Good Evening. My name is Maddison Smith and I am delighted to welcome you to Xavier High School for this important occasion. Before I go any further, I would like to thank Mr Brown for his opening remarks, as well the HSC board for all their efforts in organising the first Studies of Religion conference. I want to extend a warm welcoming to all guest on behalf of Xavier. It is a great honour to host so many fellow HSC students from all cultures and backgrounds.
The conference theme for this semester is ‘The religious landscape of Australia from 1945 to present’. Australia’s religious landscape has had constant fluctuations due to the changing patterns of religious adherence. This is deemed to be a result of a range of contributing factors, …show more content…
During this time period Anglicanism started to decline dramatically due to the decreased immigration from Great Britain. This combined with migration from war torn Philippines resulted in Catholicism becoming the majority. Whilst this occurred, there was a continued growth in both Islam and Buddhism.
The most significant change between the 1990s to present is the increase in the number of people affiliated with religious traditions other than Christianity. Since the first Census, Australia had a strong Christian culture but due to waves of migrants entering Australia there has been a long-term decrease in Christian adherents from 88% to 61% in 2011. However the Christians religions are still predominant in Australia with an estimated 25.3% of all citizens identifying as Catholics.
Migrants have contributed to the increase in Catholicism, with 24% affiliating to this religion. Whilst 56% of the overseas-born population reported a christian denomination, 19% of this population identify with non-Christian religions. The most prevalent religion being Buddhism, with an increased population of 6.6% in 2011. The growth in Buddhist figures is a result of of immigration from troubled areas in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and …show more content…
Out of all religions, Hinduism has experienced the fastest growth, increasing by 189% to 257,500 adherents. This is the result of a higher proportion of recent arrivals from non-European countries.
Whilst religions have increased and decreased across the decades, Judaism has remained constant. As reported in the Jewish Care Summary “Jewish immigration from Europe has kept the proportion of Jews in Australia fairly constant at around 0.4%”
Recent immigration as shown in the 2011 Census data has increased levels of secularism in Australia. This means that new migrants are more likely to report ‘No Religion’ with 24% of Australia’s overseas born population not identifying with a religion. This is an increase from 15% in 2001 to 22% in 2011.
So what does all this data and information tell us about the religious landscape of Australia from 1945 to present? It tells us that as a result of immigration there has been a significant change in Australia's population religious affiliations. Australia is no longer a Christian population but today, as seen in this room is a multicultural and multifaith country. This has impacted on aspects of Australian life such as schooling, religious practice and even
The conference theme for this semester is ‘The religious landscape of Australia from 1945 to present’. Australia’s religious landscape has had constant fluctuations due to the changing patterns of religious adherence. This is deemed to be a result of a range of contributing factors, …show more content…
During this time period Anglicanism started to decline dramatically due to the decreased immigration from Great Britain. This combined with migration from war torn Philippines resulted in Catholicism becoming the majority. Whilst this occurred, there was a continued growth in both Islam and Buddhism.
The most significant change between the 1990s to present is the increase in the number of people affiliated with religious traditions other than Christianity. Since the first Census, Australia had a strong Christian culture but due to waves of migrants entering Australia there has been a long-term decrease in Christian adherents from 88% to 61% in 2011. However the Christians religions are still predominant in Australia with an estimated 25.3% of all citizens identifying as Catholics.
Migrants have contributed to the increase in Catholicism, with 24% affiliating to this religion. Whilst 56% of the overseas-born population reported a christian denomination, 19% of this population identify with non-Christian religions. The most prevalent religion being Buddhism, with an increased population of 6.6% in 2011. The growth in Buddhist figures is a result of of immigration from troubled areas in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and …show more content…
Out of all religions, Hinduism has experienced the fastest growth, increasing by 189% to 257,500 adherents. This is the result of a higher proportion of recent arrivals from non-European countries.
Whilst religions have increased and decreased across the decades, Judaism has remained constant. As reported in the Jewish Care Summary “Jewish immigration from Europe has kept the proportion of Jews in Australia fairly constant at around 0.4%”
Recent immigration as shown in the 2011 Census data has increased levels of secularism in Australia. This means that new migrants are more likely to report ‘No Religion’ with 24% of Australia’s overseas born population not identifying with a religion. This is an increase from 15% in 2001 to 22% in 2011.
So what does all this data and information tell us about the religious landscape of Australia from 1945 to present? It tells us that as a result of immigration there has been a significant change in Australia's population religious affiliations. Australia is no longer a Christian population but today, as seen in this room is a multicultural and multifaith country. This has impacted on aspects of Australian life such as schooling, religious practice and even