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118-556: Christianity is the largest religion in Australia , with a total of 43.9% of the nation-wide population identifying with a Christian denomination in the 2021 census. The first presence of Christianity in Australia began with British colonisation in what came to be known as New South Wales in 1788. The Christian footprint in Australian society and culture remains broad, particularly in areas of social welfare and education provision and in

236-663: A Church of England cleric, was charged by Governor Arthur Phillip with improving "public morality" in the colony, and he was also heavily involved in health and education. For much of Australian history, the Church of England in Australia, now known as the Anglican Church of Australia , was the largest religious affiliation. However its relative position has declined, with the Catholic Church , benefiting from post-war Australia multicultural immigration, among other factors, to become

354-543: A 2009 survey by Sweeney Research and the advertising group Grey Global finding the Salvation Army and the nation's Ambulance Service to be Australia's most trusted entities. Australia's George Carpenter was General of the Salvation Army (worldwide leader) from 1939 to 1946 and Eva Burrows during the 1980s and 1990s. Section 116 of the Australian Constitution of 1901 provided for freedom of religion . With

472-651: A Patriarchal Divine Liturgy occurred at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Sunday November 24. Likewise, his visit in 2024 was also historic as coincided with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Archdiocese of Australia. Two Patriarchal Divine Liturgies occurred in 2024, on Sunday October 6 at the International Convention Centre , Sydney and on Sunday October 14 at Margaret Court Arena , Melbourne. The following clergy are members of

590-602: A chalice made of tin he conducted the first Catholic Mass in New South Wales . The Irish led Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804 alarmed the British authorities and Dixon's permission to celebrate Mass was revoked. Fr Jeremiah Flynn , an Irish Cistercian , was appointed as Prefect Apostolic of New Holland (Australia) and set out from Britain for the colony uninvited. Watched by authorities, Flynn secretly performed priestly duties before being arrested and deported to London. Reaction to

708-433: A decline during this period as they were dispossessed of their lands; and diseases spread among their populations. Christian churches organised missions during this period, intended to "civilise" Aboriginal communities and spread Christianity. The overall consequences of this activity contributed to the decline of indigenous languages and beliefs, the extent to which are still being determined and recorded. By 1901, apart from

826-980: A degree of tension. A series of comments by a senior Sydney cleric, Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly also stirred controversy, particularly his remarks regarding "female modesty" following an incident of gang rape in Sydney . Australians were among the targets of Islamic Fundamentalists in the Bali bombings in Indonesia and an attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta; and the South East Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah has been of particular concern to Australians. The Australian government's mandatory detention processing system for asylum seekers became increasingly controversial after

944-543: A free hospital for the poor. The Sisters went on to found hospitals, hospices, research institutes and aged care facilities in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania. At St Vincent's they trained leading surgeon Victor Chang and opened Australia's first AIDS clinic. In the 21st century, with more and more lay people involved in management, the sisters began collaborating with Sisters of Mercy Hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney. Jointly

1062-777: A haven from the hell of life on the Australian frontier while at the same time facilitating colonisation". In the Torres Strait Islands , the Coming of the Light Festival marks the day the Christian missionaries first arrived on the islands on 1 July 1871 and introduced Christianity to the region. This is a significant festival for Torres Strait Islanders, who are predominantly Christian. Religious and cultural ceremonies are held across Torres Strait and mainland Australia. Prominent Aboriginal Christians have included Pastor David Unaipon ,

1180-577: A marked improvement in relations. After a series of controversies, Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly retired as Grand mufti of Australia in 2007 and was replaced by Fehmi Naji El-Imam AM . Today, over 604,000 people in Australia identify as Muslim, with diverse communities concentrated mainly in Sydney and Melbourne. More than half are non-practising cultural Muslims . Since the 1970s Islamic schools have been established as well as more than 100 mosques and prayer centres. Many notable Muslim places of worship are to be found in large Australian cities, including

1298-540: A migrant women's shelter and worked for women's welfare in the colonies in the 1840s, though her humanitarian efforts later won her fame in England and great influence in achieving support for families in the colony. John Bede Polding , a Benedictine monk , was Sydney's first Catholic bishop (and then archbishop) from 1835 to 1877. Polding requested a community of nuns be sent to the colony and five Irish Sisters of Charity arrived in 1838. The sisters set about pastoral care in

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1416-556: A national order at a time when Australia was divided among individually governed colonies. She is today the most revered of Australian Catholics, canonised by Benedict XVI in 2010. Also from Britain came the Salvation Army (its members sometimes called "Salvos" in Australia), which had been established in the slums of East London in 1865 to minister to the impoverished outcasts of the city. The first Salvation Army meeting in Australia

1534-623: A qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth." The Christian festivals of Easter and Christmas are public holidays . The Aboriginal peoples of Australia traditionally followed a set of beliefs known as The Dreaming ; some of the earliest evidence on earth for religious practices among humans has been found in the archaeological record of their ancestors. Torres Strait Islander religion bore similarities to broader Melanesian spirituality. Christianity came to Australia in 1788 with British colonial settlement. Of

1652-506: A situation where "no office of first, or even second, rate importance is held by a Catholic". The Churches became involved in mission work among the Aboriginal people of Australia in the 19th century as Europeans came to control much of the continent and the majority of the population was eventually converted. Colonial clergy such as Sydney's first Catholic archbishop, John Bede Polding, strongly advocated for Aboriginal rights and dignity With

