A decline in the number of people reporting their religion as Christianity does not mean a huge shift away from matters of faith, according to central Victorian bishops.
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Data from the 2021 Census was released to the public on Tuesday which showed Christianity as the most common religion in Australia.
More than 40 per cent (43.9 per cent) of Australians identify as Christian. However, this figure is down from 52.1 per cent in 2016 and 61.1 per cent in 2011.
As in earlier censuses, the largest Christian denominations are Catholic (20 per cent of the population) and Anglican (9.8 per cent).
Catholic Bishop of the Sandhurst Diocese Shane Mackinlay said while the figures were disappointing, they were not a surprise.
Talking of his own experience, Bishop Mackinlay said anecdotal figures would indicate an ongoing decline in attendance at church Masses before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020.
He said there were a range of issues for the decline, including the disaffection around the incidents and response over sexual abuse involving the clergy.
"We are very aware of the appalling damage that has caused to families and communities," Bishop Mackinlay said.
"The failures in leadership gave rise to disillusionment (in the church and religion)."
There's also the issue of demographics affecting church attendances, with a lot more older people than younger people being regular participants.
As older members of the congregation die out, there's less younger people taking their place.
In the past six months, the Sandhurst diocese has sold two small churches (Katandra West near Shepparton and Tarrawingee near Wangaratta) due to declining congregations.
"There's less people in those districts and they move in and out of bigger towns like Wangaratta and Shepparton and don't need a church where they are," Bishop Mackinlay said.
"You will find in those small districts the post office has closed, the pub has closed, the general store has closed so it's just not churches."
While there may be a decline in churchgoers, Bishop Mackinlay has noticed a new form of faith emerging post-lockdown.
As pandemic restrictions ease to the point of non-existence, Bishop Mackinlay said people were looking for a reconnection, which they had missed during lockdowns.
The bishop pointed to the popularity of Catholic schools in the diocese.
"At our schools, we are struggling to fit people in," he said.
"We have a brand new school at Kialla just out of Shepparton and we will have a new school in Huntly in a year or two.
"Marist (College) out at Maiden Gully has been there eight years and is now larger than we anticipated.
"So there are a whole lot of ways people are engaging to shape their children as the next generation for involvement in the church."
Bishop for the Anglican Diocese of Bendigo the Right Reverend Matt Brain indicated the census figures did not tell the real story of people's changing views of faith.
"It's clear more people are being honest about not identifying with Christianity and are owning the fact they don't hold to the Christian beliefs (they remembered)," the Right Reverend Brain said.
He admitted while there had been a decline in Mass attendance over the past 50 years, congregation numbers had actually been pretty steady for the past 25 years.
"The last big decline was in the 1980s," he said.
"Dips since then has been more to do with general demographics.
"For example in the Mallee, where small towns have lost populations."
While fewer people are reporting their religion as Christian, the 2021 Census showed more are reporting 'no religion'.
Almost 40 per cent (38.9 per cent) of Australia's population reported having no religion in the 2021 Census, an increase from 30.1 per cent)in 2016 and 22.3 per cent in 2011.
Pandemic lockdowns prevented people from going to religious services when the 2021 Census was compiled and that disconnect raises its own issues.
Bishop Brain said people had evaluated their life during lockdown and many were still up for a conversation about their beliefs.
"I'm not going to get them to come to Mass tomorrow, but hey, let's talk on matters of faith - and that's a delightful place to be in," Bishop Brain said.
He said church attendances have bounced back and continued to bounce back as pandemic restrictions had eased.
"There's been some lovely growth in places," he said.
While Christianity numbers may have declined, the 2021 Census revealed other religions were growing in Australia.
Hinduism has grown by 55.3 per cent to 684,002 people, or 2.7 per cent of the population. Islam has grown to 813,392 people, which is 3.2 per cent of the Australian population.
Australian Statistician Dr David Gruen AO said the religion question held a special place in the census.
"It is one of the few topics that has been in every one of Australia's 18 censuses and is the only question that is voluntary," Dr Gruen said.
"Despite being voluntary, we saw an increase in the proportion of people answering the question, from 91 per cent in 2016 to 93 per cent in 2021."
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