Religion in Australia
Encyclopedia
In the 21st century, religion in Australia is demographically dominated by Christianity
, with 64% of the population claiming at least nominal adherence to the Christian faith as of 2007, although less than a quarter of those attend church weekly. 18.7% of Australians declared "no-religion" on the 2006 Census with a further 11.2% failing to answer the question. The remaining population is a diverse group that includes Islamic and Buddhist communities.
The Constitution of Australia
prohibits the Commonwealth government from establishing a church or interfering with the freedom of religion
, however, states are free under their own constitutions to interfere or establish a church, although none ever has. The relationship between the Commonwealth government and religion is much freer than in the United States, with governments working with religious organisations that provide education, health and other public services.
had their own religious traditions of the Dreamtime (as Mircea Eliade
put it) "There is a general belief among the [indigenous] Australians that the world, man, and the various animals and plants were created by certain Supernatural beings who afterwards disappeared, either ascending to the sky or entering the earth." and ritual
systems, with an emphasis on life transitions such as adulthood and death
.
Prior to European settlement
in 1788 there was contact with Indigenous Australians from people of various faiths. These contacts were with explorers, fishermen and survivors of the numerous shipwrecks. There have been countless artifacts retrieved from these contacts. The Aborigines of Northern Australia (Arnhem Land
) retain stories, songs and paintings of trade and cultural interaction with boat-people from the north. These people are generally regarded as being from the east Indonesia
n archipelago
. (See: Macassan contact with Australia
.) There is some evidence of Islamic terms and concepts entering northern Aboriginal culture via this interaction.
Centuries before European sailors reached Australia, Christian theologians already speculated whether this region, located on the opposite side of the Earth from Europe, had human inhabitants and, if so, whether the Antipodes
descended from Adam and have been redeemed by Jesus
. The prevailing point of view, expressed by Augustine of Hippo
, was that "it is too absurd to say that some men might have set sail from this side and, traversing the immense expanse of ocean, have propagated there a race of human beings descended from that one first man." A dissenting view, held by the Irish-Austrian St. Vergilius of Salzburg
was "that beneath the earth there was another world and other men"; while not much is known about Vergilius' views, the Catholic Encyclopedia speculates that he was able to clear himself from accusations of heresy by explaining that the people of the hypothetical Australia were descended from Adam and redeemed by Christ.
By the early 18th century, Christian leaders felt that the natives of the little known Terra Australis Incognita and Hollandia Nova (still often thought as two distinct land masses) were in need of conversion to Christianity. In 1724, a young Jonathan Edwards wrote:
Christianity came to Australia with the first European settlers on the First Fleet
. Denominations represented were predominantly Roman Catholic found amongst Irish convicts and Anglican among other convicts and their gaolers. There were certainly at least 15 Jews in the First Fleet, 14 convicts and one "free" child.. Other groups were also represented, for example, among the Tolpuddle Martyrs
were a number of Methodists
. The First Fleet brought tensions to Australia fuelled by historical grievances between Roman Catholics and other Christians, tensions that would continue into the 20th century.
The first chaplain, Richard Johnson
, a Church of England
cleric, was charged by Governor Arthur Phillip
with improving "public morality" in the colony, but he was also heavily involved in health and education. Christian leaders have remained prominent in health and education in Australia ever since, with over a fifth of students attending church schools at the beginning of the 21st century and a number of the nation's hospitals, care facilities and charities having been founded by Christian organisations.
After settlement, some Muslim
sailors and prisoners came to Australia on the convict ships. Afghans
cameleers settled in Australia from the 1860s onwards, a number of them being Sikh
. From the 1870s Malay
divers were recruited (with most subsequently repatriated). Islam was not a significant minority in this period.
During the 1800s, European settlers brought their traditional churches to Australia. These included the Church of England and the Methodist, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Congregationalist
, Baptist
and Lutheran churches.
The Church of England was disestablished in the colony of New South Wales
by the Church Act of 1836. Drafted by the reformist attorney-general John Plunkett
, the act established legal equality for Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians and was later extended to Methodists.
Freedom of Religion
was enshrined in the Australian Constitution of 1901. At the establishment of the federation
- apart from a small Lutheran population of German descent, the indigenous population, and the descendants of gold rush
migrants - Australian society was predominantly Anglo-Celtic, with 40% of the population being Anglican (then Church of England), 23% Catholic, 34% other Christian and about 1% professing non-Christian religions. The first census in 1911 showed 96% identified themselves as Christian. The tensions that came with the First Fleet continued into the 1960s: job vacancy advertisements sometimes included the stipulation that "Catholics Need Not Apply". Nevertheless, Australia elected its first Catholic prime minister, James Scullin
, in 1929 and Sir Isaac Isaacs
, a Jew, was appointed governor-general in 1930.
Further waves of migration and the gradual repeal of the White Australia Policy
, helped to reshape the profile of Australia's religious affiliations over subsequent decades. The impact of migration from Europe in the aftermath of World War II led to increases in affiliates of the Orthodox
churches, the establishment of Reformed bodies, growth in the number of Catholics (largely from Italian migration) and Jews
(Holocaust survivors) and the creation of ethnic parishes among many other denominations. More recently (post-1970s), immigration from South-East Asia and the Middle East has expanded Buddhist
and Muslim
numbers considerably and increased the ethnic diversity of existing Christian denominations.
As has been the trend throughout the world since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, there has been an increasingly strained relationship between the adherents of Islam
and the wider community. Attempts have been made to bridge inter-faith differences. However, the influence of the identity politics
as a whole is not to be discounted in this respects; reflected in the conflicting and ambiguous interpretation of the 2005 race riots
in Cronulla, near Sydney.
Religious places of worship have made their mark on Australia. Churches or chapels have been constructed in most towns, with many fine cathedrals built in the colonies during the 19th century. Synagogues, mosques and temples are also a feature of most Australian cities. The oldest mosque
in Australia was built in 1888. Australia also has one of the larger Buddhist temples
in the Southern Hemisphere
.
In 1983, the High Court of Australia defined religion as a complex of beliefs and practices which point to a set of values and an understanding of the meaning of existence. The ABS 2001 Census Dictionary defines "No Religion" as a category of religion which has subcategories such as agnosticism
, atheism
, Humanism
and rationalism
.
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
(HREOC) is able to inquire into allegations of discrimination on religious grounds.
HREOC's 1998 addressing the human right to freedom of religion and belief in Australia against article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
stated that despite the legal protections that apply in different jurisdictions, many Australians suffer discrimination on the basis of religious belief or non-belief, including members of both mainstream and non-mainstream religions, and those of no religious persuasion.
Many non-Christian adherents have complained to HREOC that the dominance of traditional Christianity in civic life has the potential to marginalise large numbers of Australian citizens. An example of an HREOC response to such views is the IsmaU project, which examines possible racial prejudice against Muslim
s in Australia since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, and the Bali bombings.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics
(ABS) 2006 Census Dictionary statement on religious affiliation states the purpose for gathering such information:
The 2006 census identified that 64% of Australians call themselves Christian: 26% identifying themselves as Roman Catholic
and 19% as Anglican. Five percent of Australians identify themselves as followers of non-Christian religions, and 19% categorised as having "No Religion"; 12% declined to answer or did not give a response adequate for interpretation. As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is much lower than this; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, about 7.5% of the population.
According to the census, the fastest growing religions during the intercensal period between 2001 and 2006 were: Hinduism by 55.1 percent, Non-religion by 27.5 percent, Islam by 20.9 percent, Buddhist affiliation increased by 17 percent, and Judaism by 6 percent. Christianity was the only religion to show negative growth, with the number of followers falling by 0.6 percent.
The largest population increase was Non-religion which increased by 800,563 people. Buddhism increased by 60,940 people, Islam by 58,819 people, Hindu by 52,660 people. Christianity was the only religion to decrease in population, decreasing by 78,513. During that same period the population of Australia increased by 1,086,044.
Indigenous Australians have a complex oral tradition
and spiritual values based upon reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Dreamtime is at once the ancient time of creation and the present day reality of Dreaming. There were a great many different groups, each with their own individual culture, belief structure, and language. These cultures overlapped to a greater or lesser extent, and evolved over time. The Rainbow Serpent
is a major dream spirit for Aboriginal people across Australia. The Yowie
and Bunyip
are other well known dream spirits. At the time of the European settlement, traditional religions were animist and also tended to have elements of ancestor worship.
According to the 2001 census, 5,244 persons or less than 0.03 percent of respondents reported practising Aboriginal traditional religions. Aboriginal beliefs and spirituality, even among those Aborigines who identify themselves as members of a traditional organised religion, are intrinsically linked to the land generally and to certain sites of significance in particular. The 1996 census reported that almost 72 percent of Aborigines practised some form of Christianity and 16 percent listed no religion. The 2001 census contained no comparable updated data.
European culture and Christianity
have had a significant impact on Indigenous Australians
. As in many colonial
situations the churches both facilitated the loss of Indigenous Australian culture and religion and also facilitated its maintenance. The involvement of Christians in Aboriginal affairs has evolved singnificantly since 1788. Around the year 2000, many Churches and Church organisations officially apologised for past failures to adequately respect indigenous cultures and address the injustices of the dispossession of indigenous people.
In the Torres Strait Islands
, the Coming of the Light Festival marks the day the Christian missionaries first arrived on the islands on 1 July 1871 and introduced Christianity to the region. This is a significant festival for Torres Strait Islanders, who are predominantly Christian. Religious and cultural ceremonies are held across Torres Strait and mainland Australia.