1770-508: A women's prison and began visiting hospitals and schools and establishing employment for convict women. The sisters went on to establish hospitals in four of the eastern states, beginning with St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney in 1857 as a free hospital for all people, but especially for the poor. At Polding's request, the Christian Brothers arrived in Sydney in 1843 to assist in schools. In 1857, Polding founded an Australian order of nuns in

1888-986: Is Archbishop of Australia. He was elected by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and was enthroned in front of thousands of faithful on 29 June 2019 at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Theotokos . Since February 2024, the Archdiocese of Australia is governed by the Holy Eparchical Synod, at which the incumbent Archbishop of the day presides, and whose members are his active assistant Bishops in their capacity as Regional Bishops. The first churches founded by Greek Orthodox in Australia were Holy Trinity in Surry Hills , Sydney (1898), and Annunciation of

2006-493: Is diverse. In the 2021 national census , 43.9% of Australians identified with Christianity and 38.9% declared " no religion ". Australia has no official religion . Section 116 of the Constitution of Australia states: "The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as

2124-478: Is evidence of contact between indigenous Australians with colonisers, fishermen, and survivors of numerous shipwrecks from peoples of various non-Indigenous cultures and faiths prior to British colonisation. Indigenous Australians of ( Arnhem Land ) (in Northern Australia) retain stories, songs and paintings of trade and cultural interaction with sea-faring peoples from the north, generally regarded as being from

2242-525: Is known as the "City of Churches", but churches extend far into the Australian Outback , as at the historic Lutheran Mission Chapel at Hermannsburg, Northern Territory . Along with community attitudes to religion, church architecture changed significantly during the 20th century. Urban churches, such as the Wayside Chapel (1964) in Sydney, differed markedly from traditional ecclesiastical designs. In

2360-465: Is optional, and asks "What is the person's religion?", giving respondents a choice of nine religions, "Other" and "No religion". At the 2016 census 9.6% of people declined to answer, or they did not give a response adequate for interpretation. This figure dropped to 7.2% in 2021. The 2021 Australian census data showed that 43.9% of Australians classify themselves Christian, 8.2% less in real terms than five years prior, The second-largest classification

2478-583: Is the peak body representing Indigenous Catholics in Australia and was formed in Cairns in January 1989 at the first National Conference of the Aboriginal and Islander Catholic Councils. In 1992 the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference officially recognised and welcomed it as the national representative and consultative body to the church on issues concerning Indigenous Catholics. The members of

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2596-508: Is the presence of wild camels in Outback and the oldest Islamic structure in the southern hemisphere , at Central Adelaide Mosque . Nonetheless, despite their significant role in Australia prior to the establishment of rail and road networks, the formulation of the White Australia policy at the time of Federation made immigration difficult for the 'Afghans' and their memory slowly faded during

2714-600: The Catholic Church was also a member of the national ecumenical body, the National Council of Churches in Australia . A 2015 study estimates some 20,000 Muslim converted to Christianity in Australia, most of them belonging to some form of Protestantism. Data for table up to 2006 from Australian Bureau of Statistics. Christianity and European culture have had a significant impact on Indigenous Australians , their religion and their culture. As in many colonial situations

2832-461: The 2021 census Census. According to the 2021 census, religious distribution is 43.9% Christian (47.3% of those who answered the question, 7.3% did not), 38.9% none or secular belief system (41.9% of those who answered), 3.2% Islam (or 3.5% of those who answered), 2.7% Hinduism (2.9% of those who answered), 2.4% Buddhism (or 2.6% of those who answered), and 1.7% other (or 1.8% who answered). The largest Christian denominations (those with at least 1% of

2950-543: The Australian Capital Territory (45.38%). Before European contact, indigenous people had performed the rites and rituals of the animist religion of the Dreamtime . Portuguese and Spanish Catholics and Dutch and English Protestants were sailing into Australian waters from the seventeenth century. Among the first Catholics known to have sighted Australia were the crew of a Spanish expedition of 1605–6. In 1606,

3068-580: The Australian Constitution guaranteed Separation of Church and State . A notable period of sectarianism re-emerged during the First World War and the 1916 Easter Uprising in Ireland, but sectarian division declined after World War II . There was a diversification of Christian churches (especially with the growth of Greek, Macedonian, Serbian and Russian Orthodox churches), together with an increase in ecumenism among Christians through organisations such as

3186-569: The Central Adelaide Mosque , which was constructed during the 1880s; and Sydney's Classical Ottoman style Auburn Gallipoli Mosque , which was largely funded by the Turkish community and the name of which recalls the shared heritage of the foundation of modern Turkey and the story of the ANZACs . 1,140 people identified as Aboriginal Muslims in the 2011 census, almost double the number recorded in

3304-686: The Howard government established the Muslim Community Reference Group to advise on Muslim community issues for one year, chaired by Ameer Ali . Inter-faith dialogues were also established by Christian and Muslim groups such as The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils and the National Council of Churches in Australia . Australia and Indonesia co-operated closely following the Bali-bombings, not only in law-enforcement but in improving education and cross-cultural understanding, leading to

3422-799: The Jesuits were the first religious order of priests to enter and establish houses in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory . While the Austrian Jesuits traversed the Outback on horseback to found missions and schools, Irish Jesuits arrived in the east in 1860 and had by 1880 established the major schools which survive to the present. In 1885, Patrick Francis Moran became Australia's first cardinal . Moran believed that Catholics' political and civil rights were threatened in Australia and, in 1896, saw deliberate discrimination in

