LOSING MY RELIGION?

no religion, non religious, religious ceremonies, different religious beliefs, religious views, losing my religion, Atheist, Agnostic, Catholic, Christian, non-Christian, Anglican

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PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE REPORTING NO RELIGION, 1971 - 2011





Source: ABS Censuses of Population and Housing, 1971- 2011



PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE REPORTING NO RELIGION IN THE 2011 CENSUS, BY TYPE OF VIEW HELD

No. % Atheist 58 899 1.2 Agnostic 34 632 0.7 Humanist 7 663 0.2 Rationalist 2 435 0.1 No religion, not further defined 4 693 162 97.8 Total 4 796 791 100.0

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011





SELECTED RELIGIOUS STATUS, 2001, 2006 AND 2011





Source: ABS Censuses of Population and Housing, 2001, 2006 and 2011



PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE(a)

REPORTING NO RELIGION(b) BY SEX,

1911 - 1961 PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE

REPORTING NO RELIGION(b) BY SEX,

1971 - 2011

(a) Prior to 1971, people describing themselves as more than 50% Aboriginal were excluded from counts of the population

(b) Includes (variously) atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, socialists, rationalists, humanists and people who stated 'No religion'

(c) In 1971, the instruction 'If no religion, write none' was introduced to the Census, which showed a large increase in such responses

Source: ABS Censuses of Population and Housing,1911 - 2011



PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE REPORTING NO RELIGION BY AGE AND SEX, 2011





Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011





RELIGIOUS STATUS OF CHILDREN BY RELIGION OF PARENTS(a), 2011





(a) Parents in couple families, living in the same household as the child.

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011





PERCENTAGE OF YOUNG PEOPLE REPORTING NO RELIGION, BY AGE AND SEX, 2011





Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011





CHANGE IN PROPORTION OF PEOPLE REPORTING NO RELIGION BETWEEN 2006 AND 2011(a)(b) BY AGE GROUP IN 2011





(a) Percentage of people that reported no religion in 2006 compared with percentage of people with no religion in the age cohort they would be part of in 2011.

Negative numbers mean a decrease of reporting no religion between 2006 and 2011, positive numbers mean an increase.

(b) Excludes people who were not resident in Australia in 2006

Source: ABS Censuses of Population and Housing, 2006 and 2011



PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE(a) REPORTING NO RELIGION BY LEVEL OF HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, 2011





(a) Aged 20 years and over

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011





PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE REPORTING NO RELIGION BY LEVEL OF HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND AGE, 2011





Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011



PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WITH A BACHELOR DEGREE OR HIGHER REPORTING NO RELIGION BY FIELD OF HIGHEST QUALIFICATION, 2011





Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011



PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE REPORTING NO RELIGION BY STATE AND TERRITORY, 1991 AND 2011





Source: ABS Censuses of Population and Housing, 1991 and 2011



PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE REPORTING NO RELIGION BY REMOTENESS AREA, 2011





Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011



PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE REPORTING NO RELIGION BY COUNTRY OF BIRTH(a):

COUNTRIES OF BIRTH WITH HIGHEST RATES OF REPORTING OF NO RELIGION, 2011





(a) Countries of birth with more than 250 representatives in Australia

(b) Excluding Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011



NUMBER OF MARRIAGES BY TYPE OF CELEBRANT, 1991-2011





Source: Marriages and Divorces, Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 3310.0)



WOMEN WHO HAVE HAD ONE OR MORE CHILDREN BY RELIGIOUS STATUS BY AGE, 2011





Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011

RELIGION AND SCHOOL



Although religious schools dominate the non-government school sector, religion is usually not the most important factor for parents in choice of school, outweighed by discipline, educational quality, and the school's capacity to develop their child's potential.16 While some children reporting no religion did attend Catholic and other non-government schools, they were more likely to go to government schools (81% or four in five children). This number was higher for those in primary school (86%) than it was for those in high school (74%).



Just over half the children who did report a religion or did not state their religion went to government schools (56%, with 59% for primary and 52% for secondary schools).



