Census: a Question of Religion - Politics, Policy, Political Views

Census: a question of religion

Everyone agrees the number means something. Nobody, in 115 years, thought to test whether the number was measuring what they assumed.

Census: a question of religion - Politics, Policy, Political Views

There is a particular kind of Australian argument that goes on for years without anyone thinking to check the equipment. For the past two decades we have been conducting one of these about religion. The Census says the proportion of Australians with no religion has climbed from under 1 per cent in 1911 to 38.9 per cent in 2021. Both sides have made a great deal of this number. Secularists cite it as proof that the churches are finished and shoul…