idc-logo
svg rectangle color
Golden Plains ShireCommunity profile

Golden Plains Shire

Religion

In Golden Plains Shire in 2021, the largest religious group was Western (Roman) Catholic (20.5% of all people), while 49.7% of people had no religion and 6.4% did not answer the question on religion.

Golden Plains Shire'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.

Golden Plains Shire'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
Golden Plains Shire - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
Religion totalsNumber%Regional VIC %Number%Regional VIC %2016 to 2021
Christian total10,57142.343.311,35652.453.1-785
Non Christian total2731.13.32501.22.4+23
Non-classifiable religious belief1240.50.61290.60.6-5
No Religion/secular beliefs12,43149.745.28,12537.534.0+4,306
Not stated1,5996.47.71,8288.49.8-229
Total Population24,998100.0100.021,688100.0100.0+3,310
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
Golden Plains Shire - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
ReligionNumber%Regional VIC %Number%Regional VIC %2016 to 2021
Western (Roman) Catholic5,12920.519.74,91522.722.7+214
Anglican2,0108.09.82,56811.813.3-558
Uniting Church9583.84.71,2275.76.5-269
Presbyterian and Reformed7072.82.29134.23.3-206
Christian,nfd6222.52.15742.62.1+48
Baptist3411.41.23321.51.3+9
Lutheran1820.70.71920.90.9-10
Pentecostal1670.70.71680.80.7-1
Buddhism1030.40.91020.50.8+1
Greek Orthodox1010.40.5760.40.5+25
Show all (24 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 Golden Plains Shire in 2021 compared to Regional VIC shows that there was a lower proportion of people who professed a religion and a higher proportion who stated they had no religion.

Overall, 43.4% of the population nominated a religion, and 49.7% said they had no religion, compared with 46.5% and 45.2% respectively for Regional VIC.

The largest single religion in Golden Plains Shire was Western (Roman) Catholic, with 20.5% of the population or 5,129 people as adherents.

The major difference between the religious affiliation for the population of Golden Plains Shire and Regional VIC was:

  • A smaller percentage who nominated Anglican (8.0% compared to 9.8%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the religious affiliation of the population in Golden Plains Shire between 2016 and 2021 were for those who nominated:

  • Anglican (-558 persons)
  • Uniting Church (-269 persons)
  • Western (Roman) Catholic (+214 persons)
  • Presbyterian and Reformed (-206 persons)

DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website.

Please view our Privacy Policy, Terms of use and Legal notices.

ABS Data and the copyright in the ABS Data remains the property of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The copyright in the way .id has modified, transformed or reconfigured the ABS Data as published on this website remains the property of .id. ABS Data can be accessed from the Australian Bureau of Statistics at www.abs.gov.au. ABS data can be used under license - terms published on ABS website. intermediary.management@abs.gov.au if you have any queries or wish to distribute any ABS data.