Catholic and other non-government schools had lower proportions of children reporting no religion than government schools. Around 7% of children in Catholic primary schools reported no religion, compared with 18% in other non-government primary schools, and 33% in government primary schools. There were similar patterns for high schools, although slightly more children reported no religion in non-government high schools (9% in Catholic and 22% in other non-government high schools), and slightly less reported no religion in government high schools (31%).



Household income also had an effect on parents' choice of schooling for their child, although this was mostly a factor for non-Catholic schools. On average, 21% of children who lived in couple families with an income of less than $1,500 a week and 23% who lived in couple families with an income over $2,000 a week went to Catholic schools, while 12% and 33% respectively went to other non-government schools. Where neither parent reported no religion there was a slight increase in the proportion of children attending non-government schools, to 24% and 28% respectively for Catholic schools, and 13% and 34% respectively for other non-government schools. However when both parents reported no religion, 6% of children in families with an income less than $1,500 per week and 5% of children in families with over $2,000 per week went to Catholic schools, while 10% and 31% respectively went to other non-government schools.



Rates of attending government schools decreased as level of income increased and were also lower where parents reported a religion or did not state their religious status. The lowest rates of attending government schools were for children in households with an income of $2,000 or more per week where neither parent reported no religion.



SCHOOL ATTENDED BY RELIGIOUS STATUS OF COUPLE PARENTS AND INCOME(a), 2011



(a) Equivalised total weekly household income. Household may include more than the couple family and their children.

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2011



Children of lone parents with no religion were slightly more likely on average to go to Catholic schools than children of couple parents with no religion (8% compared with 6%), but were also the most likely to go to government schools (86%).

NO RELIGION OR NOT TELLING? THE AUSTRALIAN STORY



In 1911, the first national Census in Australia asked a question on religion. This was unusual at the time, with Britain considering it to be too intrusive, but the Australian people were used to providing their religious status because it had been included in state Censuses,17 as well as in the Federation Census of 1901. The Census question was voluntary, and from the outset there was an option to answer 'no religion'.



The 'no religion' response does not tell the whole story, however. It is not possible to work out the actual number of Australians with no religion, as there are people who may or may not be religious who choose not to answer the question, or give an indefinite answer.



In 1911, the responses of 2% of Australians (83,000 people) were classified as 'objected to state'. In 2011, ' not stated ' responses accounted for 9% of the population (1.8 million people).



Reasons for not answering the question may include a belief that religion is a private matter, or because people are answering for someone else and do not know their religious affiliation. Those filling out Census forms for older people in nursing homes, for example, may choose the 'not stated' response if the person is not able to communicate ('not stated' responses rise steeply from 8% of people aged 75 to 79 years to 16% of people aged 95 years and over).



Some people may not answer solely because the question is voluntary. In 1933, when the question was explicitly stated to be so, there was a six fold increase in people choosing not to answer, from less than 2% in 1921 to 13% - the highest proportion of such responses to date.

PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE(a) REPORTING NO RELIGION(b) OR PROVIDING NO RESPONSE TO THE CENSUS QUESTION ON RELIGION, 1901-2011





(a) Prior to 1971, people describing themselves as as more than 50% Aboriginal were excluded from counts of the population

(b) Includes (variously over time) atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, socialists, rationalists, humanists and people who stated 'No denomination' and 'No religion'

(c) In the 1933 Census the public was specifically informed there was no legal obligation to answer the question on religion

(d) In 1971, the instruction 'If no religion, write none' was introduced to the Census

Sources: Federation Census 1901, ABS Censuses of Population and Housing, 1911 - 2011



Others choose to answer in such a way that the question is not really answered (like an informal vote in an election). A hundred years ago, as now, there were responses to the question on religion that may or may not have been intended to be taken seriously, and as now, they were classified as 'not defined'. With such responses as 'cosmopolitan', 'infidel', 'single taxer', 'calathumpian', 'idolater' and 'wowser', were these people the Jedis of 1911? There was even one person who put their religion as 'scientist', and may have seen (with some satisfaction?) their single response published in the list of religions. By 1921 individual responses to 'indefinite religions' were no longer published, so even had our scientist paid their two shillings and sixpence for a copy of the Census results*, they would not have seen themselves again.