Prominent Aboriginal activist Noel Pearson, himself raised at a Lutheran mission in Cape York
, has written that missions throughout Australia's colonial history "provided a haven from the hell of life on the Australian frontier while at the same time facilitating colonisation". Prominent Aboriginal Christians have included Pastor David Unaipon
, the first Aboriginal author; Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls
, athlete, activist and former Governor of South Australia
; Mum (Shirl) Smith
, a celebrated Redfern
community worker who, assisted by the Sisters of Charity
, work to assist Aborigines.; and former Senator Aden Ridgeway
, the first Chairman of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry. In recent times, Christians like Fr Ted Kennedy
of Redfern, Jesuit human rights lawyer Fr Frank Brennan and the Josephite Sisters
have been prominent in working for Aboriginal rights and improvements to standards of living.
The churches with the largest number of members are the Roman Catholic Church in Australia
, the Anglican Church of Australia
and the Uniting Church in Australia
, Pentecostal
churches are also present with megachurch
es being found in most states (for example, Hillsong Church
and Paradise Community Church
). The National Council of Churches in Australia
is the main Christian ecumenical body.
In his welcoming address to the Catholic World Youth Day 2008
in Sydney, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd
, said that Christianity had been a positive influence on Australia: "It was the church that began first schools for the poor, it was the church that began first hospitals for the poor, it was the church that began first refuges for the poor and these great traditions continue for the future." Christian charitable organisations, hospitals and schools have played a prominent role in welfare and education since Colonial times, when First Fleet
chaplain Richard Johnson
was credited as "the physician both of soul and body" during the famine of 1790, and was charged with general supervision of schools.
Today, the Catholic education system is the second biggest sector after government schools, with more than 650,000 students (and around 21 per cent of all secondary school enrolments). The Anglican Church educates around 105,000 students and the Uniting Church has around 48 schools. Smaller denominations, including the Lutheran Church also have a number of schools in Australia. The Australian Catholic University
opened in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia.
Catholic Social Services Australia
's 63 member organisations help more than a million Australians every year. Anglican organisations work in health, missionary work, social welfare and communications; and the Uniting Church does extensive community work, in aged care, hospitals, nursing, family support services, youth services and with the homeless. Christian charities such as the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, the Salvation Army
and Youth Off the Streets
receive considerable national support. Religious orders founded many of Australia's hospitals, such as St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
, which was opened as a free hospital in 1857 by the Sisters of Charity
and is now Australia's largest not-for-profit health provider and has trained prominent Australian surgeons such as Victor Chang
.
Notable Australian Christians have included: Mary MacKillop
- educator, founder of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart
and the first Australian to be recognised as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church; David Unaipon
- an Aboriginal writer, inventor and Christian preacher currently featured on the Australian $50 note; Archbishop Daniel Mannix
of Melbourne - a controversial voice against Conscription
during World War I
and against British policy in Ireland; The Reverend John Flynn
- founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, currently featured on the Australian $20 note; Sir Douglas Nicholls
- Aboriginal rights activist, athlete, preacher and former Governor of South Australia
.
Sectarianism
in Australia tended to reflect the political inheritance of Britain and Ireland. Until 1945, the vast majority of Catholics in Australia were of Irish descent, causing the British majority to question their loyalty to the British Empire
. The first Catholic priests arrived in Australia as convicts in 1800, but the Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804 alarmed the British authorities and no further priests were allowed in the colony until 1820, when London sent John Joseph Therry
and Philip Connolly
. In 1901, the Australian Constitution guaranteed Separation of Church and State
. A notable period of sectarianism re-emerged during the First World War
and the 1916 Easter Uprising in Ireland, but the significance of sectarian division declined dramatically after World War II
. There was a growth in non-religious adherence, but also a diversification of Christian churches (especially the growth of Greek, Macedonian, Serbian and Russian Orthodox churches), together with an increase in ecumenism
among Christians, through organisations such as the National Council of Churches in Australia
.
One of the most visible signs of the historical importance of Christianity to Australia is the prominence of churches in most Australian towns and cities. One of Australia's oldest is the Anglican St James Church, Sydney, built between 1819 and 1824 by Governor Macquarie
's architect, Francis Greenway
. St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
was built to a design by William Wardell
from a foundation stone laid in 1868, the spires of the cathedral were not finally added until the year 2000. Wardell also worked on the design of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
- among the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Australia. The Anglican St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
in the iconic hub of the city opposite Flinders Street Station
. Adelaide
is known as the "City of Churches" but churches extend far into the Australian Outback
, as at the historic Lutheran Mission Chapel at Hermannsburg, Northern Territory
. Along with community attitudes to religion, church architecture changed significantly during the 20th century. Urban churches, such as the Wayside Chapel
(1964) in Sydney, differed markedly from traditional ecclesiastical designs. In the later 20th century, distinctly Australian approaches were applied at places such as Jambaroo Benedictine Abbey, where natural materials were chosen to "harmonise with the local environment" and the chapel sanctuary is of glass overlooking rainforest. Similar design principles were applied at Thredbo Ecumenical Chapel built in the Snowy Mountains
in 1996.
The Christian festivals of Christmas
and Easter
are national public holidays in Australia. Christmas
, which recalls the birth of Jesus Christ, is celebrated on 25 December during the Australian summer and is an important cultural festival even for many non-religious Australians. The European traditions of Christmas tree
s, roast dinners, carols and gift giving are all continued in Australia – though they might be conducted between visits to the beach – and Santa Claus
is said in song to be drawn on his sleigh by six white boomer kangaroos
.
Some Christian denominations with Australian articles:
s are a religious minority in Australia of about 150,000 adherents according to the 2006 census. In the 19th century, Hindus first came to Australia to work on cotton and sugar plantations. Many remained as small businessmen, working as camel drivers, merchants and hawkers
, selling goods between small rural communities. Their population increased dramatically from the 1960s and 1970s and more than doubled between the 1996 and 2006 censusus to around 148,000 people. Most were migrants, from countries such as Fiji
, India
, Sri Lanka
and South Africa
. At present many Hindus are well-educated professionals in fields such as medicine, engineering, commerce and information technology. Among Australia's best-known Hindus is the singer Kamahl
. There are around 34 Hindu temples in Australia. Sri Mandir Temple in multicultural Auburn, Sydney was the first Hindu temple in Australia. It was established in 1977 to meet the needs of the growing Hindu community.
The first contacts that Islam had with Australia was when Muslim fishermen native to Makassar, which is today a part of Indonesia, visited North-Western Australia long before British settlement in 1788. This contact of South East Asian ethnic groups of Islamic faith can be identified from the graves they dug for their comrades who died on the journey, being that they face Mecca
(in Arabia), in accordance with Islamic regulations concerning burial, as well as evidence from Aboriginal cave paintings and religious ceremonies which depict and incorporate the adoption of Makassan canoe designs and words.
In later history, throughout the 19th century following British settlement, other Muslims came to Australia including the Muslim 'Afghan' cameleers, who used their camels to transport goods and people through the otherwise unnavigable desert and pioneered a network of camel tracks that later became roads across the Outback
. Australia’s first mosque was built for them at Marree, South Australia
in 1861. Between the 1860s and 1920s around 2000 cameleers were brought from Afghanistan and the north west of British India (now Pakistan) and perhaps 100 families remained in Australia. Other outback mosques were established at places like Coolgardie, Cloncurry, and Broken Hill - and more permanent mosques in Adelaide, Perth and later Brisbane. A legacy of this pioneer era is the presence of wild camels in Outback and the oldest Islamic structure in the southern hemisphere
, at Central Adelaide Mosque
. Nonetheless, despite their significant role in Australia prior to the establishment of rail and road networks, the formulation of the White Australia policy at the time of Federation made immigration difficult for the 'Afghans' and their memory slowly faded during the 20th century, until a revival of interest began in the 1980s.
In the early 20th century, most Muslims could not legally immigrate to Australia because of the White Australia policy
which restricted immigration to Europeans or those of European descent, very few of whom were Muslim. However, European Muslims from Albania
and Bosnia did arrive in numbers especially in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1947, out of 7,579,358 Australian inhabitants, there were 2,704 or 0.04% Muslims.
Successive Australian governments dismantled the White Australia Policy in the Post-WW2 period. From the 1970s onwards, under the leadership of Gough Whitlam
and Malcolm Fraser
, Australia began to pursue multiculturalism
. Australia in the later 20th century became a refuge for many Muslims fleeing conflicts including those in Lebanon
, the former Yugoslavia
, Iraq
, Iran
, Sudan
and Afghanistan
. General immigration, combined with religious conversion to Islam by Christians and other Australians, as well as Australia's participation in UN refugee efforts has increased the overall Muslim population. Around 36% of Muslims are Australian born. Overseas born Muslims come from a great variety of nations and ethnic groups - with large Lebanese and Turkish communities.
Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, associations drawn between the political ideology of Osama Bin Laden
and the religion of Islam have stirred debate in some quarters in Australia regarding Islam's relationship with the wider community - with some advocating greater emphasis on assimilation, and others supporting renewed commitment to diversity. The deaths of Australians in bombings by militant Islamic fundamentalists in New York in 2001, Bali in 2002-5 and London
in 2005; as well as the sending of Australian troops to East Timor
in 1999, Afghanistan
in 2001 and Iraq
in 2003; the arrest of bomb plotters in Australia; and concerns about certain cultural practices such as the wearing of the Burkha have all contributed to a degree of tension in recent times A series of comments by a senior Sydney cleric, Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly
also stirred controversy, particularly his remarks regarding "female modesty" following an incident of gang rape in Sydney
Australians were among the targets of Islamic Fundamentalists in the Bali bombings in Indonesia and attack on Australian Embassy in Jakarta and the South East Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah
has been of particular concern to Australians.
The Australian government's mandatory detention
processing system for asylum seekers became increasingly controversial after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. A significant proportion of recent Asylum seekers arriving by boat have been Muslims fleeing the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and elswhere.
