RSA Fellow Neil Francis is producing a multi-part study for the Rationalist Society: Religiosity in Australia. The first installment, Part 1 – Personal faith according to the numbers, is a very nice piece of work. It deserves to be closely read by members of the Rationalist Society and anyone else who can be induced to take the time to give it their attention. My task in this column is simply to offer a summary introduction to it and a few brief pointers.
The report provides a deeply revealing analysis of how many Australians profess religious belief of any kind, how the numbers of believers are changing, what such belief entails in terms of religious practice and the bearing of religious belief and practice on attitudes towards major questions of social good and public policy. It shows that there is, in the author's words: "...a much smaller and softer base of religiosity than headline affiliation statistics imply, a rapidly growing rate of no religion, lack of certainty of religious belief, connections between religiosity and a focus on financial issues, and majority social opinions – even amongst the religious – at odds with the vocal pronouncements of conservative clerics."
This takes a little absorbing. It means that, in purely empirical terms, we are living in a society in which religions continue to exist, but the number of their committed practitioners is in clear decline and the social attitudes, even of believers, are often starkly at odds with the public claims and...
Blog
Related Posts
03
Oct
Agnosticism the ‘only rational choice’
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
07
Sep
Charity for the rich
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
07
Aug
When all meaning is thrown overboard
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
04
Aug
What to expect when leaving a cult or toxic group
There’s a lot they don’t tell you about leaving a cult, a high-control religion or toxic group. They don’t exactly warn you that you co...
27
Jul
‘Christianity-lite’: When all belief is gone
The world’s richest person, Elon Musk, just announced that he’s a “big believer in the principles of Christianity” and “a cultur...
05
Jul
Do religious schools still have a place in modern society?
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
24
Jun
How asking the right question opens the path to deep knowledge
According to all the advice on how to win friends and influence people, I should start this essay by explaining how the following words...
09
Jun
The Catholic Church’s fight to keep ‘cultural Catholics’ at Census time
The next Census in 2026 will likely be a watershed moment for our nation, with the proportion of Australians identifying as not religio...
03
Jun
Are renewable energy projects destroying our environment?
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
07
May
Scomo and the ‘Rapture gang’
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
04
May
Waving goodbye to imaginary friends
Let me introduce you to a young boy known as ‘Peanut’. James Delarue is his real name but, with affection, everyone calls him Peanut. P...
17
Apr
It takes courage to take on trans issue
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...