3540-576: The Job Network ) and education . These include: Catholic Health Australia is the largest non-government provider grouping of health, community and aged care services in Australia. These do not operate for profit and range across the full spectrum of health services, representing about 10% of the health sector and employing 35,000 people. Catholic religious orders founded many of Australia's hospitals. Irish Sisters of Charity arrived in Sydney in 1838 and established St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney in 1857 as

3658-580: The Lutheran mission at Hermannsburg , Northern Territory, and many Catholic missions in remote areas being examples. Many missionaries often studied Aboriginal society from an Anthropological perspective. Missionaries have made significant contributions to anthropological and linguistic understanding of Indigenous Australians and aspects of Christian services have been adapted when there is Aboriginal involvement – even masses during Papal visits to Australia will include traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremonies . It

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3776-599: The National Council of Churches in Australia , as well as an increase in non-religious adherence. One of the most visible signs of the historical importance of Christianity to Australia is the prominence of churches in most Australian towns and cities. Among Australia's oldest are Ebenezer Chapel and the Anglican St Matthew's, Windsor, St Luke's, Liverpool, St Peter's, Campbelltown and St James Church, Sydney , built between 1819 and 1824 by Governor Macquarie 's architect, Francis Greenway . St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney ,

3894-923: The Royal Flying Doctor Service in 1928 in Cloncurry , Queensland, to bring health services to the isolated communities of the Australian The Bush . There are substantial networks of Christian schools associated with the Christian churches and also some that operate as parachurch organisations . The Catholic education system is the second biggest sector after government schools and has more than 730,000 students and around 21 per cent of all secondary school enrolments. The Catholic Church has established primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions in Australia. The Anglican Church has around 145 schools in Australia , providing for more than 105,000 children. The Uniting Church has around 48 schools as does

4012-481: The Royal Flying Doctor Service , currently featured on the Australian $ 20 note; Sir Douglas Nicholls – Aboriginal rights activist, athlete, pastor and former Governor of South Australia ; Archbishop Stylianos Harkianakis – Archbishop and primate of the Greek Orthodox church in Australia from 1975 to 2019 Sectarianism in Australia tended to reflect the political inheritance of Britain and Ireland. Until 1945,

4130-680: The Saint Vincent de Paul Society , the Salvation Army , Anglicare, and Youth Off the Streets receive considerable national support. Religious orders founded many of Australia's hospitals, such as St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney , which was opened as a free hospital in 1857 by the Sisters of Charity and is now Australia's largest not-for-profit health provider and has trained prominent Australian surgeons such as Victor Chang . Notable Australian Christians have included: Mary MacKillop – educator, founder of

4248-518: The Sisters of St Joseph , founded in Australia by Saint Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods in 1867. MacKillop travelled throughout Australasia and established schools, convents and charitable institutions but came into conflict with those bishops who preferred diocesan control of the order rather than central control from Adelaide by the Josephite order. MacKillop administered the Josephites as

4366-606: The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and the first Australian to be recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church; David Unaipon – an Aboriginal writer, inventor and Christian preacher currently featured on the Australian $ 50 note; Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne – a controversial voice against Conscription during World War I and against British policy in Ireland; the Reverend John Flynn – founder of

4484-598: The Uniting Church in Australia , is an organisation developed and managed by Indigenous people to "provide spiritual, social and economic pathways for Australia's First People". In recent times, Christians like Fr Ted Kennedy of Redfern, Jesuit human rights lawyer Fr Frank Brennan and the Josephite Sisters have been prominent in working for Aboriginal rights and improvements to standards of living. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council

4602-642: The University of Notre Dame Australia based in Perth. Catholic Social Services Australia 's 63 member organisations help more than a million Australians every year. Anglican organisations work in health, missionary work, social welfare and communications; and the Uniting Church does extensive community work, in aged care, hospitals, nursing, family support services, youth services and with the homeless, and especially throughout inland Australia. Christian charities such as

4720-458: The governors . Johnson was charged by the governor, Arthur Phillip , with improving "public morality" in the colony, but he was also heavily involved in health and education. According to Manning Clark , the early colonial officials of the colony had disdain for the "consolations of religion", but shared a view that "the Protestant religion and British institutions were the finest achievements of

4838-476: The 11 September attacks. A significant proportion of recent Asylum seekers arriving by boat have been Muslims fleeing the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere. Some Islamic leaders and social commentators claim that Islam has suffered from unfair stereotyping Violence and intimidation was directed against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern appearance during southern Sydney's Cronulla riots in 2005. In 2005,

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4956-604: The 12th Clergy-Laity Congress held in Sydney in September 2023, Saint Paisios of Mount Athos was declared Patron Saint of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia by Archbishop Makarios. His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has visited Australia twice, in 1996 and 2024. The 1996 visit of His All Holiness was historic as it was the first time the Patriarch of Constantinople visited Australia. On this visit,

5074-562: The 1860s onwards, the mainly Muslim " Afghan Cameleers ". From the 1870s Malay divers were recruited (with most subsequently repatriated). Before 1901, some Muslim sailors and prisoners came to Australia on convict ships. In 1901, the government passed an act limiting immigration to those of European descent in what came to be known as the White Australia Policy . By effectively limiting the immigration of practitioners of different faiths, this policy ensured that Christianity remained

5192-545: The 2001 census. Notable Australian Muslims include boxer Anthony Mundine ; community worker and rugby league star Hazem El Masri ; cricketer Usman Khawaja and academic Waleed Aly . In 2013, Labor MP Ed Husic became Australia's first Muslim member of Cabinet , briefly serving as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Broadband in the short lived Second Rudd government . Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia Since May 9, 2019, Bishop Makarios