Some Islamic leaders and social commentators claim that Islam has suffered from unfair stereotyping Violence and intimidation was directed against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern appearance during southern Sydney's Cronulla riots in 2005.
In 2005, the Howard Government
established the Muslim Community Reference Group to advise on Muslim community issues for one year, chaired by Ameer Ali
. Inter-faith dialogues were also established by Christian and Muslim groups such as The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils
and the National Council of Churches in Australia
. Australia and Indonesia co-operated closely following the Bali-bombings, not only in law-enforcement but in improving education and cross-cultural understanding, leading to a marked improvement in relations. After a series of controversies, Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly
retired as Grand mufti
of Australia in 2007 and was replaced by Fehmi Naji El-Imam AM
.
Today, over 360,000 people in Australia identify as Muslim. with diverse communities concentrated mainly in Sydney and Melbourne. Since the 1970s Islamic schools have been established as well as more than 100 mosques and prayer centres. Many notable Muslim places of worship are to be found in Australian cities, including the Central Adelaide Mosque
, which was constructed during the 1880s; and Sydney's Classical Ottoman style Auburn Gallipoli Mosque
, which was largely funded by the Turkish community and the name of which recalls the shared heritage of the foundation of modern Turkey and the story of the ANZACs. Notable Australian Muslims include boxer Anthony Mundine
; community worker and rugby league
star Hazem El Masri
; cricketer Usman Khawaja
and academic Waleed Aly
.
At least eight Jewish convict
s are believed to have been transported
to Sydney aboard the First Fleet
in 1788, when the first European settlement was established on the continent. An estimated 110,000 Jews currently live in Australia, the majority being Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe
an descent, with many being refugees and Holocaust survivors who arrived during and after World War II
.
The Jewish population has increased slightly in recent times due to immigration from South Africa and the former Soviet Union
. The largest Jewish community in Australia is in Melbourne
, with about 60,000, followed by Sydney with about 45,000 members. Smaller communities are dispersed among the other state capitals.
Following the conclusion of the British colonial period, Jews have enjoyed formal equality before the law in Australia and have not been subject to civil disabilities
or other forms of state-sponsored anti-Semitism
which exclude them from full participation in public life.
Sydney's gothic design Great Synagogue
, consecrated in 1878, is a notable place of Jewish worship in Australia. Notable Australian Jews have included the Sir John Monash
, the notable World War I general who opened the Maccabean Hall in Sydney in 1923 to commemorate Jews who fought and died in the First World War and who is currently featured on the Australian $100 note; and Sir Isaac Isaacs
who became the first Australian born governor general in 1930. Sir Zelman Cowen
also served as Governor-General, between 1977 and 1982. The Sydney Jewish Museum
opened in 1992 to commemorate the Holocaust "challenge visitors' perceptions of democracy, morality, social justice and human rights".
Until the 1930s, all synagogues in Australia were nominally Orthodox
, with most acknowledging leadership of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom. To this day the vast majority of synagogues in Australia are Orthodox. However, there is a wide range of Orthodox congregations, including Mizrachi
, Chabad
and Adass Israel congregations. There are also Sephardi congregations.
There had been short-lived efforts to establish Reform
congregations as early as the 1890s. However, under the leadership of Ada Phillips, a sustained liberal congregation, Temple Beth Israel, was established in Melbourne
. Subsequently another synagogue linked to the United States Reform Movement
, Temple Emanuel, was established in Sydney
. Following these two congregations, a number of other Liberal synagogues have been founded in other cities.
Since 1992 Conservative
(Masorti) services have been held as an alternative service usually in the Neuweg, the smaller second synagogue within Temple Emanuel, Woollahra, Sydney. In 1999, Kehilat Nitzan, Melbourne's first Conservative (Masorti) Congregation was established, with foundation president Prof John Rosenberg
. The congregation appointed its first rabbi, Ehud Bandel in 2006. In 2010 Beit Knesset Shalom became Brisbane's first Conservative (Masorti) synagogue.
that there may have been contact some hundreds of years earlier. Buddhists began arriving in Australia in significant numbers during the goldrush of the 1850s, with an influx of Chinese miners. However, the population remained low until the 1960s. Buddhism is now one of the fastest growing religions in Australia. Immigration from Asia has contributed to this, but some people of non-Asian origin have also converted. The three main traditions of Buddhism - Theravada
, East Asian and Tibetan
- are now represented in Australia.
According to the Australian census in 2006, Buddhism
is the largest non-Christian religion in Australia, with 418,000 adherents, or 2.1% of the total population. It was also the fastest growing religion in terms of percentage, having increased its number of adherents by 109.6% since 1996.
The Nan Tien Temple
, or "Southern Paradise Temple" in Wollongong, New South Wales began construction in the early 1990s, adopting the Chinese palace building style and is today the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. The temple follows the Venerable Master Hsing Yun
of the Fo Guang Shan
Buddhist order.
, named the First Sikh Temple, was built. Following the end of the White Australia Policy
there has been a great increase in the number of Sikhs from a number of countries including India
, Malaysia, Fiji
and the United Kingdom
. The 2006 Australian Census shows about 26,500 followers, up from 17,000 in 2001 and 12,000 in 1996.
The Bahá'í faith in Australia has a long history and a growing visible presence in the country since 1922. A Bahá'í House of Worship exists in Sydney, dedicated on 17 September 1961 and opened to the public after four years of construction. The 1996 Australian Census lists Bahá'í membership at just under 9000. The 2001 second edition of A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency Services
added the Bahá'í faith in its coverage of religions in Australia and noted that the community had grown to over 11,000. The Association of Religion Data Archives
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated some 17,700 Bahá'ís in 2005.
. As of the 2006 census there are 3,706,555 people in Australia categorised by the ABS as having "No Religion". This category includes just four named subcategories, namely agnosticism
, atheism
, Humanism
and rationalism
. A fifth sub-category is "No Religion, nfd" (nfd=no further definition). According to earlier Australian Bureau of Statistics data, in 2001 15.5% of the Australian population identified themselves as having "No Religion" in a census question.
This was 1.5% lower than the 1996 result but increased to 18.7% in the census in 2006. Despite non-theistic secularists representing nearly 20% of the Australian population, the Australian Bureau of Statistics does not provide information in the annual "1301.0 - Year Book Australia" on religious affiliation as to how many people fall into each sub-category. Data on religious affiliation is only collected by the ABS at the five yearly population census. Atheist interests in Australia are represented nationally by the Atheist Foundation of Australia
. Humanist interests in Australia are represented nationally by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies
. Rationalist interests in Australia are represented nationally by the Rationalist Society of Australia
.
Orthodox. Of the smaller religions, Pagan Religions 29328, Bahá'í
at 12,000, Humanism
about 7000. Between 1000 and 5000, other than small Christian denominations, are the following religions - Taoist, Druse
, Satanism
, Zoroastrian, Rationalism
, Creativity, Theosophy
, Jainism
.
In general, non-Christian religions as well as those subscribing to no religion, have been experiencing a rise in proportion to the overall population. With fewer classifications, data from 1996 and 2001 shows Aboriginal religion decreasing from 7000 to 5000 while Bahá'í grows from just under 9000 to over 11,000 and the rest of the "Other" category growing from about 69,000 to about 92,000.
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, with 64% of the population claiming at least nominal adherence to the Christian faith as of 2007, although less than a quarter of those attend church weekly. 18.7% of Australians declared "no-religion" on the 2006 Census with a further 11.2% failing to answer the question. The remaining population is a diverse group that includes Islamic and Buddhist communities.
The Constitution of Australia
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
prohibits the Commonwealth government from establishing a church or interfering with the freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
, however, states are free under their own constitutions to interfere or establish a church, although none ever has. The relationship between the Commonwealth government and religion is much freer than in the United States, with governments working with religious organisations that provide education, health and other public services.
History
At the time of European settlement, the Indigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
had their own religious traditions of the Dreamtime (as Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
put it) "There is a general belief among the [indigenous] Australians that the world, man, and the various animals and plants were created by certain Supernatural beings who afterwards disappeared, either ascending to the sky or entering the earth." and ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
systems, with an emphasis on life transitions such as adulthood and death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
.
Colonisation
Colonization occurs whenever any one or more species populate an area. The term, which is derived from the Latin colere, "to inhabit, cultivate, frequent, practice, tend, guard, respect", originally related to humans. However, 19th century biogeographers dominated the term to describe the...
in 1788 there was contact with Indigenous Australians from people of various faiths. These contacts were with explorers, fishermen and survivors of the numerous shipwrecks. There have been countless artifacts retrieved from these contacts. The Aborigines of Northern Australia (Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land
The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...
) retain stories, songs and paintings of trade and cultural interaction with boat-people from the north. These people are generally regarded as being from the east Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
. (See: Macassan contact with Australia
Macassan contact with Australia
Macassan or more correctly Makassar trepangers from the southwest corner of Sulawesi visited the coast of northern Australia for hundreds of years to process trepang : a marine invertebrate prized for its culinary and medicinal values in Chinese markets.These visits have left their mark on the...
.) There is some evidence of Islamic terms and concepts entering northern Aboriginal culture via this interaction.
Centuries before European sailors reached Australia, Christian theologians already speculated whether this region, located on the opposite side of the Earth from Europe, had human inhabitants and, if so, whether the Antipodes
Antipodes
In geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points that are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth....
descended from Adam and have been redeemed by Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. The prevailing point of view, expressed by Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, was that "it is too absurd to say that some men might have set sail from this side and, traversing the immense expanse of ocean, have propagated there a race of human beings descended from that one first man." A dissenting view, held by the Irish-Austrian St. Vergilius of Salzburg
Vergilius of Salzburg
Vergilius of Salzburg was an Irish churchman, an early astronomer and bishop of Salzburg. His obituary calls him the geometer.-Biography:...
was "that beneath the earth there was another world and other men"; while not much is known about Vergilius' views, the Catholic Encyclopedia speculates that he was able to clear himself from accusations of heresy by explaining that the people of the hypothetical Australia were descended from Adam and redeemed by Christ.
