PAGANISM AND THE AUSTRALIAN 2006 CENSUS
The 2006 Australian Census of Population and Housing for 2006 consisted of some 19,855,288 indicating their religious preference (or lack thereof). As in previous years the majority of the Australian population considered themselves to be Christian (some 12,582,764). The largest single religious denomination in 2006 was again Catholic with 5.12 million adherents (increased). Other Christian religions with a substantial number of adherents were:
The largest non-Christian religious denominations was Islam (340,392), followed close behind by Buddhism (418,756) - both of which showed an increase in the number of affiliations. Other specific religions mentioned showed that Judaism had some 88,831 affiliations and Hinduism 148,119 (significant increase in affiliations). Some 133,820 people indicated on the 2006 census of belonging to an "Other Religious Affiliation" which included "New Age so described" and "Theism" in the 1996 and 2001 Census (see below for a more specific number of New Age affiliations). These religious affiliations were described as "not defined" as they were inadequately described. A further 3,706,555 people indicated that they did not have any religious affiliation. According to the Australia Bureau of Statistics these included beliefs such as Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism and Rationalism. Finally 2,223,957 indicated that their Religious Affiliation was not stated on the 2006 Census form.
The breakdown of Pagan religious affiliations obtained from the Australia Bureau of Statistics for the 2006 Census showed the following:
Whilst all these figures represent an increase compared to previous years, it is important to remember that not every person whose religious/spiritual beliefs falls under the Pagan umbrella would have indicated as such due to various reasons including religious vilification and discrimination.
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