What are the current trends of religious affiliation in Australia? Growth of ‘no religion’ and ‘not stated’ Anglican, Presbyterian and Uniting Church is declining Catholics, Orthodox and Pentecostal is growing Key influences to this change was immigration and secularism Now we need look specifically at the main reasons for these changes in more detail…

3B – Account for the Present Religious Landscape post 1945

There are 5 key factors that influence the Australian religious landscape Christianity as a major religious tradition Immigration Denominational Switching New Age Religions Secularism

Australia’s National Identity

1. Christianity as the major religious tradition Factors that contributed to Christianity being the dominant religion include:  White Australia Policy – 1900 – 1973  Large migrant intake  Slightly higher birth rates Christianity is growing at a declining rate due to…  Decline in weekly attendance  Increased secularism  Dissatisfied with traditional religions  Aging membership  Lack of migrant intake  Growth of new age religions NOTE: These factors may be overstated!

1. Christianity as the major religious tradition Pentecostalism is growing but they suffer from ‘revolving door syndrome’ (people only stay for 18 months to 2 years). In 2000 the formed the Australian Christian Churches and leaders encouraged members to indicate this on the census rather than Pentecostal.

2. Immigration Impacts of immigration on Christian membership:  Growth of Orthodox (Eastern Europe)  Growth of Roman Catholics (Mediterranean & Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa)  Growth of Maronite Catholics (Middle East) There are 4 major reasons for the large number of immigrants in Australia:  Following the war many sought a secure environment  Australian government believed the country would benefit economically & thus promoted immigration  Decline of the ‘White Australia Policy’  Overseas war and persecutions have lead to waves of immigration from affected areas. Immigration has made Australia a multi-faith society.

3. Denominational Switching Transfer of followers from one denomination to another It is most common amongst Protestants who ‘shop around’ for new denominations Reasons for switching include: Lead to the significant growth of Pentecostalism Search for personal fulfillmentOthers too strict Search for what suits meToo formal/informal Styles of worshipMarriage Style of the leader/ministerEducation FriendsLocation (ie. Closer to home) DissatisfiedRevolving door syndrome

Reasons to not switch Loyalty History Family and friends Tradition Sacraments School/education Relevance Community life

Pentecostalism is growing…

Why Pentecostalism? Its an evangelical and charismatic strand of Christianity Music Strong sense of community Likeable and charismatic leaders Offers clear guidance to overcome troubling times which makes it an attractive place to visit… Final figures?? In 1996 they reported a growth of 60% over the past 10 years.

4. Rise of New Age Religions Reaction to post-war prosperity and disillusion with traditional religions Covers a range of spiritual beliefs and practices aimed at fostering individual fulfillment through personal happiness, health & meaning in life. Characteristics include:  Individualistic and search-oriented  Development of self  Promotes mystic experiences  Favours a creation-centered spirituality  Reject monotheism  Belief in a goddess, polytheism, pantheism (worship of nature) or belief that everything is one (monoism)  Rejects traditional Christian practices

Cont.. Examples include; numerology, feng sui, yoga, tai chi, astrology, paganism (Wicca), scientology etc.. Reasons for popularity –  Individualistic & liberal – you can pick and choose  Takes parts of different religions and morphs them together  Dissatisfied with mainstream religions  Rejects more rigid and structured traditional religions  Shift from focus on ‘salvation’ to a focus on ‘creation’  Some claim to have supernatural effects such as curing sickness, predicting future or gaining personal wealth.

5. Secularism Religion should not interfere with or be integrated into society (separated from politics)  Ie. Change from ‘BC’ and ‘AD’ to ‘BCE’ and ‘CE’ Reasons include –  Declining numbers of religious affiliation (such as church attendance, prayer, numbers of clergy & religious orders)  Increasing pluralism (diversity of beliefs & cultures)  Increasing individualism  Increasing materialism (power, possessions, appearance etc)  Disillusion with traditional religions  Increased skepticism towards supernatural  More accepted in society Growth of ‘no religion’ in the census has increased from 16.1% (1996) and dropped to 15.5% (2001)