happens, they believe "it makes Australia seem more religious than it really is."

  So it would be interesting to see if this campaign influenced the latest Census as compared to the previous one .

  Aussie smiddy
  
  
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  shepherdless

  It is not mentioned in the article, but a part of the reason for the dramatic increase in the "No religion" category is that in the 2016 census, the "No religion" option was the first option in the list of religions. In the past, it was always the last listed option. That factor probably added 1 or 2% to the category.

  From memory, the census doesn't break down different types of Muslims. There is just one overall category of Muslim, which is a weakness in the census in my view.

  In relation to steve2's question, I have all that data and more, but I can't get to it for the next few days. If you look through my old posts of about 8 months ago, on a thread started by sbf, you will find it. I am planning to write a little piece on it all, next week.