FACTBase Bulletin 28 - Religious Diversity

This FACTBase Bulletin, the first in a series examining the socio-cultural composition of Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, examines changes in religious affiliation at the metropolitan and local government area levels for the period 2001-2011.

Key Findings

• In contemporary Australia, Christianity remains the dominant religion, however these numbers are falling. Non-Christian groups such as Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims have enjoyed growth.
• At the metropolitan level, both Sydney and Adelaide have experienced a decline in the proportion of Christian population while Perth and Melbourne have experienced growth.
• Within Perth at the local government level, there is an outer-suburbanisation of minority religious groups.
• When compared to the local government areas of other Australian cities (Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne), Perth’s local government areas ranked in the lowest two quantile ranking for religious diversity.
• There are various social and political implications associated with changes in religion demographics within a geographical region, such as oppositional community attitudes and tensions.
• Policymakers need to incorporate the concept of cultural diversity more explicitly within their policy thinking, practices and documents.