By the early 18th century, Christian leaders felt that the natives of the little known Terra Australis Incognita and Hollandia Nova (still often thought as two distinct land masses) were in need of conversion to Christianity. In 1724, a young Jonathan Edwards wrote:
... And what is peculiarly glorious in it, is the gospelizing the new and before unknown world, that which is so remote, so unknown, where the devil had reigned quietly from the beginning of the world, which is larger – taking in America, Terra Australis Incognita,
Hollandia Nova, ... – is far greater than the old world. I say, that this new world should all worship the God of Israel, whose worship was then confined to so narrow a land, is
wonderful and glorious!
Christianity came to Australia with the first European settlers on the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
. Denominations represented were predominantly Roman Catholic found amongst Irish convicts and Anglican among other convicts and their gaolers. There were certainly at least 15 Jews in the First Fleet, 14 convicts and one "free" child.. Other groups were also represented, for example, among the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Tolpuddle Martyrs
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of 19th century Dorset agricultural labourers who were arrested for and convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. The rules of the society show it was clearly structured as a friendly society and operated as...
were a number of Methodists
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
. The First Fleet brought tensions to Australia fuelled by historical grievances between Roman Catholics and other Christians, tensions that would continue into the 20th century.
The first chaplain, Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson (chaplain)
Richard Johnson was the first Christian cleric in Australia.Johnson was the son of John and Mary Johnson. He was born in Welton, Yorkshire and educated at Hull Grammar School under Joseph Milner. In 1780 he entered Magdalene College, Cambridge as a sizar and graduated in 1784...
, a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
cleric, was charged by Governor Arthur Phillip
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
with improving "public morality" in the colony, but he was also heavily involved in health and education. Christian leaders have remained prominent in health and education in Australia ever since, with over a fifth of students attending church schools at the beginning of the 21st century and a number of the nation's hospitals, care facilities and charities having been founded by Christian organisations.
After settlement, some Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
sailors and prisoners came to Australia on the convict ships. Afghans
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
cameleers settled in Australia from the 1860s onwards, a number of them being Sikh
Sikhism in Australia
Sikhism is a small but growing minority religion in Australia, that can trace its origins in the nation to the 1830s. The Sikhs form one of the largest subgroups of Indian Australians with 26,500 adherents according to the 2006 census, having grown from 17,000 in 2001 and 12,000 in 1996...
. From the 1870s Malay
Malay race
The concept of a Malay race was proposed by the German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach , and classified as the brown race. Since Blumenbach, many anthropologists have rejected his theory of five races, citing the enormous complexity of classifying races...
divers were recruited (with most subsequently repatriated). Islam was not a significant minority in this period.
During the 1800s, European settlers brought their traditional churches to Australia. These included the Church of England and the Methodist, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Congregationalist
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
, Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
and Lutheran churches.
The Church of England was disestablished in the colony of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
by the Church Act of 1836. Drafted by the reformist attorney-general John Plunkett
John Plunkett
John Hubert Plunkett was Attorney-General of New South Wales and elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly.-Early life:...
, the act established legal equality for Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians and was later extended to Methodists.
Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
was enshrined in the Australian Constitution of 1901. At the establishment of the federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
- apart from a small Lutheran population of German descent, the indigenous population, and the descendants of gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
migrants - Australian society was predominantly Anglo-Celtic, with 40% of the population being Anglican (then Church of England), 23% Catholic, 34% other Christian and about 1% professing non-Christian religions. The first census in 1911 showed 96% identified themselves as Christian. The tensions that came with the First Fleet continued into the 1960s: job vacancy advertisements sometimes included the stipulation that "Catholics Need Not Apply". Nevertheless, Australia elected its first Catholic prime minister, James Scullin
James Scullin
James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
, in 1929 and Sir Isaac Isaacs
Isaac Isaacs
Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG KC was an Australian judge and politician, was the third Chief Justice of Australia, ninth Governor-General of Australia and the first born in Australia to occupy that post. He is the only person ever to have held both positions of Chief Justice of Australia and...
, a Jew, was appointed governor-general in 1930.
Further waves of migration and the gradual repeal of the White Australia Policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
, helped to reshape the profile of Australia's religious affiliations over subsequent decades. The impact of migration from Europe in the aftermath of World War II led to increases in affiliates of the Orthodox
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
churches, the establishment of Reformed bodies, growth in the number of Catholics (largely from Italian migration) and Jews
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
(Holocaust survivors) and the creation of ethnic parishes among many other denominations. More recently (post-1970s), immigration from South-East Asia and the Middle East has expanded Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
numbers considerably and increased the ethnic diversity of existing Christian denominations.
As has been the trend throughout the world since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, there has been an increasingly strained relationship between the adherents of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and the wider community. Attempts have been made to bridge inter-faith differences. However, the influence of the identity politics
Identity politics
Identity politics are political arguments that focus upon the self interest and perspectives of self-identified social interest groups and ways in which people's politics may be shaped by aspects of their identity through race, class, religion, sexual orientation or traditional dominance...
as a whole is not to be discounted in this respects; reflected in the conflicting and ambiguous interpretation of the 2005 race riots
2005 Cronulla riots
The 2005 Cronulla riots were a series of sectarian clashes and mob violence originating in Cronulla, New South Wales and spreading, over the next few nights, to additional Sydney suburbs....
in Cronulla, near Sydney.
Religious places of worship have made their mark on Australia. Churches or chapels have been constructed in most towns, with many fine cathedrals built in the colonies during the 19th century. Synagogues, mosques and temples are also a feature of most Australian cities. The oldest mosque
Central Adelaide Mosque
The Adelaide Mosque was built in 1888, and is the oldest major city mosque in Australia. Its original four minarets were added in 1903. Muslims from as far away as Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie gathered at least once a year at the Adelaide Mosque, usually for the Fast of Ramadan...
in Australia was built in 1888. Australia also has one of the larger Buddhist temples
Nan Tien Temple
Nan Tien Temple is a Buddhist temple complex located in the industrial suburb of Berkeley, on the southern outskirts of the Australian city of Wollongong, approximately 80 km south of Sydney...
in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
.
Constitutional status
Section 116 of the 1900 Act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia (Australian Constitution) provides that:The Commonwealth of Australia shall not make any law establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.
In 1983, the High Court of Australia defined religion as a complex of beliefs and practices which point to a set of values and an understanding of the meaning of existence. The ABS 2001 Census Dictionary defines "No Religion" as a category of religion which has subcategories such as agnosticism
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
, atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, Humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
and rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
.
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission is a national human rights institution, a statutory body funded by, but operating independently of, the Australian Government. It has the responsibility for investigating alleged infringements under Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation...
(HREOC) is able to inquire into allegations of discrimination on religious grounds.
HREOC's 1998 addressing the human right to freedom of religion and belief in Australia against article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976...
stated that despite the legal protections that apply in different jurisdictions, many Australians suffer discrimination on the basis of religious belief or non-belief, including members of both mainstream and non-mainstream religions, and those of no religious persuasion.
Many non-Christian adherents have complained to HREOC that the dominance of traditional Christianity in civic life has the potential to marginalise large numbers of Australian citizens. An example of an HREOC response to such views is the IsmaU project, which examines possible racial prejudice against Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s in Australia since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, and the Bali bombings.
Demographics
A question on religious affiliation has been asked in every census taken in Australia, with the voluntary nature of this question having been specifically stated since 1933. In 1971, the instruction 'if no religion, write none' was introduced. This saw a sevenfold increase from the previous census year in the percentage of Australians stating they had no religion. Since 1971, this percentage has progressively increased to about 19% in 2006.The Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
(ABS) 2006 Census Dictionary statement on religious affiliation states the purpose for gathering such information:
Data on religious affiliation are used for such purposes as planning educational facilities, aged persons' care and other social services provided by religion-based organisations; the location of church buildings; the assigning of chaplains to hospitals, prisons, armed services and universities; the allocation of time on public radio and other media; and sociological research.
The 2006 census identified that 64% of Australians call themselves Christian: 26% identifying themselves as Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church in Australia
The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Pope.Australia is a majority Christian but pluralistic society with no established religion. There are approximately 5.1 million Australian Catholics . Catholicism...
and 19% as Anglican. Five percent of Australians identify themselves as followers of non-Christian religions, and 19% categorised as having "No Religion"; 12% declined to answer or did not give a response adequate for interpretation. As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is much lower than this; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, about 7.5% of the population.
According to the census, the fastest growing religions during the intercensal period between 2001 and 2006 were: Hinduism by 55.1 percent, Non-religion by 27.5 percent, Islam by 20.9 percent, Buddhist affiliation increased by 17 percent, and Judaism by 6 percent. Christianity was the only religion to show negative growth, with the number of followers falling by 0.6 percent.
