Data diviners urge Aussies to keep faith in census and ignore digital crusades

The nation’s chief statistical agency has issued a plea to Australians to ignore a battle being waged by non-believers and people of faith over how to answer this month’s census question on religion.

On Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics issued a statement noting the campaign playing out on social media between those urging people to say they have no beliefs and a group representing a range of religions.

Every census, including next Tuesday’s edition, asks people a question about their religion.

The first census in 1911 showed more than 38 per cent of the population identified as Anglican, while 22 per cent were Catholic, with just 0.4 per cent saying they had no religion. A handful of people declared their belief as “wowser”, Callithumpian, deist and heathen.

But there has been a sharp increase in people saying they have no belief. At the 2021 census, 9.9 million, or 42 per cent of people who answered the religious question, said they had no religion.

Catholicism was the largest single religion with 5.1 million adherents, while 2.5 million people identified as Anglican.

The drop in people professing a faith has prompted the “be counted” campaign backed by Catholic, Anglican, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Orthodox representatives.

But it is being countered by the National Secular Lobby running its own “Not religious? Mark no religion” push.

The ABS said it was aware of the campaigns.

“Material is circulating online and through social media that suggests people respond in a way that is inconsistent with the intent of the question,” the bureau said in a statement.

“The question on religion measures a person’s religious affiliation, which may be different from their practice of, or participation in, religious activities.

“The census also allows people to respond with secular or spiritual beliefs, and to indicate if they have no religious affiliation.  Answering this question in the census is optional. ”

It is not the first time the religion question has aroused interest from outside groups. Famously, Australians were urged to list “Jedi” as their religion through the 2001 and 2006 headcounts. Almost 70,000 people declared themselves Force-wielders in 2001.

The bureau said that as the religion question had been part of the census since 1911, it allowed researchers to understand how religious affiliation had evolved.

“For this reason, it is important that the question is answered accurately and according to an individual’s own beliefs regarding their religion.”

The issue is not the only one centred on the religion question.

Claims have been spread on social media this year that Judaism has been removed as one of the religions that people can automatically tick on the census. This claim is false. It has always been one of the religions people can nominate when asked about other religions.

The 2021 census had almost 100,000 people say they were Jewish adherents.

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