Christianity in Australia

Common card · No. 423489

Christianity is the largest religion in Australia, with a total of 43.9% of the Australian population identifying with a Christian denomination in the 2021 census. The first presence of Christianity in Australia began with British colonisation in what came to be known as New South Wales in 1788. The Christian footprint in Australian society and culture remains broad, particularly in areas of social welfare and education provision and in the marking of festivals such as Easter and Christmas. Though the Australian Constitution of 1901 protects freedom of religion and separation of church and state, the Church of England held legal privileges in the early British colonial period, when Catholicism in particular was suppressed. Sectarianism was a feature of Australian politics well into the 20th century, as was collaboration by church and state in seeking the conversion of the Indigenous population to Christianity. Today, the Catholic Church is second only to government itself as a provider...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Toby Hudson based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, CC BY-SA 3.0 au