The McCrindle Blog

The world hit a new benchmark of 7 billion people just recently, and Australia is predicted to reach 23 million in the middle of the year. Our population has actually doubled since 1966 (11.5 million), and at that time 1 in 4 Aussies attended church (2.6 million). These days, with double the population, our church attendance has actually dwindled to less than 1 in 14 (1.6 million).

Looking at the ABS religious statistics might give some false positives for Christian leaders, showing that just under 64% of Australians check the Christianity box. However, we certainly don't seem to be seeing those numbers at church. In our research, we gave Australians the option to select both spirituality and religion. The findings showed that Australians identifying with the Christian faith dropped from 6 in 10, to 4 in 10. Overall, only 9% were actively practising and regularly attending at a place of worship.

These findings were all part of a joint-research venture with Olive Tree Media. For more details of the research findings, see here.

Alternatively, please click here for a free A5 summary of the research findings.