5310-853: The 20th century, until a revival of interest began in the 1980s. Successive Australian governments dismantled the White Australia Policy in the Post-WW2 period. From the 1970s onwards, under the leadership of Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser , Australia began to pursue multiculturalism . Australia in the later 20th century became a refuge for many Muslims fleeing conflicts including those in Lebanon , Bosnia , Iraq , Iran , Sudan and Afghanistan . General immigration, combined with religious conversion to Islam by Christians and other Australians, as well as Australia's participation in UN refugee efforts has increased

5428-512: The Benedictine tradition – the Sisters of the Good Samaritan – to work in education and social work. While Polding was in office, construction began on the ambitious Gothic Revival designs for St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne and the final St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. Since the 19th century, immigrants have brought their own expressions of Christianity with them. Particular examples are

5546-449: The British criminal justice system. Religious tensions, largely fuelled by historical grievances between Catholics and other Christians, continued into the 20th century. The gold rush of the 1850s led to significantly increased immigration and diversity of religious traditions, such as Irish Catholicism , Scottish Presbyterianism , and more English Anglicanism , among other religious traditions. Australian Aboriginal peoples suffered

5664-575: The British denominations (with their Protestant majority and largely Irish, Catholic minority). The permanent presence of Christianity in Australia began with the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. The Reverend Richard Johnson of the Church of England was licensed as chaplain to the Fleet and the settlement. In early colonial times, Church of England clergy worked closely with

5782-627: The Catholic World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney the then prime minister, Kevin Rudd , said that Christianity had been a positive influence on Australia: "It was the church that began first schools for the poor, it was the church that began first hospitals for the poor, it was the church that began first refuges for the poor and these great traditions continue for the future." A number of Christian churches are significant national providers of social welfare services (including residential aged care and

5900-449: The Catholic Church as the largest. The number of Anglicans attending regular worship began to decline in 1959 and figures for occasional services (baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals) started to decline after 1966. Further waves of migration and the gradual winding back of the White Australia Policy , helped to reshape the profile of Australia's religious affiliations over subsequent decades. The impact of migration from Europe in

6018-514: The Catholic Church in Australia. Christian charitable organisations, hospitals and schools have played a prominent role in welfare and education since Colonial times, when the First Fleet 's Church of England chaplain, Richard Johnson , was credited as "the physician both of soul and body" during the famine of 1790 and was charged with general supervision of schools. The Catholic laywoman Caroline Chisolm helped single migrant women and rescued homeless girls in Sydney. In his welcoming address to

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6136-464: The Christian Church in Australia would not reach its potential until Aboriginal people had made their "contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others". In July 2008, Sydney hosted the massive international youth festival "World Youth Day" led by Benedict XVI . Around 500,000 welcomed the pope to Sydney and 270,000 watched the Stations of the Cross . More than 300,000 pilgrims camped out overnight in preparation for

6254-399: The Christian virtues of marriage and an end to promiscuity. Johnson celebrated the colony's first Lord's Supper in an officer's tent on Sunday 17 February 1788. Johnson's successor, the Reverend Samuel Marsden (1765–1838), had magisterial duties and so was equated with the authorities by the convicts. He became known as the "flogging parson" for the severity of his punishments. Some of

6372-414: The Colony of New South Wales by the Church Act of 1836 . Drafted by the Catholic attorney-general John Plunkett , the act established legal equality for Episcopalians, Catholics and Presbyterians and was later extended to Methodists. Nevertheless, social attitudes were slow to change. Catholic laywoman Caroline Chisholm (1808–1877) faced discouragements and anti-papal feeling when she sought to establish

6490-420: The English Benedictines to lead the early church in the colony. William Bernard Ullathorne (1806–1889) was instrumental in influencing Pope Gregory XVI to establish a Catholic hierarchy in Australia. Ullathorne was in Australia from 1833 to 1836 as vicar-general to Bishop William Morris (1794–1872), whose jurisdiction extended over the Australian missions. The Church of England lost its legal privileges in

6608-419: The First Fleet, 14 convicts and one "free" child. The Tolpuddle Martyrs were sentenced to penal transportation to Australia because friendly societies had strong elements of what are now considered to be the predominant role of trade unions. As noted above, the Australian gold rushes brought in workers from China and the Pacific islands, as well as specialised workers from British India such as, from

6726-547: The Irish convicts had been transported to Australia for political crimes or social rebellion in Ireland. This was due to the colonisation of the Irish people by the English, and resultant dispossession and cruel conditions forced on them by the English. Irish Catholics had been forced to pay tithes to the protestant churches, even though they were Catholics. Authorities were prejudiced against Catholics and Catholic convicts were compelled to attend Church of England services, with no provision or respect for Catholicism. One-tenth of all

6844-422: The Lutherans from Prussia who tended to settle in the Barossa Valley , South Australia and in Queensland , Methodists in South Australia, with notable pockets coming from Cornwall to work the copper mines in Moonta . Other groups included the Presbyterian , Congregationalist and Baptist churches. Establishing themselves first at Sevenhill , in the newly established colony of South Australia in 1848,

6962-565: The Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand was elevated to Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and Metropolitan Ezekiel was appointed archbishop in 1959. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited Australia in November 1996. In the 1970s, the Methodist , Presbyterian and Congregational churches in Australia united to form the Uniting Church in Australia . The church remains prominent in welfare services and noted for its innovative ministry initiatives such as those pioneered at centres like Sydney's Wayside Chapel in King's Cross. 1970 saw

