Damon Mcknight
Australia is a secular country with a high degree of religious freedom and diversity. While Christianity is the most popular religion in Australia, the country has seen a growing diversity of non-Christian religions. In the 2021 Census, 43.9% of the population identified as Christian, a decrease from 52.1% in the 2016 Census. Non-Christians represented about 10% of the population, with Islam being the largest non-Christian religion with 3.2% of the total population, followed by Hinduism at 2.7%. The percentage of Australians reporting no religious affiliation continues to grow, with almost 10 million Australians reporting having no religion in the 2021 Census.
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What You'll Learn
Christianity remains the most common religion in Australia
Australia is a secular country with a high degree of religious freedom and diversity. While the country traditionally had a majority Christian population, this dominant identity is shifting. In the 2021 census, just under half of all Australians identified with a Christian faith, a decrease from 52.1% in the 2016 census. This decline is particularly notable among young adults (18-25 years).
Christianity was introduced to Australia in 1788 with British colonial settlement. The first religious census in 1828 divided the early colony into four groups: Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and Pagans. Since then, the country has become increasingly religiously diverse.
Despite the decline in Christian affiliation, Christianity remains the most common religion in Australia. In the 2021 census, 43.9% of the population identified as Christian, with the major denominations being Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Eastern Orthodox, Presbyterian, Reformed, Baptist, and Pentecostal. Approximately 30% of Australians identified as either Anglican or Catholic in the 2021 census.
While the Christian population in Australia is slowly declining, there has been steady growth in other religions. The number of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists across all age groups in Australia has risen significantly. Hinduism is one of the fastest-growing religions in the country, with a 12.0% annual increase since 2011. Additionally, the percentage of Australians reporting no religious affiliation continues to grow, with almost 10 million people reporting no religion in the 2021 census.
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Islam is the largest non-Christian religion
Australia has no official religion. The country has become increasingly religiously diverse, with a steady decline in the proportion of Australians identifying with Christianity. In the 2021 Census, 43.9% of Australians identified as Christian, a decrease from 52.1% in the 2016 Census. Non-Christians represented about 10% of the population in 2021, up from 8% in 2016.
The second-largest non-Christian religion in Australia is Hinduism, with followers making up about 2.7% of the total population. Hinduism is one of the fastest-growing religions in the country, increasing by 12.0% per year since 2011. Buddhism is the third-largest non-Christian religion, with about 2.4% of Australians following its teachings.
Other non-Christian religions in Australia include Sikhism and Judaism, with each comprising less than 1% of the total population.
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Hinduism is the second-largest non-Christian religion
Australia is a secular country with a diverse migrant population and over 120 faiths. It has traditionally been a majority Christian country, with Christianity introduced by British colonial settlers in 1788. However, the dominance of Christianity is shifting. In the 2021 census, just under half of all Australians identified with a Christian faith, which was around 8% less than five years earlier.
The second-largest non-Christian religion in Australia is Hinduism, comprising 2.7% of the total population. Hindus numbered 684,000 in the 2021 census, making it the fourth-largest religious or non-religious affiliation. Hinduism is one of the fastest-growing religions in Australia, with a growth rate of 12% per year since 2011.
The history of Hindus in Australia dates back to the 19th century when they first came to work on cotton and sugar plantations. Many who remained worked in small businesses, as camel drivers, merchants, and hawkers, selling goods between small rural communities. The population increased significantly from the 1960s to the 1970s, more than doubling between the 1996 and 2006 censuses to around 148,000 people. Today, many Hindus in Australia are well-educated professionals in fields such as medicine, engineering, commerce, and information technology.
While Australia's major religion remains Christianity, with the largest denominations being Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Eastern Orthodox, Presbyterian, Reformed, Baptist, and Pentecostal, the country is becoming more religiously diverse. The number of people with no religious affiliation continues to grow, with almost 10 million Australians reporting no religion in the 2021 census.
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Buddhism is the third-largest religious group
Australia is a secular country with a diverse migrant population and over 120 faiths. It has traditionally been a majority Christian country, with the religion introduced by British colonial settlers in 1788. However, the dominance of Christianity is shifting. In the 2021 census, just under half of all Australians identified with a Christian faith, which was around 8% less than in the 2016 census. There is a growing proportion of people who do not identify with a religion, as well as a growth in the other major world religions.
The number of Muslims and Hindus in Australia has also risen significantly since the previous national census, alongside the increase in the number of followers of Buddhism and most other large world religions. While the attitude towards selected religious groups in Australia is mostly neutral, there is more negative sentiment towards Christians and Muslims than any other religion.
Although belonging to a religious group has seemingly become less common in Australia, there is still a large proportion of the population for whom religious beliefs are an important part of their identity and day-to-day life.
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Australia has a high degree of religious freedom
Australia has a diverse range of religions and spiritual beliefs, with the country becoming increasingly religiously diverse. The most common religion in Australia is Christianity, with 43.9% of the population identifying as Christian in the 2021 census, a decrease from 52.1% in 2016. Despite this, almost 10 million Australians reported having no religion in 2021, an increase from 30.1% in 2016.
The Australian government has attempted to further protect religious freedom through the introduction of religious discrimination bills. The second draft of this bill aimed to make it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of religious belief or activity in key areas of public life, including access to medical services, schools, employment, social media, aged care, hospitals, and commercial services. However, some religious groups criticised the bill for not explicitly recognising a positive right to freedom of religion and for providing inadequate protections for religious groups engaging in commercial activities.
Despite the high level of religious freedom in Australia, there have been incidents of religious discrimination and hate crimes. For example, in 2019, there were reports of anti-Semitic bullying in Melbourne-area schools and anti-Muslim hate speech and graffiti. Individuals who suffer religious discrimination in Australia can seek recourse under federal or state and territory discrimination laws and bodies, such as the Australian Human Rights Commission.
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Frequently asked questions
Christianity is the most popular religion in Australia, with 43.9% of the population identifying as Christian in the 2021 census.
Almost 10 million Australians reported having no religion in the 2021 census, an increase of almost 2 million people from the previous census. This group includes atheists, agnostics, and humanists.
Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Australia, with 3.2% of the total population identifying as Muslim in the 2021 census.
Australia has a diverse range of religions, with over 100 different religious affiliations recorded in the 2021 census. Other major religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Judaism. There are also smaller religious minorities such as the Baháʼí Faith and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander religions.