The largest population increase was Non-religion which increased by 800,563 people. Buddhism increased by 60,940 people, Islam by 58,819 people, Hindu by 52,660 people. Christianity was the only religion to decrease in population, decreasing by 78,513. During that same period the population of Australia increased by 1,086,044.
| Affiliation | 1986 ('000) | 1986 % | 1996 ('000) | 1996 % | 2006 ('000) | 2006 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglican Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania... |
3,723.4 | 23.9 | 3,903.3 | 22.0 | 3,718.3 | 18.7 |
| Baptist | 196.8 | 1.3 | 295.2 | 1.7 | 316.7 | 1.6 |
| Catholic | 4,064.4 | 26.1 | 4,799.0 | 27.0 | 5,126.9 | 25.8 |
| Churches of Christ | 88.5 | 0.6 | 75.0 | 0.4 | 54.8 | 0.3 |
| Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual... |
66.5 | 0.4 | 83.4 | 0.5 | 80.9 | 0.4 |
| Latter Day Saints | 35.5 | 0.2 | 45.2 | 0.3 | 53.1 | 0.3 |
| Lutheran | 208.3 | 1.3 | 250.0 | 1.4 | 251.1 | 1.3 |
| Eastern Orthodox | 427.4 | 2.7 | 497.3 | 2.8 | 544.3 | 2.7 |
| Pentecostal | 107.0 | 0.7 | 174.6 | 1.0 | 219.6 | 1.1 |
| Presbyterian and Reformed Churches Reformed churches The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin... |
560.0 | 3.6 | 675.5 | 3.8 | 596.7 | 3.0 |
| Salvation Army Salvation Army The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries.... |
77.8 | 0.5 | 74.1 | 0.4 | 64.2 | 0.3 |
| Seventh Day Adventist | 48.0 | 0.3 | 52.7 | 0.3 | 55.3 | 0.3 |
| Uniting Church Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia was formed on 22 June 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union.... |
1,182.3 | 7.6 | 1,334.9 | 7.5 | 1,135.4 | 5.7 |
| Other Christian | 596.0 | 3.8 | 322.7 | 1.8 | 468.6 | 2.4 |
| Christian total | 11,381.9 | 73.0 | 12,582.9 | 70.9 | 12,685.9 | 63.9 |
| Buddhism Buddhism Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th... |
80.4 | 0.5 | 199.8 | 1.1 | 418.8 | 2.1 |
| Hinduism Hinduism Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions... |
21.5 | 0.1 | 67.3 | 0.4 | 148.1 | 0.7 |
| Islam Islam Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~... |
109.5 | 0.7 | 200.9 | 1.1 | 340.4 | 1.7 |
| Judaism Judaism Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people... |
69.1 | 0.4 | 79.8 | 0.4 | 88.8 | 0.4 |
| Other non-Christian | 35.7 | 0.2 | 68.6 | 0.4 | 109.0 | 0.5 |
| Non-Christian total | 316.2 | 2.0 | 616.4 | 3.5 | 1,105.1 | 5.6 |
| No religion | 1,977.5 | 12.7 | 2,948.9 | 16.6 | 3,706.5 | 18.7 |
| Not stated/Inadequately described | 1,926.6 | 12.3 | 1,604.8 | 9.0 | 2,357.8 | 11.9 |
| Total | 15,602.1 | 100.0 | 17,753.0 | 100.0 | 19,855.3 | 100.0 |
Indigenous Australian traditions
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
and spiritual values based upon reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Dreamtime is at once the ancient time of creation and the present day reality of Dreaming. There were a great many different groups, each with their own individual culture, belief structure, and language. These cultures overlapped to a greater or lesser extent, and evolved over time. The Rainbow Serpent
Rainbow Serpent
The Rainbow Serpent is a common motif in the art and mythology of Aboriginal Australia. It is named for the snake-like meandering of water across a landscape and the colour spectrum caused when sunlight strikes water at an appropriate angle relative to the observer.The Rainbow Serpent is seen as...
is a major dream spirit for Aboriginal people across Australia. The Yowie
Yowie (cryptid)
Yowie is the term for an unidentified hominid reputed to lurk in the Australian wilderness. It is an Australian cryptid similar to the Himalayan Yeti and the North American Bigfoot....
and Bunyip
Bunyip
The bunyip, or kianpraty, is a large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes....
are other well known dream spirits. At the time of the European settlement, traditional religions were animist and also tended to have elements of ancestor worship.
According to the 2001 census, 5,244 persons or less than 0.03 percent of respondents reported practising Aboriginal traditional religions. Aboriginal beliefs and spirituality, even among those Aborigines who identify themselves as members of a traditional organised religion, are intrinsically linked to the land generally and to certain sites of significance in particular. The 1996 census reported that almost 72 percent of Aborigines practised some form of Christianity and 16 percent listed no religion. The 2001 census contained no comparable updated data.
Since European settlement
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
have had a significant impact on Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
. As in many colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
situations the churches both facilitated the loss of Indigenous Australian culture and religion and also facilitated its maintenance. The involvement of Christians in Aboriginal affairs has evolved singnificantly since 1788. Around the year 2000, many Churches and Church organisations officially apologised for past failures to adequately respect indigenous cultures and address the injustices of the dispossession of indigenous people.
In the Torres Strait Islands
Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands which lie in Torres Strait, the waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea but Torres Strait Island known and Recognize as Nyumaria.The islands are mostly part of...
, the Coming of the Light Festival marks the day the Christian missionaries first arrived on the islands on 1 July 1871 and introduced Christianity to the region. This is a significant festival for Torres Strait Islanders, who are predominantly Christian. Religious and cultural ceremonies are held across Torres Strait and mainland Australia.
Prominent Aboriginal activist Noel Pearson, himself raised at a Lutheran mission in Cape York
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
, has written that missions throughout Australia's colonial history "provided a haven from the hell of life on the Australian frontier while at the same time facilitating colonisation". Prominent Aboriginal Christians have included Pastor David Unaipon
David Unaipon
David Unaipon was an Australian Aboriginal of the Ngarrindjeri people, a preacher, inventor and writer. He was the most widely known Aboriginal in Australia, and broke stereotypes of Aboriginals...
, the first Aboriginal author; Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls
Douglas Nicholls
Sir Douglas Ralph "Doug" Nicholls KCVO, OBE, was a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor and church planter, ceremonial officer and a pioneering campaigner for reconciliation.Nicholls was the first Aboriginal person to...
, athlete, activist and former Governor of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
; Mum (Shirl) Smith
Mum (Shirl) Smith
Shirley Smith , better known as Mum Shirl, was a prominent Aboriginal Australian and activist committed to justice and welfare of Aboriginal Australians...
, a celebrated Redfern
Redfern, New South Wales
Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...
community worker who, assisted by the Sisters of Charity
Sisters of Charity of Australia
The Sisters of Charity of Australia is a congregation of Roman Catholic women religious who have served the people of Australia since 1838...
, work to assist Aborigines.; and former Senator Aden Ridgeway
Aden Ridgeway
Aden Derek Ridgeway , Australian politician, was a member of the Australian Senate for New South Wales, from 1999 to 2005, representing the Australian Democrats. During his term he was the only Aboriginal member of the Australian Parliament.-Early history:Ridgeway was born in Macksville, New South...
, the first Chairman of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry. In recent times, Christians like Fr Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy (priest)
-Early life and ordination:Ted Kennedy was known throughout Australia as the priest of St Vincent’s Roman Catholic church in the Sydney inner-city suburb of Redfern. He arrived there in 1971, appointed to head a team ministry by the then Archbishop of Sydney James Freeman . He served also as...
of Redfern, Jesuit human rights lawyer Fr Frank Brennan and the Josephite Sisters
Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart
The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the Josephites , were founded in Penola, South Australia in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and Father Julian Tenison Woods....
have been prominent in working for Aboriginal rights and improvements to standards of living.
Christianity
Roman Catholic Church in Australia
The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Pope.Australia is a majority Christian but pluralistic society with no established religion. There are approximately 5.1 million Australian Catholics . Catholicism...
, the Anglican Church of Australia
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
and the Uniting Church in Australia
Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia was formed on 22 June 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....
, Pentecostal
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
churches are also present with megachurch
Megachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
es being found in most states (for example, Hillsong Church
Hillsong Church
Hillsong Church is a Pentecostal megachurch affiliated with Australian Christian Churches and located in Sydney, Australia. The church's senior pastors, Brian and Bobbie Houston, began the church in 1983 as the Hills Christian Life Centre in Baulkham Hills...
and Paradise Community Church
Paradise Community Church
Paradise Community Church is a multi-campus Christian church, located in Paradise, situated in north east Adelaide, South Australia, affiliated with Australian Christian Churches. The church was founded in 1907 by British evangelist Smith Wigglesworth. In 1969, Andrew Evans became its first...
). The National Council of Churches in Australia
National Council of Churches in Australia
The National Council of Churches in Australia is an ecumenical organisation bringing together a number of Australia's Christian Churches in dialogue and practical cooperation.It works in collaboration with state ecumenical councils around Australia...
is the main Christian ecumenical body.
In his welcoming address to the Catholic World Youth Day 2008
World Youth Day 2008
The 23rd World Youth Day 2008 was a Catholic youth festival that started on 15 July and continued until 20 July 2008 in Sydney, Australia. It was the first World Youth Day held in Australia and the first World Youth Day in Oceania. This meeting was decided by Pope Benedict XVI, during the Cologne...
in Sydney, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
, said that Christianity had been a positive influence on Australia: "It was the church that began first schools for the poor, it was the church that began first hospitals for the poor, it was the church that began first refuges for the poor and these great traditions continue for the future." Christian charitable organisations, hospitals and schools have played a prominent role in welfare and education since Colonial times, when First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
chaplain Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson (chaplain)
Richard Johnson was the first Christian cleric in Australia.Johnson was the son of John and Mary Johnson. He was born in Welton, Yorkshire and educated at Hull Grammar School under Joseph Milner. In 1780 he entered Magdalene College, Cambridge as a sizar and graduated in 1784...
was credited as "the physician both of soul and body" during the famine of 1790, and was charged with general supervision of schools.
Today, the Catholic education system is the second biggest sector after government schools, with more than 650,000 students (and around 21 per cent of all secondary school enrolments). The Anglican Church educates around 105,000 students and the Uniting Church has around 48 schools. Smaller denominations, including the Lutheran Church also have a number of schools in Australia. The Australian Catholic University
Australian Catholic University
Australian Catholic University is a national public university. It has six campuses and offers programs in five faculties throughout Australia.-History:...
opened in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia.