7080-446: The Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand was elevated to an archdiocese and Metropolitan Ezekiel to an archbishop. Archbishop Ezekiel's episcopacy coincided with a period of great expansion in the numbers of Greek Orthodox in Australia through immigration, and many of the parishes that the church has today were formed under his guidance. In August 1974, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elevated Archbishop Ezekiel to

7198-509: The Pacific islands, as well as specialised workers from British India , such as the mainly Muslim " Afghan Cameleers ". Dreaming (spirituality) has been practised for tens of thousands of years. It is at once a collection of stories of an ancient view of creation and present day spirituality. It places significant emphasis on belonging to the land. It shaped and continues to shape Aboriginal law and customs; and Aboriginal art, story and dance continue to draw on these spiritual traditions. There

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7316-435: The Poor , who follow the charism of Saint Jeanne Jugan to 'offer hospitality to the needy aged' arrived in Melbourne in 1884 and now operate four aged care homes in Australia. An example of a Christian Welfare agency is ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency). This welfare agency is an internationally recognized agency run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church . ADRA is operational in more than 120 countries, around

7434-747: The Sacred Heart . Church schools range from elite, high cost schools to low fee locally based schools. Churches with networks of schools include: The Australian Catholic University opened in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia. These institutions had their origins in the 19th century, when religious orders and institutes became involved in preparing teachers for Catholic schools and nurses for Catholic hospitals. The University of Notre Dame Australia opened in Western Australia in December 1989, and now has over 9,000 students on three campuses in Fremantle, Sydney and Broome. Religion in Australia Religion in Australia (2021 census) Religion in Australia

7552-536: The Salvation Army. High-profile contemporary Australian Christians include Tim Costello ; Baptist minister and current CEO of World Vision Australia ; Frank Brennan , Jesuit human rights lawyer; John Dickson , historian and founder of The Centre for Public Christianity; Phillip Aspinall the current archbishop of Brisbane , Philip Freier the current Anglican primate of Australia and archbishop of Melbourne ; and recent prime ministers John Howard , Kevin Rudd , Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison . Like much of

7670-469: The Seventh-day Adventist Church. Mary MacKillop was a 19th-century Australian nun who founded an educational order, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart , and has recently become the first Australian to be canonised as a saint by the Catholic Church . Other Catholic religious orders involved in education in Australia have included: Sisters of Mercy , Marist Brothers , Christian Brothers , Benedictine Sisters , Jesuits and The Missionaries of

7788-511: The Theotokos in East Melbourne (1900). The first priest to serve the religious needs of the Greek Orthodox population in Sydney and Melbourne was Archimandrite Dorotheos Bakaliaros. In March 1924, the "Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand" was established under the Ecumenical Patriarchate to cover the expanding Greek population, which by 1927 numbered over 10,000 and had established churches in Sydney, Melbourne , Brisbane , Perth and Port Pirie in South Australia . The first metropolitan of

7906-426: The Uniting Church has around 48 schools. Smaller denominations, including the Lutheran Church also have a number of schools in Australia. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia also has 8 schools across the country. There are two Catholic universities in Australia: the Australian Catholic University which opened in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia, and

8024-406: The Western world, Australia has been affected by the widespread decline in religiosity that has lowered the number of professing Christians and a diversifying immigration intakes that have lowered the overall percentage that Christians comprise in the Australian population, resulting in a national census decline from 96.1% at the time of the Federation of Australia in the 1901 census , to 43.9% in

8142-406: The adoption of Makassan canoe designs and words. In later history, throughout the 19th century following British settlement, other Muslims came to Australia including the Muslim 'Afghan' cameleers, who used their camels to transport goods and people through the otherwise unnavigable desert and pioneered a network of camel tracks that later became roads across the Outback . Australia's first mosque

8260-416: The affair in Britain led to two further priests being allowed to travel to the colony in 1820 – John Joseph Therry and Philip Conolly. The foundation stone for the first St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney was laid on 29 October 1821 by Governor Lachlan Macquarie . The absence of a Catholic mission in Australia before 1818 reflected the legal disabilities of Catholics in Britain. The government therefore endorsed

8378-402: The aftermath of World War II led to increases in affiliates of the Orthodox churches, the establishment of Reformed bodies, growth in the number of Catholics (largely from Italian migration) and Jews (Holocaust survivors). More recently (post-1970s), immigration from South-East Asia and the Middle East has expanded Buddhist and Muslim numbers considerably and increased the ethnic diversity of

8496-580: The archdiocese's current hierarchy. Source St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College is an Eastern Orthodox Christian seminary located in Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales. The college was established in 1986 by Archbishop Stylianos, who had proposed the establishment of a theological college during the fourth clergy and laity congress in 1981. There was a need for a theological college that would be primarily dedicated to theological study in co-operation with other theological colleges. It would be hoped that

8614-507: The birth of Jesus Christ , is celebrated on 25 December during the Australian summer (although on 7 January by some Eastern Orthodox) and is an important cultural festival even for many non-religious Australians. The European traditions of Christmas trees , roast dinners, carols and gift giving are all continued in Australia, but they might be conducted between visits to the beach. Here are some Christian denominations with Australian articles: The first contacts that Islam had with Australia

