Melton South
Religion
In Melton South in 2016, the largest religious group was Western (Roman) Catholic (25.4% of all people), while 30.6% of people had no religion and 10.2% did not answer the question on religion.
Melton South'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.
Melton South'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 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melton South - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2001 | Change | |||||
| Religion totals | Number | % | Melton Township % | Number | % | Melton Township % | 2001 to 2016 | |
 Christian total | 4,964 | 51.5 | 54.8 | 35500 | 5,900 | 65.3 | 66.4 | -936 |
| Non Christian total | 668 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 35501 | 155 | 1.7 | 1.7 | +513 |
| Non-classifiable religious belief | 75 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 35502 | 250 | 2.8 | 2.3 | -174 |
| No Religion/secular beliefs | 2,956 | 30.6 | 29.0 | 35503 | 1,773 | 19.6 | 19.3 | +1,183 |
| Not stated | 980 | 10.2 | 9.1 | 35504 | 958 | 10.6 | 10.2 | +23 |
| Total Population | 9,644 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 9,036 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +609 | |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2001 and 2016. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
(Usual residence data)
| Religion - Ranked by size | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melton South - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2001 | Change | |||||
| Religion | Number | % | Melton Township % | Number | % | Melton Township % | 2001 to 2016 | |
| Western (Roman) Catholic | 2,457 | 25.4 | 28.4 | 35044 | 2,863 | 31.7 | 32.4 | -405 |
| Anglican | 912 | 9.4 | 10.0 | 35000 | 1,618 | 17.9 | 17.2 | -706 |
| Christian,nfd | 333 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 35011 | 79 | 0.9 | 0.8 | +254 |
| Uniting Church | 271 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 35043 | 454 | 5.0 | 5.4 | -182 |
| Baptist | 213 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 35006 | 134 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +79 |
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 198 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 35036 | 269 | 3.0 | 3.2 | -71 |
| Islam | 190 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 35017 | 59 | 0.7 | 0.8 | +132 |
| Hinduism | 162 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 35016 | 15 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +148 |
| Sikhism | 146 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 35041 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +146 |
| Buddhism | 132 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 35008 | 56 | 0.6 | 0.6 | +77 |
| Pentecostal | 111 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 35033 | 46 | 0.5 | 0.6 | +65 |
| Greek Orthodox | 102 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 35015 | 68 | 0.8 | 1.2 | +35 |
| Other Protestant | 71 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 35034 | 27 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +44 |
| Jehova's Witnesses | 50 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 35018 | 58 | 0.6 | 0.7 | -8 |
| Latter Day Saints (Mormons) | 48 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 35020 | 51 | 0.6 | 0.4 | -3 |
| Lutheran | 45 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 35021 | 73 | 0.8 | 0.8 | -28 |
| Serbian Orthodox | 28 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 35039 | 31 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -3 |
| Salvation Army | 21 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 35038 | 43 | 0.5 | 0.4 | -22 |
| Paganism | 17 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 35035 | 8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +9 |
| Seventh Day Adventist | 14 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 35040 | 8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +6 |
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Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2001 and 2016. 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 Melton South in 2016 compared to Melton Township shows that there was a lower proportion of people who professed a religion and a higher proportion who stated they had no religion.
Overall, 58.4% of the population nominated a religion, and 30.6% said they had no religion, compared with 61.2% and 29.0% respectively for Melton Township.
The largest single religion in Melton South was Western (Roman) Catholic, with 25.4% of the population or 2,457 people as adherents.
The major difference between the religious affiliation for the population of Melton South and Melton Township was:
- A smaller percentage who nominated Western (Roman) Catholic (25.4% compared to 28.4%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the religious affiliation of the population in Melton South between 2001 and 2016 were for those who nominated:
- Anglican (-706 persons)
- Western (Roman) Catholic (-405 persons)
- Christian,nfd (+254 persons)
- Uniting Church (-182 persons)