Overall, in 1911, responses from 5,600 people were classified as 'other indefinite' (0.1%), compared with 132,600 in 2011 (0.6%).



* (Census results are now freely available at www.abs.gov.au )

RETURN OF THE JEDI?



When answering the question on religion in the 2001 Census, 70,509 Australians (0.37%) wrote 'Jedi' or a variant, in response to an email campaign claiming (mistakenly) that if 8,000 people said they followed the Jedi religion in the forthcoming Census, the country would have to recognise it officially.18 , 19 While number of followers is considered in the criteria for categorising religions in the Australian Standard Classification of Religious Groups, it is not generally used in defining them for inclusion. More detail on this can be found in the publication (cat. no. 1266.0).



Whether or not people took the claim seriously, it was the start of a reporting phenomenon that gained speed internationally and has continued into the next decade. In 2011, England and Wales had a sizeable Jedi contingent (176,632),20 and recent data showed there were 20,262 in New Zealand21 and around 9,000 in Canada.22



Numbers in Australia dropped in the 2006 Census to 58,053 people but bounced back in 2011 to 64,390.

PEOPLE REPORTING JEDI OR A VARIANT AS THEIR RELIGION IN THE CENSUS, 2001-2011



Source: ABS Censuses of Population and Housing, 2001 to 2011

The ABS released a statement in 2001 that said 'if your belief system is 'Jedi' then answer as such on the Census form', and went on to explain the purpose of the question in enabling representative services to be provided where they are needed. The statement noted that answers which had not as yet been identified as a religion in the classification would be coded as 'not defined'.



DATA SOURCES AND DEFINITIONS



Data presented in this article have been mainly sourced from the ABS Census of Population and Housing. Data from the ABS General Social Survey 2010, and Marriages registered by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each Australian State and Territory, 2011 is also included.



The Census question on religion asks "What is the person’s religion?" and provides a list of common religions to choose from. People are advised that answering this question is optional. They are also guided with examples on how to answer if their religion does not appear on the list, and asked to mark the ‘No religion’ box if they do not have a religion.



The category 'No religion' is made up of people who select the 'No religion' box on the Census form, or write 'None' or 'No religion' or a variant. The question is voluntary, so people can also choose not to answer, in which case their religious status is recorded as 'Not stated' (see below). The actual number of Australians with no religion is unclear because people who choose not to answer the question may or may not be religious. Parents of young children are quite likely to be answering this question on behalf of their children.



'Not stated' responses are not included in the 'No religion' count. From 1981, 'not stated' responses also contain imputed responses. Where a Census collector has identified that a private dwelling was occupied on Census Night but a Census form was not returned, the number of people normally in the dwelling and their key demographic variables may require imputation. In these cases, non-demographic variables (such as religious status) are set to 'Not stated' or 'Not applicable'.



The classification structure for religions, and inclusions for 'Christianity', 'Catholic' and 'Anglican' can be found in the Census Data Dictionary. In this article, 'Catholic' includes all Catholic variations, and 'Anglican' includes the Anglican Church of Australia and the Anglican Catholic Church.



Income data is drawn from equivalised total weekly household income, which is household income adjusted by an equivalence scale to compare income levels between households of differing size and composition. A larger household would normally need more income than a smaller household to achieve the same standard of living. Equivalised total household income can be seen as an indicator of the economic resources available to a standardised household. For a lone person household it is equal to household income. For a household comprising more than one person, it is an indicator of the household income that would be needed by a lone person household to enjoy the same level of economic wellbeing.



Calathumpian - often used to indicate a lack of adherence to any religion; a member of an unspecified nonconformist religious sect; a holder of any unspecified belief (Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary).



For more information on religion in Australia in 2011, see Reflecting a Nation: Stories from the 2011 Census, 2012–2013 (cat. no. 2071.0).