Catholic Social Services Australia
Catholic Social Services Australia
Catholic Social Services Australia is a welfare organisation that advances the social service ministry of the Roman Catholic Church in Australia. It is the Catholic Church's peak body for social services in Australia and has 70 member organisations in metropolitan, regional and remote Australia...
's 63 member organisations help more than a million Australians every year. Anglican organisations work in health, missionary work, social welfare and communications; and the Uniting Church does extensive community work, in aged care, hospitals, nursing, family support services, youth services and with the homeless. Christian charities such as the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
and Youth Off the Streets
Chris Riley (Priest)
Father Chris Riley, AM is an Australian Roman Catholic priest who founded and is CEO of the charity Youth Off The Streets. He is a member of the Salesian order....
receive considerable national support. Religious orders founded many of Australia's hospitals, such as St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
St Vincent's Public Hospital, Sydney is located in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. Though part of the New South Wales state public health system it remains under the auspices of the Sisters of Charity.-History:...
, which was opened as a free hospital in 1857 by the Sisters of Charity
Sisters of Charity of Australia
The Sisters of Charity of Australia is a congregation of Roman Catholic women religious who have served the people of Australia since 1838...
and is now Australia's largest not-for-profit health provider and has trained prominent Australian surgeons such as Victor Chang
Victor Chang
Victor Peter Chang, AC , was a Chinese Australian cardiac surgeon and a pioneer of modern heart transplantation. Born in Shanghai to Australian-born Chinese parents, he grew up in Hong Kong before moving to Australia...
.
Notable Australian Christians have included: Mary MacKillop
Mary MacKillop
Mary Helen MacKillop , also known as Saint Mary of the Cross, was an Australian Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australasia with an emphasis on...
- educator, founder of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart
Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart
The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the Josephites , were founded in Penola, South Australia in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and Father Julian Tenison Woods....
and the first Australian to be recognised as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church; David Unaipon
David Unaipon
David Unaipon was an Australian Aboriginal of the Ngarrindjeri people, a preacher, inventor and writer. He was the most widely known Aboriginal in Australia, and broke stereotypes of Aboriginals...
- an Aboriginal writer, inventor and Christian preacher currently featured on the Australian $50 note; Archbishop Daniel Mannix
Daniel Mannix
Daniel Mannix was an Irish-born Australian Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th century Australia....
of Melbourne - a controversial voice against Conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and against British policy in Ireland; The Reverend John Flynn
John Flynn (minister)
John Flynn OBE was an Australian Presbyterian minister who founded the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the world's first air ambulance.-Biography:...
- founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, currently featured on the Australian $20 note; Sir Douglas Nicholls
Douglas Nicholls
Sir Douglas Ralph "Doug" Nicholls KCVO, OBE, was a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor and church planter, ceremonial officer and a pioneering campaigner for reconciliation.Nicholls was the first Aboriginal person to...
- Aboriginal rights activist, athlete, preacher and former Governor of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
.
Sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...
in Australia tended to reflect the political inheritance of Britain and Ireland. Until 1945, the vast majority of Catholics in Australia were of Irish descent, causing the British majority to question their loyalty to the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. The first Catholic priests arrived in Australia as convicts in 1800, but the Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804 alarmed the British authorities and no further priests were allowed in the colony until 1820, when London sent John Joseph Therry
John Joseph Therry
Father John Therry was an Irish, early Roman Catholic priest in Sydney, Australia.-Early Life:Therry was born in Cork and was privately educated at St Patrick's College at Carlow, and in 1815 was ordained as a priest. He did parish work in Dublin and later on was secretary to the bishop of Cork...
and Philip Connolly
Philip Connolly
Philip George Connolly was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.He represented the Dunedin West electorate from 1943 to 1946, and then the Dunedin Central electorate from 1946 to 1963: when he retired....
. In 1901, the Australian Constitution guaranteed Separation of Church and State
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
. A notable period of sectarianism re-emerged during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the 1916 Easter Uprising in Ireland, but the significance of sectarian division declined dramatically after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. There was a growth in non-religious adherence, but also a diversification of Christian churches (especially the growth of Greek, Macedonian, Serbian and Russian Orthodox churches), together with an increase in ecumenism
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
among Christians, through organisations such as the National Council of Churches in Australia
National Council of Churches in Australia
The National Council of Churches in Australia is an ecumenical organisation bringing together a number of Australia's Christian Churches in dialogue and practical cooperation.It works in collaboration with state ecumenical councils around Australia...
.
One of the most visible signs of the historical importance of Christianity to Australia is the prominence of churches in most Australian towns and cities. One of Australia's oldest is the Anglican St James Church, Sydney, built between 1819 and 1824 by Governor Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
's architect, Francis Greenway
Francis Greenway
-References:* *...
. St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
The Metropolitan Cathedral of St Mary is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell. The cathedral is dedicated to "Mary, Help of Christians", Patron of Australia...
was built to a design by William Wardell
William Wardell
William Wilkinson Wardell was a Civil Engineer and Architect, notable not only for his work in Australia, the country to which he emigrated in 1858, but also for having a successful career as a surveyor, and an ecclesiastical architect in England and Scotland before his departure.In Australia,...
from a foundation stone laid in 1868, the spires of the cathedral were not finally added until the year 2000. Wardell also worked on the design of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Patrick's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Denis J. Hart. The building is known internationally as a leading example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture.In 1974 Pope Paul VI...
- among the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Australia. The Anglican St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, is the metropolitical and cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia. It is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne and Metropolitan of the Province of Victoria...
in the iconic hub of the city opposite Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station is the central railway station of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets next to the Yarra River in the heart of the city, stretching from Swanston Street to Queen Street and covering two city...
. Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
is known as the "City of Churches" but churches extend far into the Australian Outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
, as at the historic Lutheran Mission Chapel at Hermannsburg, Northern Territory
Hermannsburg, Northern Territory
Hermannsburg is an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia, 131 km southwest of Alice Springs. It is known in the local Western Arrernte language as Ntaria....
. Along with community attitudes to religion, church architecture changed significantly during the 20th century. Urban churches, such as the Wayside Chapel
Wayside Chapel
The Wayside Chapel is a ministry in the Kings Cross/Potts Point area of Sydney, Australia.-Description and history:The Wayside Chapel was established in the Kings Cross area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1964. Ted Noffs was the founder of the Wayside Chapel, which was at the time a...
(1964) in Sydney, differed markedly from traditional ecclesiastical designs. In the later 20th century, distinctly Australian approaches were applied at places such as Jambaroo Benedictine Abbey, where natural materials were chosen to "harmonise with the local environment" and the chapel sanctuary is of glass overlooking rainforest. Similar design principles were applied at Thredbo Ecumenical Chapel built in the Snowy Mountains
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", are the highest Australian mountain range and contain the Australian mainland's highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches 2,228 metres AHD, approximately 7310 feet....
in 1996.
The Christian festivals of Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
are national public holidays in Australia. Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, which recalls the birth of Jesus Christ, is celebrated on 25 December during the Australian summer and is an important cultural festival even for many non-religious Australians. The European traditions of Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
s, roast dinners, carols and gift giving are all continued in Australia – though they might be conducted between visits to the beach – and Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
is said in song to be drawn on his sleigh by six white boomer kangaroos
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
.
Some Christian denominations with Australian articles:
- Anglican Church of AustraliaAnglican Church of AustraliaThe Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
(formerly Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
) - Australian Christian ChurchesAustralian Christian ChurchesAustralian Christian Churches , also known as Assemblies of God in Australia , is a Pentecostal Christian denomination and the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world...
(formerly Assemblies of GodAssemblies of GodThe Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
in Australia) - Australian Union Conference of Seventh-day AdventistsAustralian Union Conference of Seventh-day AdventistsThe Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia is formally organised as the Australian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists , a subentity of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists. As of 31 December 2008, church membership stands at 54,173...
- Baptist Union of AustraliaBaptist Union of AustraliaThe Baptist Union of Australia is the oldest and largest national cooperative body of Baptists in Australia. Its current National President is Reverend Dr John Beasy. The BUA is now known as Australian Baptist Ministries - ABM...
- Christian City ChurchesChristian City ChurchesC3 Church Global, formerly known as Christian City Church International , is a Charismatic church movement founded by Pastors Phil Pringle and Christine Pringle. The first church was established at Dee Why on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia, and is now located in Oxford Falls...
- Christian Outreach CentreChristian Outreach CentreChristian Outreach Centre is an international movement of churches founded in 1974 by former Methodist minister Clark Taylor.-History:...
- Churches of Christ in AustraliaChurches of Christ in AustraliaThe Churches of Christ in Australia is a Christian movement in Australia. It is part of the Restoration Movement with historical influences from the United States of America and the United Kingdom....
- Fellowship of Congregational ChurchesFellowship of Congregational ChurchesThe Fellowship of Congregational Churches is a conservative Congregational denomination in Australia. It was formed by the forty congregations of the Congregational Union of Australia who chose not to join the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977....
- CRC Churches InternationalCRC Churches InternationalCRC Churches International is a Pentecostal Protestant Christian denomination based in Australia.-External links:*...
- Lutheran Church of AustraliaLutheran Church of AustraliaThe Lutheran Church of Australia is the major Lutheran denomination in Australia, it also has a presence in New Zealand. It has 320 parishes, 540 congregations, 70,000 baptized members in Australia, 1,130 baptized members in New Zealand, 52,463 communicant members and 450 active pastors. Its...
- Presbyterian Church of AustraliaPresbyterian Church of AustraliaThe Presbyterian Church of Australia is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. .-Beginnings:...
