There have been record numbers of Australians choosing to turn away from Christianity due to many reasons one being the belief in a higher power not realistic
The days of dressing up in your Sunday best to attend a morning church service with your family appear to be over, with more young people deciding to turn their backs on Christianity.
Young Australians are the largest demographic who are turning away from religious beliefs the most. There has been a gradual decrease in Anglican Christians since the 1960s. before that time most businesses and events closed on Sundays in Australia. There were no sporting events and shops closed as it was a weekly tradition that families attended church.
There is a trend that certain racial groups within Australia are most likely to attend a Sunday service, these are people from the Pacific Islands and Lebanese Christians.
Sydney remains the most religious city in Australia, the city has over 58 thousand practising Anglicans. Churches have been trying to reengage younger Australians with religion by encouraging them to join youth groups and Sunday services.
Covid-19 has also affected the drop in several Sunday service attendees.
University of Wollongong academic Greg Melleuish, describes the first Christian church domination within Australia.
“Christian protestants were the first to form a united church within the country, Catholics followed slowly in their wake, if you look at the situation today, we’ve started to scrutinise Sunday.”
Many Australians believe that religion is no longer relevant in today’s society, therefore they spend their Sundays doing other tasks.
Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
More reason behind the decline of Australian Christians is that there are tax exemptions for many religions.
When money is donated to a religious cause, it has to be set in specific categories for it to go to the right account, quick donations and missionary donations are two examples.
Non-Christians may believe this could be unfair not knowing where the money ends. Churches by law must disclose where the funds transition towards. The following chart is based on data provided by the Anglican Church of Australia General Synod.
There is also a trend of former practising Christians, claiming that within their representation, are still religious on government census data.
The United States of America is one of the most religious nations in the world, mostly within the Anglican Christian faith. Particularly in the southern states of the US, they are most commonly known to have the largest populations of citizens of the Christian faith.
When it comes to comparing the level of Christianity between Australia and The United States. Many Australians believe that the nation has become more modern and are taking approaches to the Anglican faith that are more popular with younger Australians. on the other side of the world, the US tend to be two steps back not wanting to let go of their religious beliefs even amongst their youngest.
The chart above reveals the vast decline of Christian numbers in Australia since 1971. While it has decreased quickly up until 2021, the number of non-believers has rapidly increased.
At its current rate, the possibility might be that non-Christians possibly overtake the population of Christians in the nation. While this is taking place, the population of other faiths and religions has remained steady in Australia. This is mainly due to immigration, as migrants usually settle in one main region being in a region where there is a large population of people who share the same faith.
Young Christian and member of the University of Wollongong bible group Harry Rowlands, believes that to bring people back to Christianity, the bible needs to be preached as is, and not in a way that will make it easier and more relevant for younger audiences to understand.
“I think what churches need to do is teach the bible in a way that is relevant and accessible. Too often, we try to water down the message or to present Christianity in a way that we think is best. This way of attracting people, it’s a kind of growth that the bible warns us against.”
Nowadays religion is seen to be very philosophical, which gives Australians an easier understanding of the bible. The Anglican church in Australia has given the image that young Australians who are non-Christians, seem to be attracted by.
The Anglican church, especially in metropolitan areas, has created events such as young bible studies and youth groups, these events even help first-generation Christians remain in their faith and volunteer.
Social media and new century values have also taken their part in turning away Australians from religion. Social media has influenced progressive beliefs that Christians disagree with.
same-sex marriage and the right to abortion, are the two main thoughts that conservative right-wing Christians do not accept and have been influenced by young Australians on social media.
Modern consumerism in Australia has very strong powers in marketing to keep people from going to a Sunday service. Sports on the day, watching on the television or competing, and retail. A short time ago, shops were told to close on Sundays as going to church was an important task every weekend.
Christianity has now become an option rather than a forced lifestyle put upon young Australian parents.