Recent data from the Statista Research Department, a market research institute, confirms earlier findings indicating a decline in the number of Australians identifying with the Christian faith; however, local organizations continue to make efforts to establish new churches.
The 2021 Australian Census revealed that fewer than half of all Australians, specifically 44%, identified as Christian, marking an 8% decrease compared to five years earlier in a similar national census. Simultaneously, the number of individuals not identifying with any religion rose to 10 million by 2010, reflecting an increase of 2 million from the previous census and representing 40% of respondents.
Statista noted, “The younger age groups of people in Australia are more likely to have no religious affiliation or hold other spiritual or secular beliefs. This shift away from traditional religion is further evidenced by the increase in civil celebrant marriages instead of religious ceremonies, with the majority of marriages performed by civil celebrants.”
While over 120 different faiths exist within Australia, the traditional “Christian” label appears to be losing relevance, with Statista describing the country as a “secular country with a diverse migrant population.”
Furthermore, the report confirmed that “while the Christian faiths in Australia are in slow decline, there has been a steady growth of other religions (Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists) in the country.” Notably, the Muslim population has grown “significantly” across all age groups since the last national census.
Attitudes toward various religious groups remain generally neutral; however, the report highlighted “more negative attitudes in the country toward Christians and Muslims than any other religion.” Despite the decreasing affiliation with established religions, Australians express “a high satisfaction with religious faith or spiritual life,” suggesting that religious beliefs continue to play a key role in identity and daily living.
Regardless of the recent Census results, some churches and networks in Australia are intensifying their efforts to reach people with the Gospel.
Reach Australia, a network comprising over 260 churches, is actively working to spread the Gospel. During the network’s national conference in May, Derek Hanna, director of Plant and an advocate for Gospel-focused church leaders, addressed the importance of maintaining a positive outlook on evangelism moving forward.
In his talk titled “State of the Nation in Church Planting,” Hanna outlined a vision to plant 300 churches in Australia by 2030. With 145 churches already established, there remains a need to initiate 155 new churches within the next six years, which will require 800 new Gospel work leaders. Hanna calculated that the network is achieving an average annual multiplication rate of 4%, allowing them to meet the target of 300 new churches.
“The lie is, ‘We believe in a God who can but probably won’t,’” he stated. “Look across this room. There are 1,300 people here this week across denominations with a shared Gospel conviction about reaching Australia. That is the work of God. This is not triumphalism; this is just acknowledging what God is doing at this point, at this moment in history.”
