Outline changing patterns of religious adherence from 1945 to the present using census data, and account for the religious landscape in Australia today

What this dot point is asking

NESA wants you to describe how religious adherence in Australia has shifted between 1945 and today, and to explain why. You need to read and quote Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) census figures, identify the major trends (immigration, denominational switching, the rise of secularism and New Age, and the growth of "no religion"), and account for each. This material sits in the Religion and Belief Systems in Australia post-1945 section, common to both Studies of Religion I and II.

The answer

The starting point: 1947

In the 1947 census, around 88 percent of Australians identified as Christian, overwhelmingly Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian or Methodist. Australia was a predominantly Anglo-Celtic, nominally Christian society. Other religions and "no religion" were tiny minorities.

Immigration and growing diversity

Post-war immigration is the single largest driver of change. Successive waves reshaped the religious profile:

• Southern European migration (Italian, Greek) after 1945 strengthened Catholicism and brought Greek Orthodoxy.
• Migration from Lebanon, Turkey and later from across Asia, the Middle East and Africa expanded Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism.
• The end of the White Australia Policy in the 1970s and refugee intakes from Vietnam, and later from Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, accelerated diversity.

By the most recent censuses, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism each register as significant minority traditions, with Hinduism among the fastest-growing because of skilled migration from the Indian subcontinent.

Secularisation and the rise of "no religion"

The proportion of Australians selecting "no religion" has risen steeply, especially after the census form was changed in 1971 to list "no religion" and to advise that the question was optional. The "no religion" share climbed from a low single-digit figure to becoming the largest single response category in the 2021 census, when it overtook Catholicism. Secularisation reflects declining institutional authority, individualism, and a culture that increasingly treats belief as a private matter.

Denominational switching

Within Christianity, adherents move between denominations, often from traditional mainline churches toward Pentecostal and evangelical communities such as those in the Australian Christian Churches movement. Switching is driven by the search for vibrant worship, community and contemporary relevance.

The rise of New Age religions

New Age spirituality, an eclectic blend of practices (astrology, crystals, meditation, drawing on Eastern and Indigenous ideas), grew as people sought personal meaning outside institutional religion. It reflects a wider shift toward individualised, experiential spirituality rather than doctrinal commitment.

The contemporary picture

Australia today is a multifaith, increasingly secular society. Christianity remains the largest religion but is no longer a majority of the population; "no religion" is the largest single category; and minority faiths are well established and growing. Interfaith dialogue and religious pluralism are now defining features of the landscape.

Accounting for the trends together

Strong responses do not just list percentages; they explain causes. The three drivers to weave together are immigration (which diversifies and grows minority faiths), secularisation and individualism (which grow "no religion" and New Age), and internal Christian dynamics (denominational switching from mainline to Pentecostal churches). Always anchor each claim to a census year and a figure or direction of change.