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RDA Wide Bay Burnett RegionCommunity profile

RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region

Religion

In the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region in 2021, the largest religious group was Western (Roman) Catholic (14.8% of all people), while 40.5% of people had no religion and 8.8% did not answer the question on religion.

The RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region'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.

The RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region'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
RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
Religion totalsNumber%Regional QLD %Number%Regional QLD %2016 to 2021
Christian total148,26848.247.2173,55860.358.4-25,290
Non Christian total5,8491.93.14,8291.72.7+1,020
Non-classifiable religious belief1,6770.50.61,6920.60.6-15
No Religion/secular beliefs124,74140.540.378,30727.228.2+46,434
Not stated27,1758.88.829,51610.310.1-2,341
Total Population307,710100.0100.0287,902100.0100.0+19,808
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Religion - Ranked by size
RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
ReligionNumber%Regional QLD %Number%Regional QLD %2016 to 2021
Western (Roman) Catholic45,45314.818.750,35617.522.0-4,903
Anglican44,42814.412.854,66219.017.1-10,234
Uniting Church17,2605.64.022,5467.85.6-5,286
Christian,nfd9,5933.13.09,2013.23.0+392
Presbyterian and Reformed8,0712.62.310,5203.73.2-2,449
Baptist5,6021.81.46,2132.21.6-611
Lutheran5,0101.61.16,1222.11.3-1,112
Pentecostal3,3691.11.43,2831.11.5+86
Buddhism2,2910.71.02,1780.81.1+113
Jehova's Witnesses2,2580.70.52,3330.80.6-75
Show all (37 entries)
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information

Excludes religions with fewer than 10 adherents.

Dominant groups

Analysis of the religious affiliation of the population of the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region in 2021 compared to Regional QLD shows that there was a similar proportion of people who professed a religion as well as a similar proportion who stated they had no religion.

Overall, 50.1% of the population nominated a religion, and 40.5% said they had no religion, compared with 50.2% and 40.3% respectively for Regional QLD.

The largest single religion in the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region was Western (Roman) Catholic, with 14.8% of the population or 45,453 people as adherents.

The major differences between the religious affiliation for the population of the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region and Regional QLD were:

  • A larger percentage who nominated Anglican (14.4% compared to 12.8%)
  • A larger percentage who nominated Uniting Church (5.6% compared to 4.0%)
  • A smaller percentage who nominated Western (Roman) Catholic (14.8% compared to 18.7%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the religious affiliation of the population in the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region between 2016 and 2021 were for those who nominated:

  • Anglican (-10,234 persons)
  • Uniting Church (-5,286 persons)
  • Western (Roman) Catholic (-4,903 persons)
  • Presbyterian and Reformed (-2,449 persons)

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