AUSTRALIA WILL BE HOLDING A CENSUS THIS WEEK.
DON'T LEAVE THE “RELIGION” SECTION BLANK. BE SURE TO AT LEAST TICK CHRISTIAN (OR YOUR OWN FAITH).
1,000,000 MUSLIMS WILL TICK THEIR BOX.
10,000,000 AUSTRALIANS WILL LEAVE IT BLANK THEN WONDER WHY CHRISTMAS CAROLS ARE BEING BANNED IN SCHOOLS! NOT TO MENTION, EASTER HAT PARADES. IT'S NOT ABOUT RELIGION, IT'S ABOUT KEEPING OUR WAY OF LIFE ;)
RE-POST IF YOU AGREE!
Aside from the annoying over-capitalization and the xenophobic undertones, this message is an example of the weight of importance some concerned Australians are attributing to this question on the national census. Interestingly, the religion option on the census form is not just arousing Christians with a political bent, but it has also roused up the Humanist Society of Queensland, who have launched a website urging Australians to be more accurate in their religious affiliation. They claim that many people are inaccurately reporting their religion, leading to flawed census data, which is used to make a variety of political decisions such as funding for the National Schools Chaplaincy Program or religious exemptions from the GST.
Misleading Census Data?
The religion question has been part of the Australian census since the Census and Statistics Act was formed in 1905. This legislates that the response to this question be optional, yet over 90% of Australians entered a response for this question on the 2006 census. Comparing the results from the 1996 census and the 2006 census, there were some visible changes in the religious landscape:
| 1996 (%) | 2006 (%) | Change (%) | |
| Christianity Total | 70.9 | 63.9 | 0.8 |
| Catholic | 27 | 25.8 | 6.8 |
| Anglican | 22 | 18.7 | -4.7 |
| Uniting-Church | 7.5 | 5.7 | -14.9 |
| Presbyterian-and-Reformed | 3.8 | 3 | -11.7 |
| Eastern-Orthodox | 2.8 | 2.7 | 9.5 |
| Baptist | 1.7 | 1.6 | 7.3 |
| Lutheran | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Pentecostal | 1 | 1.1 | 25.7 |
| Other-Christian | 3.7 | 3.9 | 19 |
| Non-Christian | 3.5 | 5.6 | 79.3 |
| Buddhism | 1.1 | 2.1 | 109.6 |
| Islam | 1.1 | 1.7 | 69.4 |
| Hinduism | 0.4 | 0.7 | 120.2 |
| Judaism | 0.4 | 0.4 | 11.3 |
| Other-Non-Christian | 0.4 | 0.5 | 58.8 |
| Inadequately-described | 0.3 | 0.7 | 147.1 |
| No-Religion | 16.6 | 18.7 | 25.7 |
| Not-stated | 8.7 | 11.2 | 43.4 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 11.8 |
Clearly, Christianity is the most predominant religion in Australia with over 63% of citizens identifying some Christian denomination as their religious identity. Is this misleading though?
According to the National Church Life Survey, while 71% of Australians have attended a religious service at least once in the last 12 months, only 19% of Australians attend a Christian church service at least once a month. This represents quite a discrepancy between the census data and religious observance.
The discrepancy arises from the response to the census question. If the census question was formed to determine the general religious affiliation and religious values that an Australian holds, then the census data is quite accurate. If however, it was formed to gauge the level of religious participation in the populace, then it is clearly inaccurate.
Religious Identity or Religious Observance?
On the other hand, those who frequent a religious service - and generally adhere to the internal logic and belief system of a religion - are quite less in number. It is this group that is most likely to list their religion on their profile page on Facebook and who would respond politically to decisions that affect their religion. They would most likely be active participants in the provision of social services that their religious body facilitates and generally advocate their religious beliefs and practices in their local community. It is this group that most people would think of when religion is spoken of. In many respects, those who regularly practice a religion are really those who are accurately described by this census question.
Conclusion
The accuracy of the census data is important. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released an forthright statement in response to a large section of the community who listed "Jedi" as their religion in the 2001 census. This was during the time when the second series of Star Wars films were being progressively released by George Lucas. The ABS rebuked those who had listed the fictional religion as an ambivalent response to this question and then wonder why social services that they depend on were vanishing ("Jedi" is not categorized by the ABS as a religion and for aggregration purposes is classified as "not defined").
It is therefore in the best interest of the country that Australians answer the religion question with honesty and integrity. Obviously, this is a very personal question that is subjective to the individual, but nevertheless has important ramifications on political decisions and provision of services in the community.
PostScript: Am I Christian?
As a general rule, while many Australians may consider themselves to be Christian, in reality they do not adhere to the Christian belief system or regularly practice Christian religious observances. The noun, "Christian" was first used in the first century AD to describe Jews or Gentiles who were "Christ-followers" or "Followers of the Way" (for an interesting read on the latest iteration on Facebook, "follower of Christ", go here). The important distinction at this point is that to be a Christian, it requires a following. Jesus himself said, "Follow me." Therefore, while for cultural reasons many people may describe themselves as Christian or being attracted to the Judeo-Christian ethic, from a religious perspective, they are not Christian.
Protestant Christianity has historically drawn a clear line of delineation between a culture that is influenced by Christian beliefs and practices (eg. England) and those who strongly adhere to the Christian doctrine and practice (eg. Ned Flanders). Protestant Christianity generally believes that a person must first believe in the historical acts of the divine Christ and secondly, display outward practice that is consistent with the teachings in the Bible (a marrying of faith and works as described in James 2:14-25).
Core Christian Beliefs
The basic Christian beliefs have been best synthesized as the Apostles' Creed, which was developed by Christians in the first few centuries AD. It describes the essential beliefs that defines a believer in Christ for the purposes of salvation.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,Core Christian Practices
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Along with these beliefs outlined in the Apostles' Creed, the Christian would generally adhere to these Christian practices - but not for the purposes of salvation.
- Attend church, pray and read the bible regularly
- Observe the moral & ethical code outlined in the bible (eg. the Ten Commandments, Sermon on the Mount, etc)
- Encourage other Christians in their faith
- Encourage other people in their community to become Christians.