- Presbyterian Church of Eastern AustraliaPresbyterian Church of Eastern AustraliaThe Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia is a Presbyterian denomination which was formed in Sydney on 10 October 1846 by three ministers and a ruling elder...
- Presbyterian Reformed Church (Australia)Presbyterian Reformed Church (Australia)The Presbyterian Reformed Church is a Presbyterian denomination in Australia. The denomination was formed in 1967, when the leadership and majority of the members of the Sutherland, New South Wales congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Australia separated from that denomination...
- Roman Catholic Church in AustraliaRoman Catholic Church in AustraliaThe Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Pope.Australia is a majority Christian but pluralistic society with no established religion. There are approximately 5.1 million Australian Catholics . Catholicism...
- Uniting Church in AustraliaUniting Church in AustraliaThe Uniting Church in Australia was formed on 22 June 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....
Hinduism
HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s are a religious minority in Australia of about 150,000 adherents according to the 2006 census. In the 19th century, Hindus first came to Australia to work on cotton and sugar plantations. Many remained as small businessmen, working as camel drivers, merchants and hawkers
Hawker (trade)
A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with peddler or costermonger. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells items or food that are native to the area...
, selling goods between small rural communities. Their population increased dramatically from the 1960s and 1970s and more than doubled between the 1996 and 2006 censusus to around 148,000 people. Most were migrants, from countries such as Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. At present many Hindus are well-educated professionals in fields such as medicine, engineering, commerce and information technology. Among Australia's best-known Hindus is the singer Kamahl
Kamahl
Kamahl is the stage name of Kandiah Kamalesvaran , an Australian singer and recording artist, perhaps best known for "The Elephant Song", and his repertoire of popular music.-Early life:...
. There are around 34 Hindu temples in Australia. Sri Mandir Temple in multicultural Auburn, Sydney was the first Hindu temple in Australia. It was established in 1977 to meet the needs of the growing Hindu community.
Islam
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
(in Arabia), in accordance with Islamic regulations concerning burial, as well as evidence from Aboriginal cave paintings and religious ceremonies which depict and incorporate the adoption of Makassan canoe designs and words.
In later history, throughout the 19th century following British settlement, other Muslims came to Australia including the Muslim 'Afghan' cameleers, who used their camels to transport goods and people through the otherwise unnavigable desert and pioneered a network of camel tracks that later became roads across the Outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
. Australia’s first mosque was built for them at Marree, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in 1861. Between the 1860s and 1920s around 2000 cameleers were brought from Afghanistan and the north west of British India (now Pakistan) and perhaps 100 families remained in Australia. Other outback mosques were established at places like Coolgardie, Cloncurry, and Broken Hill - and more permanent mosques in Adelaide, Perth and later Brisbane. A legacy of this pioneer era is the presence of wild camels in Outback and the oldest Islamic structure in the southern hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, at Central Adelaide Mosque
Central Adelaide Mosque
The Adelaide Mosque was built in 1888, and is the oldest major city mosque in Australia. Its original four minarets were added in 1903. Muslims from as far away as Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie gathered at least once a year at the Adelaide Mosque, usually for the Fast of Ramadan...
. Nonetheless, despite their significant role in Australia prior to the establishment of rail and road networks, the formulation of the White Australia policy at the time of Federation made immigration difficult for the 'Afghans' and their memory slowly faded during the 20th century, until a revival of interest began in the 1980s.
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
which restricted immigration to Europeans or those of European descent, very few of whom were Muslim. However, European Muslims from Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
and Bosnia did arrive in numbers especially in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1947, out of 7,579,358 Australian inhabitants, there were 2,704 or 0.04% Muslims.
Successive Australian governments dismantled the White Australia Policy in the Post-WW2 period. From the 1970s onwards, under the leadership of Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
and Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
, Australia began to pursue multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
. Australia in the later 20th century became a refuge for many Muslims fleeing conflicts including those in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. General immigration, combined with religious conversion to Islam by Christians and other Australians, as well as Australia's participation in UN refugee efforts has increased the overall Muslim population. Around 36% of Muslims are Australian born. Overseas born Muslims come from a great variety of nations and ethnic groups - with large Lebanese and Turkish communities.
Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, associations drawn between the political ideology of Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and the religion of Islam have stirred debate in some quarters in Australia regarding Islam's relationship with the wider community - with some advocating greater emphasis on assimilation, and others supporting renewed commitment to diversity. The deaths of Australians in bombings by militant Islamic fundamentalists in New York in 2001, Bali in 2002-5 and London
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
in 2005; as well as the sending of Australian troops to East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
in 1999, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in 2001 and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in 2003; the arrest of bomb plotters in Australia; and concerns about certain cultural practices such as the wearing of the Burkha have all contributed to a degree of tension in recent times A series of comments by a senior Sydney cleric, Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly
Taj El-Din Hilaly
Sheikh Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly , is an Imam of the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney and an Australian Sunni Muslim leader. The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils appointed him Mufti of Australia in 1988. His name is alternatively spelt Tajeddin Hilaly, Hilali, Al-Hilaly, Taj el-Din al-Hilali, Aldin...
also stirred controversy, particularly his remarks regarding "female modesty" following an incident of gang rape in Sydney
Sydney gang rapes
The Sydney gang rapes were a series of gang rape attacks committed by a group of up to fourteen Lebanese Australian men led by Bilal Skaf against European Australian women and teenage girls, as young as 14, in Sydney Australia in 2000...
Australians were among the targets of Islamic Fundamentalists in the Bali bombings in Indonesia and attack on Australian Embassy in Jakarta and the South East Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiah , is a Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization dedicated to the establishment of a Daulah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia incorporating Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore and Brunei...
has been of particular concern to Australians.
The Australian government's mandatory detention
Mandatory detention in Australia
Mandatory detention in Australia concerns the Australian federal government's policy and system of mandatory immigration detention active from 1992 to date, pursuant to which all persons entering the country without a valid visa are compulsorily detained and sometimes subject to deportation.In the...
processing system for asylum seekers became increasingly controversial after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. A significant proportion of recent Asylum seekers arriving by boat have been Muslims fleeing the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and elswhere.
Some Islamic leaders and social commentators claim that Islam has suffered from unfair stereotyping Violence and intimidation was directed against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern appearance during southern Sydney's Cronulla riots in 2005.
In 2005, the Howard Government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
established the Muslim Community Reference Group to advise on Muslim community issues for one year, chaired by Ameer Ali
Ameer Ali
Ameer Ali is the ex-President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, an umbrella group for various Islamic groups or councils in Australia...
. Inter-faith dialogues were also established by Christian and Muslim groups such as The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils
Australian Federation of Islamic Councils
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils was founded in 1964 as an umbrella group for various Islamic groups or councils, and is considered Australia's most important Islamic organisation. The mission of AFIC is to provide service to the community in a manner that is in accordance with the...
and the National Council of Churches in Australia
National Council of Churches in Australia
The National Council of Churches in Australia is an ecumenical organisation bringing together a number of Australia's Christian Churches in dialogue and practical cooperation.It works in collaboration with state ecumenical councils around Australia...
. Australia and Indonesia co-operated closely following the Bali-bombings, not only in law-enforcement but in improving education and cross-cultural understanding, leading to a marked improvement in relations. After a series of controversies, Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly
Taj El-Din Hilaly
Sheikh Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly , is an Imam of the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney and an Australian Sunni Muslim leader. The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils appointed him Mufti of Australia in 1988. His name is alternatively spelt Tajeddin Hilaly, Hilali, Al-Hilaly, Taj el-Din al-Hilali, Aldin...
retired as Grand mufti
Grand Mufti
The title of Grand Mufti refers to the highest official of religious law in a Sunni or Ibadi Muslim country. The Grand Mufti issues legal opinions and edicts, fatwā, on interpretations of Islamic law for private clients or to assist judges in deciding cases...
of Australia in 2007 and was replaced by Fehmi Naji El-Imam AM
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
.
Today, over 360,000 people in Australia identify as Muslim. with diverse communities concentrated mainly in Sydney and Melbourne. Since the 1970s Islamic schools have been established as well as more than 100 mosques and prayer centres. Many notable Muslim places of worship are to be found in Australian cities, including the Central Adelaide Mosque
Central Adelaide Mosque
The Adelaide Mosque was built in 1888, and is the oldest major city mosque in Australia. Its original four minarets were added in 1903. Muslims from as far away as Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie gathered at least once a year at the Adelaide Mosque, usually for the Fast of Ramadan...
, which was constructed during the 1880s; and Sydney's Classical Ottoman style Auburn Gallipoli Mosque
Auburn Gallipoli Mosque
The Auburn Gallipoli Mosque is an Ottoman-style mosque in Auburn, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The mosque attracts about 800 worshippers every week and is primarily used by Turkish Australians....
, which was largely funded by the Turkish community and the name of which recalls the shared heritage of the foundation of modern Turkey and the story of the ANZACs. Notable Australian Muslims include boxer Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine is an Australian professional boxer and former rugby league footballer.He is the current interim WBA Light Middleweight Champion boxer, former two-time WBA Super Middleweight Champion, former IBO Middleweight Champion and New South Wales State of Origin representative footballer....
; community worker and rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
star Hazem El Masri
Hazem El Masri
Hazem El Masri is a Lebanese-Australian retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. An Australia and Lebanon international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative winger, he played his entire club football career with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs with...
; cricketer Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja is an Australian cricketer. He was awarded player of the Australian Under 19 Championship in 2005 and also played for Australia in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka as an opening batsman. His club side is Randwick-Petersham....
and academic Waleed Aly
Waleed Aly
Waleed Aly is an Australian lawyer, academic and rock musician. He has been a member of the executive committee of the Islamic Council of Victoria and has served as the council's head of public affairs. He is a frequent commentator on Australian Muslim affairs. In 2008 he was selected to...
