Census Data

• Christianity has been dominating religion in Australia for a long time
• Christianity has been declining 8.2% from 2016-2021
• Catholicism and Anglicanism major drop 2.6% (Catholicism), 3.5% (Anglicanism)
• Christian denominations like pentecostal 9.5% increase
• Religious Growth Outside Christianity

  • Non religion- 38.91%
  • Islam grew by 200 0000 adherents
  • Sikhims grew from 0.3%
  • Hinduism grew by 0.8%
• 90% of people from other religions were born overseas
• Christianity as major religious Tradition in Australia

  • Christianity has been a dominating religion in Australia during the colonisation in 1770 in the First Fleet
  • Anglicanism was more dominant during the First Fleet
  • However there has been a decline in Christianity due to the denominational switching, immigration, Rise of New Age and secularism
• Immigration


  1. The White Australia Policy of 1901, restricted entry of non white people intp Australia, to maintain Australia as a white society

  2. After World War 2, migrants came from Europe who were Christian and other denominations such as Orthodox came from Greece/Italy

  3. The Vietnam War ended in 1975 also attracted several, 'boat people.' migrated from South East Asia. introduced multiculturalism

  4. Refugees from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia brough Buddhism, Sri Lanka and India brought Hinduism and sikhism, Lebanon and Turkey brought islam
• Denominational Switching


  • Swapping between denominations within the same religion
  • Pentecostal grew by 9.5%
  • Christians attracted to a more fresh approach that involves music, charismatic preachers, and has a more informal style of worship
• Rise of New Age

  • Developing individual spirituality rather than institutional religion
  • Can include astrologers, yoga practitioners, meditation, environmentalism, vegetarianism
  • Allowed balance of spirituality and allowed peace and harmony especially during the World War periods
• Secularism


  • Indifference towards religion and religious practices
  • Scientific and technological advancement such as God not creating the world the Big Bang Theory
  • Conservative and stereotypical attitudes such as gender inequality, women cannot be priests and more