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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn Growth LGAs in NSW in 2021, the largest religious group was Western (Roman) Catholic (25.3% of all people), while 22.0% of people had no religion and 6.2% did not answer the question on religion.
Growth LGAs in NSW'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.
Growth LGAs in NSW'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.
Q:
Derived from the Census question:
'What is the person's religion?'
| Religion - Summary | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth LGAs in NSW - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 1991 | Change | ||||
| Religion totals | Number | % | National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) % | Number | % | National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) % | 1991 to 2021 |
| Christian total | 702,359 | 50.5 | 44.5 | 348,464 | 80.8 | 77.2 | +353,895 |
| Non Christian total | 289,775 | 20.9 | 15.9 | 15,280 | 3.5 | 2.1 | +274,495 |
| Non-classifiable religious belief | 5,251 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 877 | 0.2 | 0.3 | +4,374 |
| No Religion/secular beliefs | 306,232 | 22.0 | 32.7 | 35,409 | 8.2 | 11.8 | +270,823 |
| Not stated | 85,989 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 31,104 | 7.2 | 8.5 | +54,885 |
| Total Population | 1,389,606 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 431,134 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +958,472 |
| Religion - Ranked by size | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth LGAs in NSW - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 1991 | Change | ||||
| Religion | Number | % | National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) % | Number | % | National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) % | 1991 to 2021 |
| Western (Roman) Catholic | 351,769 | 25.3 | 20.5 | 150,006 | 34.8 | 28.4 | +201,763 |
| Anglican | 136,928 | 9.9 | 8.5 | 127,242 | 29.5 | 28.6 | +9,686 |
| Islam | 108,775 | 7.8 | 6.0 | 7,856 | 1.8 | 1.0 | +100,919 |
| Hinduism | 103,427 | 7.4 | 4.8 | 2,366 | 0.5 | 0.3 | +101,061 |
| Christian,nfd | 44,406 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 2,780 | 0.6 | 1.0 | +41,626 |
| Buddhism | 36,276 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 3,846 | 0.9 | 0.5 | +32,430 |
| Sikhism | 27,668 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 353 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +27,315 |
| Pentecostal | 21,476 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3,078 | 0.7 | 1.0 | +18,398 |
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 19,159 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 16,636 | 3.9 | 4.3 | +2,523 |
| Uniting Church | 18,730 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 18,215 | 4.2 | 6.6 | +515 |
Show all (41 entries)
Dominant groups
Analysis of the religious affiliation of the population of Growth LGAs in NSW in 2021 compared to National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) shows that there was a higher proportion of people who professed a religion and a lower proportion who stated they had no religion.
Overall, 71.4% of the population nominated a religion, and 22.0% said they had no religion, compared with 60.4% and 32.7% respectively for National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA).
The largest single religion in Growth LGAs in NSW was Western (Roman) Catholic, with 25.3% of the population or 351,769 people as adherents.
The major differences between the religious affiliation for the population of Growth LGAs in NSW and National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) were:
- A larger percentage who nominated Western (Roman) Catholic (25.3% compared to 20.5%)
- A larger percentage who nominated Hinduism (7.4% compared to 4.8%)
- A larger percentage who nominated Islam (7.8% compared to 6.0%)
- A larger percentage who nominated Anglican (9.9% compared to 8.5%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the religious affiliation of the population in Growth LGAs in NSW between 1991 and 2021 were for those who nominated:
- Western (Roman) Catholic (+201,763 persons)
- Hinduism (+101,061 persons)
- Islam (+100,919 persons)
- Christian,nfd (+41,626 persons)
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