8732-581: The burial of Father Louis Receveur , a Franciscan friar, who died while the ships were at anchor at Botany Bay , while on a mission to explore the Pacific. The first Catholic priest colonists arrived in Australia as convicts in 1800 – James Harold, James Dixon and Peter O'Neill, who had been convicted for "complicity" in the Irish 1798 Rebellion . Dixon was conditionally emancipated and permitted to celebrate Mass . On 15 May 1803, in vestments made from curtains and with

8850-608: The churches both facilitated the loss of Indigenous Australian culture and religion and also facilitated its maintenance. The involvement of Christians in Aboriginal affairs has evolved significantly since 1788. Around the year 2000, many churches and church organisations officially apologised for past failures to adequately respect indigenous cultures and address the injustices of the dispossession of indigenous people. Christian missionaries often witnessed to Indigenous people in an attempt to convert them to Christianity. The Presbyterian Church of Australia 's Australian Inland Mission ,

8968-546: The conversion of the Indigenous population to Christianity. Today, the Catholic Church is second only to government itself as a provider of government-funded social services, through organisations such as Catholic Social Services Australia and the St Vincent De Paul Society . The Anglican Church's Anglicare network is similarly engaged in areas such as emergency relief, aged care, family support service and help for

9086-472: The convicts and free settlers, most were members of the established Church of England with lesser numbers of Nonconformist Protestants , Catholics and other faiths. The first religious census in 1828 divided the early colony into four groups: Protestants, Catholics, Jews and Pagans . Other smaller groups also arrived and established their churches. Jews started arriving in the early 19th century. The Australian gold rushes brought in workers from China and

9204-567: The convicts who came to Australia on the First Fleet were Catholic and at least half of them were born in Ireland. A small proportion of British marines were also Catholic. Other groups were also represented, for example, among the Tolpuddle martyrs were a number of Methodists . It was the crew of the French explorer La Pérouse who conducted the first Catholic ceremony on Australian soil in 1788 –

9322-662: The council stand down every three years and a new council is appointed. NATSICC's funding comes in the form of Voluntary contributions from schools, parishes and religious orders. In addition, Caritas Australia provides ongoing funding. Encouraged by Pope John Paul II's words in the Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Oceania NATSICC is determined to continue, as the peak Indigenous Catholic representative body, to actively support and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in

9440-529: The development of early education, health and welfare services in Australia. The churches with the largest number of members are the Catholic Church , the Anglican Church of Australia and the Uniting Church in Australia . The National Council of Churches in Australia has been the main Christian ecumenical body . The Christian churches played an integral role in the development and provision of welfare services in Australia. The first chaplain, Richard Johnson ,

9558-414: The east Indonesian archipelago . There is some evidence of Islamic terms and concepts entering northern Aboriginal cultures via these interactions. (See: Macassan contact with Australia .) While the Church of England originally held a position of privilege in early colonial Australia, a legal framework guaranteeing religious equality evolved within a few decades, especially when the Church of England

9676-466: The exception of the indigenous population, descendants of gold rush migrants and a small but significant Lutheran population of German descent, Australian society was predominantly Anglo-Celtic, with 40% of the population being Church of England, 23% Catholic , 34% other Christian and about 1% professing non-Christian religions. The first census in 1911 showed 95.95 per cent identified themselves as Christian. Sectarianism in Australia tended to reflect

9794-605: The existing Christian churches. Russian sailors visiting Sydney celebrated the Divine Liturgy as long ago as 1820 and a Greek Orthodox population emerged from the mid-19th century. The Greeks of Sydney and Melbourne had a priest by 1896 and the first Greek Orthodox church was opened at Surry Hills in Sydney in 1898. In 1924, the Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand was established under the Ecumenical Patriarchate . Greek immigration increased considerably following World War II, and

9912-604: The expedition's leader, Pedro Fernandez de Quiros , landed in the New Hebrides and, believing it to be the fabled southern continent, he named the land: Austrialis del Espiritu Santo ("Southern Land of the Holy Spirit"). Later that year, his deputy Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through Australia's Torres Strait . The English navigator James Cook 's favourable account of the fertile east coast of Australia in 1770 ultimately ensured that Australia's Christian foundations were to reflect

10030-520: The final Mass, where final attendance was between 300,000 and 400,000 people. In recent times, the Christian churches of Australia have been active in ecumenical activity. The Australian Committee for the World Council of Churches was established in 1946 by the Anglican and mainline Protestant churches. The movement evolved and expanded with Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches later joining and by 1994

10148-570: The first Aboriginal author; Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls , athlete, activist and former governor of South Australia ; Mum (Shirl) Smith , a celebrated Redfern community worker who, assisted by the Sisters of Charity , worked in the courts and organised prison visitations, medical and social assistance for Aboriginal peoples, and former senator Aden Ridgeway , the first chairman of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry . The Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress , associated with

10266-420: The first visit to Australia by a pope, Paul VI . John Paul II was the next pope to visit Australia in 1986. At Alice Springs , the pope made an historic address to indigenous Australians, in which he praised the enduring qualities of Aboriginal culture, lamented the effects of dispossession of and discrimination; called for acknowledgment of Aboriginal land rights and reconciliation in Australia; and said that

10384-651: The group operates four public hospitals; seven private hospitals and 10 aged care facilities. The English Sisters of the Little Company of Mary arrived in 1885 and have since established public and private hospitals, retirement living and residential aged care, community care and comprehensive palliative care in New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory. The Little Sisters of

10502-408: The highest rate at 3.03. After the arrival of the first Christian settlers on the First Fleet of British ships in 1788, Christianity quickly became the major religion in Australia. Consequently, the Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter are public holidays, the skylines of Australian cities and towns are marked by church and cathedral spires. Christian churches played a significant role in

