South East Ward
Religion
In South East Ward in 2021, the largest religious group was Western (Roman) Catholic (23.0% of all people), while 43.1% of people had no religion and 5.0% did not answer the question on religion.
South East Ward's religion statistics provide an indicator of cultural identity and ethnicity when observed in conjunction with other key variables. Religion data reveal the major concentrations of religions as well as revealing the proportion of people with no religious affiliation. There are a number of reasons for different religious compositions across areas including the country of birth and ethnic background of the population, the age of the population (belief in religion is generally stronger, the older the population) and changes in values and belief systems.
South East Ward's religion statistics should be analysed in conjunction with other ethnicity statistics such as Country of Birth data and Language Spoken data to assist in identifying specific cultural and ethnic groups.
Please note: Due to changes in ABS rules around perturbation and additivity of data to protect the confidentiality of individuals, counts of individual religion groups and totals derived from them may differ slightly from those published by the ABS.
Derived from the Census question:
'What is the person's religion?'
Total population
| Religion - Summary | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South East Ward - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2006 | Change | |||||
| Religion totals | Number | % | The Escarpment % | Number | % | The Escarpment % | 2006 to 2021 | |
 Christian total | 6,815 | 49.5 | 48.3 | 35500 | 8,457 | 65.3 | 64.6 | -1,643 |
| Non Christian total | 264 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 35501 | 150 | 1.2 | 1.4 | +113 |
| Non-classifiable religious belief | 67 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 35502 | 72 | 0.6 | 0.6 | -6 |
| No Religion/secular beliefs | 5,931 | 43.1 | 44.5 | 35503 | 2,791 | 21.6 | 23.0 | +3,140 |
| Not stated | 692 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 35504 | 1,475 | 11.4 | 10.4 | -784 |
| Total Population | 13,769 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 12,948 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +821 | |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2006 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
(Usual residence data)
| Religion - Ranked by size | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South East Ward - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2006 | Change | |||||
| Religion | Number | % | The Escarpment % | Number | % | The Escarpment % | 2006 to 2021 | |
| Western (Roman) Catholic | 3,164 | 23.0 | 21.0 | 35044 | 3,608 | 27.9 | 25.4 | -444 |
| Anglican | 1,630 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 35000 | 2,589 | 20.0 | 22.2 | -959 |
| Christian,nfd | 511 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 35011 | 352 | 2.7 | 2.5 | +158 |
| Uniting Church | 317 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 35043 | 497 | 3.8 | 4.5 | -181 |
| Baptist | 281 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 35006 | 344 | 2.7 | 2.2 | -64 |
| Seventh Day Adventist | 226 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 35040 | 200 | 1.5 | 0.7 | +26 |
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 204 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 35036 | 281 | 2.2 | 2.4 | -77 |
| Buddhism | 102 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 35008 | 62 | 0.5 | 0.6 | +39 |
| Brethren | 86 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 35007 | 54 | 0.4 | 0.6 | +31 |
| Churches of Christ | 61 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 35013 | 91 | 0.7 | 0.7 | -31 |
| Islam | 57 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 35017 | 41 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +15 |
| Pentecostal | 57 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 35033 | 59 | 0.5 | 0.5 | -3 |
| Other Protestant | 51 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 35034 | 37 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +14 |
| Lutheran | 47 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 35021 | 94 | 0.7 | 0.7 | -47 |
| Christadelphian | 39 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 35010 | 43 | 0.3 | 0.2 | -4 |
| Jehova's Witnesses | 38 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 35018 | 47 | 0.4 | 0.4 | -9 |
| Hinduism | 34 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 35016 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +29 |
| Greek Orthodox | 33 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 35015 | 33 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -1 |
| Sikhism | 23 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 35041 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +20 |
| Serbian Orthodox | 17 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 35039 | 14 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +3 |
| Other Non-Christian Religions | 17 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 35031 | 19 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -2 |
| Other Christian | 12 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 35027 | 22 | 0.2 | 0.1 | -10 |
| Latter Day Saints (Mormons) | 12 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 35020 | 62 | 0.5 | 0.5 | -50 |
| Salvation Army | 11 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 35038 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +5 |
| Spiritualism | 10 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 35042 | 0 | 0.0 | -- | +10 |
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Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2006 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
Excludes religions with fewer than 10 adherents.
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Dominant groups
Analysis of the religious affiliation of the population of South East Ward in 2021 compared to The Escarpment shows that there was a higher proportion of people who professed a religion and a lower proportion who stated they had no religion.
Overall, 51.4% of the population nominated a religion, and 43.1% said they had no religion, compared with 50.1% and 44.5% respectively for The Escarpment.
The largest single religion in South East Ward was Western (Roman) Catholic, with 23.0% of the population or 3,164 people as adherents.
The major differences between the religious affiliation for the population of South East Ward and The Escarpment were:
- A larger percentage who nominated Western (Roman) Catholic (23.0% compared to 21.0%)
- A smaller percentage who nominated Anglican (11.8% compared to 13.2%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the religious affiliation of the population in South East Ward between 2006 and 2021 were for those who nominated:
- Anglican (-959 persons)
- Western (Roman) Catholic (-444 persons)
- Uniting Church (-181 persons)
- Christian,nfd (+158 persons)