Briars Ward
Religion
In Briars Ward in 2016, the largest religious group was Western (Roman) Catholic (21.7% of all people), while 38.6% of people had no religion and 7.4% did not answer the question on religion.
Briars 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.
Briars 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 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Briars Ward - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Religion totals | Number | % | Balnarring - Balnarring Beach - Merricks - Merricks Beach - Somers % | Number | % | Balnarring - Balnarring Beach - Merricks - Merricks Beach - Somers % | 2011 to 2016 | |
 Christian total | 30,255 | 51.9 | 42.2 | 35500 | 33,416 | 61.0 | 51.7 | -3,161 |
| Non Christian total | 864 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 35501 | 956 | 1.7 | 1.7 | -92 |
| Non-classifiable religious belief | 321 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 35502 | 479 | 0.9 | 1.2 | -158 |
| No Religion/secular beliefs | 22,508 | 38.6 | 45.5 | 35503 | 15,119 | 27.6 | 34.3 | +7,389 |
| Not stated | 4,312 | 7.4 | 10.9 | 35504 | 4,803 | 8.8 | 11.1 | -491 |
| Total Population | 58,260 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 54,773 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +3,487 | |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2011 and 2016. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
(Usual residence data)
| Religion - Ranked by size | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Briars Ward - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Religion | Number | % | Balnarring - Balnarring Beach - Merricks - Merricks Beach - Somers % | Number | % | Balnarring - Balnarring Beach - Merricks - Merricks Beach - Somers % | 2011 to 2016 | |
| Western (Roman) Catholic | 12,622 | 21.7 | 16.2 | 35044 | 12,764 | 23.3 | 17.2 | -142 |
| Anglican | 9,936 | 17.1 | 15.4 | 35000 | 12,230 | 22.3 | 21.2 | -2,294 |
| Uniting Church | 2,432 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 35043 | 2,890 | 5.3 | 5.5 | -458 |
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 1,437 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 35036 | 1,791 | 3.3 | 2.7 | -354 |
| Baptist | 897 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 35006 | 951 | 1.7 | 1.7 | -54 |
| Other Christian | 834 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 35027 | 54 | 0.1 | -- | +780 |
| Greek Orthodox | 561 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 35015 | 544 | 1.0 | 0.5 | +17 |
| Buddhism | 423 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 35008 | 431 | 0.8 | 0.9 | -8 |
| Christian,nfd | 360 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 35011 | 904 | 1.7 | 1.6 | -544 |
| Lutheran | 203 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 35021 | 277 | 0.5 | 0.5 | -74 |
| Pentecostal | 175 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 35033 | 210 | 0.4 | 0.1 | -35 |
| Latter Day Saints (Mormons) | 172 | 0.3 | -- | 35020 | 155 | 0.3 | 0.1 | +17 |
| Other Protestant | 138 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 35034 | 72 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +66 |
| Hinduism | 129 | 0.2 | -- | 35016 | 136 | 0.2 | 0.1 | -7 |
| Churches of Christ | 115 | 0.2 | -- | 35013 | 119 | 0.2 | -- | -4 |
| Jehova's Witnesses | 102 | 0.2 | -- | 35018 | 148 | 0.3 | -- | -46 |
| Judaism | 76 | 0.1 | -- | 35019 | 93 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -17 |
| Salvation Army | 62 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 35038 | 75 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -13 |
| Islam | 61 | 0.1 | -- | 35017 | 106 | 0.2 | -- | -45 |
| Serbian Orthodox | 41 | 0.1 | -- | 35039 | 62 | 0.1 | -- | -21 |
| Spiritualism | 38 | 0.1 | -- | 35042 | 51 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -13 |
| Russian Orthodox | 36 | 0.1 | -- | 35037 | 32 | 0.1 | -- | +4 |
| Sikhism | 30 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 35041 | 38 | 0.1 | -- | -8 |
| Seventh Day Adventist | 29 | 0.0 | -- | 35040 | 31 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -2 |
| Paganism | 27 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 35035 | 33 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -6 |
| Other Non-Christian Religions | 19 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 35031 | 19 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Other Eastern Catholic | 18 | 0.0 | -- | 35028 | 6 | 0.0 | -- | +12 |
| Coptic Orthodox | 16 | 0.0 | -- | 35014 | 12 | 0.0 | -- | +4 |
| Other Nature Religions | 15 | 0.0 | -- | 35030 | 16 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -1 |
| Wiccan/Witchcraft | 10 | 0.0 | -- | 35045 | 21 | 0.0 | -- | -11 |
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Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2011 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 Briars Ward in 2016 compared to Balnarring - Balnarring Beach - Merricks - Merricks Beach - Somers shows that there was a higher proportion of people who professed a religion and a lower proportion who stated they had no religion.
Overall, 53.4% of the population nominated a religion, and 38.6% said they had no religion, compared with 43.1% and 45.5% respectively for Balnarring - Balnarring Beach - Merricks - Merricks Beach - Somers.
The largest single religion in Briars Ward was Western (Roman) Catholic, with 21.7% of the population or 12,622 people as adherents.
The major differences between the religious affiliation for the population of Briars Ward and Balnarring - Balnarring Beach - Merricks - Merricks Beach - Somers were:
- A larger percentage who nominated Western (Roman) Catholic (21.7% compared to 16.2%)
- A larger percentage who nominated Anglican (17.1% compared to 15.4%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the religious affiliation of the population in Briars Ward between 2011 and 2016 were for those who nominated:
- Anglican (-2,294 persons)
- Other Christian (+780 persons)
- Christian,nfd (-544 persons)
- Uniting Church (-458 persons)