.
Judaism
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
s are believed to have been transported
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to Sydney aboard the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
in 1788, when the first European settlement was established on the continent. An estimated 110,000 Jews currently live in Australia, the majority being Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an descent, with many being refugees and Holocaust survivors who arrived during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The Jewish population has increased slightly in recent times due to immigration from South Africa and the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The largest Jewish community in Australia is in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, with about 60,000, followed by Sydney with about 45,000 members. Smaller communities are dispersed among the other state capitals.
Following the conclusion of the British colonial period, Jews have enjoyed formal equality before the law in Australia and have not been subject to civil disabilities
Disabilities (Jewish)
Disabilities were legal restrictions and limitations placed on Jews in the Middle Ages. They included provisions requiring Jews to wear specific and identifying clothing such as the Jewish hat and the yellow badge, restricting Jews to certain cities and towns or in certain parts of towns , and...
or other forms of state-sponsored anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
which exclude them from full participation in public life.
Sydney's gothic design Great Synagogue
Great Synagogue (Sydney)
The Great Synagogue is a large synagogue in Sydney, Australia. It is located in Elizabeth Street opposite Hyde Park and extends back to Castlereagh Street.-Description and history:...
, consecrated in 1878, is a notable place of Jewish worship in Australia. Notable Australian Jews have included the Sir John Monash
John Monash
General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD was a civil engineer who became the Australian military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part...
, the notable World War I general who opened the Maccabean Hall in Sydney in 1923 to commemorate Jews who fought and died in the First World War and who is currently featured on the Australian $100 note; and Sir Isaac Isaacs
Isaac Isaacs
Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG KC was an Australian judge and politician, was the third Chief Justice of Australia, ninth Governor-General of Australia and the first born in Australia to occupy that post. He is the only person ever to have held both positions of Chief Justice of Australia and...
who became the first Australian born governor general in 1930. Sir Zelman Cowen
Zelman Cowen
Sir Zelman Cowen, was the 19th Governor-General of Australia. He is currently the oldest living former Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
also served as Governor-General, between 1977 and 1982. The Sydney Jewish Museum
Sydney Jewish Museum
The Sydney Jewish Museum is a museum in Sydney, Australia, which documents the Holocaust and the history of the Jewish people in Australia.-History and description:...
opened in 1992 to commemorate the Holocaust "challenge visitors' perceptions of democracy, morality, social justice and human rights".
Until the 1930s, all synagogues in Australia were nominally Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
, with most acknowledging leadership of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom. To this day the vast majority of synagogues in Australia are Orthodox. However, there is a wide range of Orthodox congregations, including Mizrachi
Mizrachi (Religious Zionism)
The Mizrachi is the name of the religious Zionist organization founded in 1902 in Vilnius at a world conference of religious Zionists called by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines. Bnei Akiva, which was founded in 1929, is the youth movement associated with Mizrachi...
, Chabad
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
and Adass Israel congregations. There are also Sephardi congregations.
There had been short-lived efforts to establish Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
congregations as early as the 1890s. However, under the leadership of Ada Phillips, a sustained liberal congregation, Temple Beth Israel, was established in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Subsequently another synagogue linked to the United States Reform Movement
Reform movement
A reform movement is a kind of social movement that aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of society, rather than rapid or fundamental changes...
, Temple Emanuel, was established in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Following these two congregations, a number of other Liberal synagogues have been founded in other cities.
Since 1992 Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
(Masorti) services have been held as an alternative service usually in the Neuweg, the smaller second synagogue within Temple Emanuel, Woollahra, Sydney. In 1999, Kehilat Nitzan, Melbourne's first Conservative (Masorti) Congregation was established, with foundation president Prof John Rosenberg
John Rosenberg
John Rosenberg is an American football coach, and a graduate of Harvard University. Rosenberg is known for his creativity and innovation in defensive strategy. He is credited by some as the creator of the zone blitz defense made popular by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has coached for thirty years,...
. The congregation appointed its first rabbi, Ehud Bandel in 2006. In 2010 Beit Knesset Shalom became Brisbane's first Conservative (Masorti) synagogue.
Buddhism
Although the first definite cases of Buddhist settlement in Australia were in 1848, there has been speculation from some anthropologistsAnthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
that there may have been contact some hundreds of years earlier. Buddhists began arriving in Australia in significant numbers during the goldrush of the 1850s, with an influx of Chinese miners. However, the population remained low until the 1960s. Buddhism is now one of the fastest growing religions in Australia. Immigration from Asia has contributed to this, but some people of non-Asian origin have also converted. The three main traditions of Buddhism - Theravada
Theravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
, East Asian and Tibetan
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
- are now represented in Australia.
According to the Australian census in 2006, Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
is the largest non-Christian religion in Australia, with 418,000 adherents, or 2.1% of the total population. It was also the fastest growing religion in terms of percentage, having increased its number of adherents by 109.6% since 1996.
The Nan Tien Temple
Nan Tien Temple
Nan Tien Temple is a Buddhist temple complex located in the industrial suburb of Berkeley, on the southern outskirts of the Australian city of Wollongong, approximately 80 km south of Sydney...
, or "Southern Paradise Temple" in Wollongong, New South Wales began construction in the early 1990s, adopting the Chinese palace building style and is today the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. The temple follows the Venerable Master Hsing Yun
Hsing Yun
Hsing Yun is a well-known Buddhist monk, as well as an important figure in modern reformation of Mahayana Buddhism in Taiwan and China. Hsing Yun is the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order and the affiliated Buddha's Light International Association, one of the largest international...
of the Fo Guang Shan
Fo Guang Shan
Fo Guang Shan is an international Chinese Mahayana Buddhist monastic order based in the Republic of China , and one of the largest Buddhist organizations. The headquarters of Fo Guang Shan, located in Kaohsiung, is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. The organization itself is also one of...
Buddhist order.
Sikhism
Sikhs have been in Australia since the 1830s, initially coming to work as labourers in the cane fields and as cameleers, known as Ghans. At the turn of the century a number of them were working as hawkers, opening up stores. After World War I, Sikhs in Australia were given rights far greater than other Asians and made use of them by emigrating to Australia and working as labourers. As the decades passed they formed a sizable community in Woolgoolga, where the first GurdwaraGurdwara
A Gurdwara , meaning the Gateway to the Guru, is the place of worship for Sikhs, the followers of Sikhism. A Gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib ....
, named the First Sikh Temple, was built. Following the end of the White Australia Policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
there has been a great increase in the number of Sikhs from a number of countries including India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Malaysia, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The 2006 Australian Census shows about 26,500 followers, up from 17,000 in 2001 and 12,000 in 1996.
Bahá'í
A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency Services
A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency Services is a publication of Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau designed to offer guidance to police and emergency services personnel on how religious affiliation can affect their contact with the...
added the Bahá'í faith in its coverage of religions in Australia and noted that the community had grown to over 11,000. The Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated some 17,700 Bahá'ís in 2005.
No religion
Australia is one of the least religious nations in the developed world, with religion not described as a central part in many people's lives. This view is especially prominent among Australia's youth, who were ranked as the least religious worldwide in a 2008 survey conducted by The Christian Science MonitorThe Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
. As of the 2006 census there are 3,706,555 people in Australia categorised by the ABS as having "No Religion". This category includes just four named subcategories, namely agnosticism
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
, atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, Humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
and rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
. A fifth sub-category is "No Religion, nfd" (nfd=no further definition). According to earlier Australian Bureau of Statistics data, in 2001 15.5% of the Australian population identified themselves as having "No Religion" in a census question.
This was 1.5% lower than the 1996 result but increased to 18.7% in the census in 2006. Despite non-theistic secularists representing nearly 20% of the Australian population, the Australian Bureau of Statistics does not provide information in the annual "1301.0 - Year Book Australia" on religious affiliation as to how many people fall into each sub-category. Data on religious affiliation is only collected by the ABS at the five yearly population census. Atheist interests in Australia are represented nationally by the Atheist Foundation of Australia
Atheist Foundation of Australia
The Atheist Foundation of Australia, Inc. was established in South Australia in 1970, when The Rationalist Association of South Australia decided upon a name change to better declare their basic philosophy, namely atheism....
. Humanist interests in Australia are represented nationally by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies
Council of Australian Humanist Societies
The Council of Australian Humanist Societies is the national umbrella organisation for Australian humanists. It is affiliated with the International Humanist and Ethical Union...
. Rationalist interests in Australia are represented nationally by the Rationalist Society of Australia
Rationalist Society of Australia
The Rationalist Society of Australia promotes the interests of rationalists nationally in Australia. It is the operational arm of the movement in Australia...
.
Other
The 2006 census shows 53 listed groups down to 5000 members (most of them Christian denominations, many of them national versions like Greek, Serbian Orthodox and AssyrianSyriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
Orthodox. Of the smaller religions, Pagan Religions 29328, Bahá'í
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
at 12,000, Humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
about 7000. Between 1000 and 5000, other than small Christian denominations, are the following religions - Taoist, Druse
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
, Satanism
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
, Zoroastrian, Rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
, Creativity, Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
, Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
.
In general, non-Christian religions as well as those subscribing to no religion, have been experiencing a rise in proportion to the overall population. With fewer classifications, data from 1996 and 2001 shows Aboriginal religion decreasing from 7000 to 5000 while Bahá'í grows from just under 9000 to over 11,000 and the rest of the "Other" category growing from about 69,000 to about 92,000.
See also
- List of the largest churches in Australia
- A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency ServicesA Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency ServicesA Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency Services is a publication of Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau designed to offer guidance to police and emergency services personnel on how religious affiliation can affect their contact with the...