Thirty-seven per cent of Australian students identify as having ‘no religion’ – up from 29 per cent in 2006, according to an analysis of Census data.
The analysis, carried out by the Independent Schools Council of Australia, also found that the proportion of students who identified as Catholic had declined from 30 per cent in 2006 to 27 per cent in 2016 and the proportion of those who identified as Anglican had declined from 16 per cent to 11 per cent over the same period. The percentage of those who identified with ‘other religions’ remained steady at 25 per cent.
As well as showing a rising proportion of students identifying as having ‘no religion’, the anaylsis also shows there was rise in the proportion of the families of students attending government schools who identify as having ‘no religion’ – from 37 per cent in 2006 to 45 per cent in 2016.
Rises in the proportion of students’ families identifying as having ‘no religion’ were also seen at independent schools (up from 23 per cent in 2006 to 31 per cent in 2016) and at Catholic schools (up from eight per cent to 14 per cent over the same period).
The study says that based on the data, “It would be fair to say that all three school sectors are, on average, becoming increasingly non-religious”.