10620-504: The homeless. Other denominations assist through networks like UnitingCare Australia and the Salvation Army , and around a quarter of students attend church owned schools. Historically significant Australian Christians have included the Reverend John Dunmore Lang , Saint Mary MacKillop , Catherine Helen Spence , Pastor David Unaipon , the Reverend John Flynn , Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls and General Eva Evelyn Burrows of

10738-493: The indigenous population and descendants of gold rush migrants, Australian society was predominantly Anglo-Celtic, with 40% of the population being Anglican, 23% Catholic, 34% other Christian and about 1% professing non-Christian religions. There was a Lutheran population of German descent in South Australia. Freedom of Religion was enshrined in Section 116 of the Constitution of Australia of 1901. There were at least 15 Jews in

10856-469: The largest single religious group. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and other congregations associated with non-British cultures have also expanded. Today, the Catholic education system is the second biggest sector after government schools, with more than 750,000 students in 2018 (and around 21 per cent of all secondary school enrolments). The Anglican Church educates around 105,000 students and

10974-539: The later 20th century, distinctly Australian approaches were applied at places such as Jambaroo Benedictine Abbey, where natural materials were chosen to "harmonise with the local environment" and the chapel sanctuary is of glass overlooking rainforest. Similar design principles were applied at Thredbo Ecumenical Chapel built in the Snowy Mountains in 1996. The Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter are national public holidays in Australia. Christmas, which recalls

11092-429: The marking of festivals such as Easter and Christmas. Though the Australian Constitution of 1901 protects freedom of religion and separation of church and state , the Church of England held legal privileges in the early British colonial period, when Catholicism in particular was suppressed. Sectarianism was a feature of Australian politics well into the 20th century, as was collaboration by church and state in seeking

11210-472: The new province of the Ecumenical Patriarchate was Christoforos Knitis of Serres. In 1929, Metropolitan Christoforos returned to his homeland, Samos . He died on 7 August 1959. In 1931, Timotheos Evangelinidis was elected as the second Metropolitan of Australia and New Zealand. He arrived in Australia on 28 January 1932 and presided over the church in Australia and New Zealand until 1947 when he

11328-510: The overall Muslim population. Around 36% of Muslims are Australian born. Overseas born Muslims come from a great variety of nations and ethnic groups – with large Lebanese and Turkish communities. Following the 11 September attacks in the USA, attempts to associate the ideology/ies of Osama bin Laden and the religion of Islam stirred some debate in some quarters in Australia about Islam's relationship with

11446-530: The political inheritance of Britain and Ireland. Until 1945, the vast majority of Catholics in Australia were of Irish descent, causing the Anglo-Protestant majority to question their loyalty to the British Empire . The Church of England remained the largest Christian church until the 1986 census. After World War II , the ethnic and cultural mix of Australia diversified and the Church of England gave way to

11564-484: The population (2.0% of those who answered). Post-war immigration has grown the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and there are large and growing Pentecostal groups, such as Sydney's Hillsong Church . According to the 2016 census , Queensland (56.03%) and New South Wales (55.18%) had Christian majorities, while the lowest proportion of Christians were found in the Northern Territory (47.69%) and

11682-447: The population) were Catholic at 20.0% (21.5% of those who answered), Anglican at 9.8% (10.6% of those who answered), Uniting Church at 2.7% (2.9% of those who answered), Eastern Orthodox at 2.1% (2.3% of those who answered), Presbyterian/Reformed at 1.6% (1.8% of those who answered), Baptist at 1.4% (1.5% of those who answered) and Pentecostal at 1.0% (1.1% of those who answered). Those who answered Christian with no denomination were 2.7% of

11800-461: The purpose for gathering such information: Data on religious affiliation are used for such purposes as planning educational facilities, aged persons' care and other social services provided by religion-based organisations; the location of church buildings; the assigning of chaplains to hospitals, prisons, armed services and universities; the allocation of time on public radio and other media; and sociological research. The census question about religion

11918-494: The religion of the overwhelming majority of Australians for the foreseeable future and, indeed, to the present day. The first census in 1911 showed 96% identified themselves as Christian. Sectarian tensions continued into the 1960s; e.g. job vacancy advertisements sometimes stated "Protestant preferred" or that "Catholics need not apply". Nevertheless, Australia elected its first Catholic prime minister , James Scullin , in 1929, and in 1930 Sir Isaac Isaacs , an Australian-born Jew,

12036-551: The religious life of Protestant Christianity in Australia throughout the whole of the nineteenth century". Chaplain Johnson led what is regarded as his first service under a tree in Sydney Cove on the first Sunday after arrival, 3 February 1788. On 7 February 1788, Arthur Phillip was sworn in over the Bible as the first governor of the colony, and delivered a speech to the convicts counselling

12154-586: The titular see of Metropolitan of Pisidia . He died in Athens in July 1987. On 3 February 1975, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate unanimously elected the Metropolitan of Miletoupolis, Stylianos Harkianakis , a lecturer at the University of Thessaloniki , as the new Archbishop of Australia. Archbishop Stylianos arrived in Sydney on 15 April 1975 and was officially enthroned on Lazarus Saturday, 26 April 1975. At

12272-521: The totals shown. "Over the past 50 years, there has been a steady decline in the proportion of Australians who reported an affiliation with Christianity. The same period has seen a consistent rise in Other religions and No religion, particularly in the last 20 years". As of 2016 , Buddhists (1.68), Hindus (1.81) and the non-religious (1.84) had the lowest fertility rates. Christians (2.11) and Jews (2.17) had moderate fertility rates, and Muslims had

12390-481: The vast majority of Catholics in Australia were of Irish descent, causing the British majority to question their loyalty to the British Empire . The first Catholic priests arrived in Australia as convicts in 1800, but the Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804 alarmed the British authorities and no further priests were allowed in the colony until 1820, when London sent John Joseph Therry and Philip Connolly. In 1901,

12508-505: The wider community. The deaths of Australians in bombings by militant Islamic fundamentalists in New York in 2001, Bali in 2002–5 and London in 2005; as well as the sending of Australian troops to East Timor in 1999, Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003; the arrest of bomb plotters in Australia; and concerns about certain cultural practices such as the wearing of the Burkha all contributed to

12626-439: The wit of man for the promotion of liberty and a high material civilization." Thus they looked to Protestant ministers as the "natural moral policemen of society", of obvious social use in a convict colony for preaching against "drunkenness, whoring and gambling". Chaplain Johnson was an evangelical priest of the Church of England, the first of a series of clergymen, according to Clark, through whom "evangelical Christianity dominated

12744-469: The withdrawal of state aid for church schools around 1880, the Catholic Church, unlike other Australian churches, put great energy and resources into creating a comprehensive alternative system of education. It was largely staffed by nuns , brothers and priests of religious orders, such as the Christian Brothers (who had returned to Australia in 1868); the Sisters of Mercy (who had arrived in Perth in 1846); Marist Brothers , who came from France in 1872 and

12862-464: The world, providing relief and development, where ever needed. Within Australia they provide shelter, relief, and services to those in need. They have numerous refuges set up those suffering abuse, as well as shelters for those in need. As well many other things such as food distribution, op-shops etc. The Reverend John Flynn , a minister of the Presbyterian Church founded what was to become

12980-550: Was disestablished in the colony of New South Wales by the Church Act of 1836 . Drafted by the reformist attorney-general John Plunkett , the act established legal equality for Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians, and was later extended to Methodists. British Nonconformist Methodist, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists set up their own churches in the 19th century, as did Lutherans from Germany . Large numbers of Irish Catholics were transported to Australia through

13098-576: Was appointed Governor-General . A question on religion has been asked in every census taken in Australia, with the voluntary nature of this question having been specifically stated since 1933. In 1971, the instruction "if no religion, write none" was introduced. This saw a sevenfold increase from the previous census year in the percentage of Australians stating they had no religion. Since 1971, this percentage has progressively increased to 38.9% in 2021. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2006 Census Dictionary statement on religious affiliation states

13216-485: Was built for them at Marree , South Australia in 1861. Between the 1860s and 1920s around 2000 cameleers were brought from Afghanistan and the north west of British India (now Pakistan) and perhaps 100 families remained in Australia. Other outback mosques were established at places like Coolgardie , Cloncurry , and Broken Hill – and more permanent mosques in Adelaide, Perth and later Brisbane. A legacy of this pioneer era

13334-424: Was built to a design by William Wardell from a foundation stone laid in 1868; the spires of the cathedral were not finally added until the year 2000. Wardell also worked on the design of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne – among the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Australia. The Anglican St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne , in the iconic hub of the city opposite Flinders Street station . Adelaide

13452-420: Was elected Metropolitan of Rhodes. On 22 April of that year, Theophylactos Papathanasopoulos was elected as the third metropolitan. On 2 August 1958, Metropolitan Theophylactos was killed in a car accident. In February 1959 the assistant bishop of the Archdiocese of America, Bishop Ezekiel Tsoukalas of Nazianzos, was elected Metropolitan of Australia. He arrived in Sydney on 27 April 1959. On 1 September 1959,

13570-592: Was held in 1880. Edward Saunders and John Gore led the meeting from the back of a greengrocer's cart in Adelaide Botanic Park with an offer of food for those who had not eaten. The Salvos also involved themselves in finding work for the unemployed and in re-uniting families. In Melbourne from 1897 to 1910, The Army's Limelight Department was established as Australia's first film production company. From such diverse activities, The Salvos have grown to be one of Australia's most respected charitable organisations, with

13688-743: Was the 38.9% who identified as "no religion". As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is much lower than this; weekly attendance at church services is likely to be under 1 million, about 4% of the population. The fastest growing religious classifications over the fifteen years between 2006 and 2021 were: Meanwhile, all Christian denominations combined decreased from 63.9% to 43.9%. 1: Includes relatively small numbers declaring "secular beliefs", such as atheism, agnosticism, humanism and rationalism, and spiritual beliefs such as New Age, "own spiritual beliefs", theism(!), etc. See 7 2: Includes "inadequately described" 3: Due to rounding, figures may not add up to

13806-524: Was the practice of some Missions to enforce a 'forgetting' of Aboriginal culture. Others, like Fr Kevin McKelson of Broome encouraged aboriginal culture and language while also promoting the merits of western style education in the 1960s. Prominent Aboriginal activist Noel Pearson , himself raised at a Lutheran mission in Cape York , has written that missions throughout Australia's colonial history "provided

13924-561: Was when Muslim fishermen native to Makassar , which is today a part of Indonesia, visited North-Western Australia long before British settlement in 1788. This contact of South East Asian ethnic groups of Islamic faith can be identified from the graves they dug for their comrades who died on the journey, being that they face Mecca (in Arabia ), in accordance with Islamic regulations concerning burial, as well as evidence from Aboriginal cave paintings and religious ceremonies which depict and incorporate

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