Hilltops Council area
Religion
In the Hilltops Council area in 2016, the largest religious group was Western (Roman) Catholic (34.4% of all people), while 15.9% of people had no religion and 8.2% did not answer the question on religion.
The Hilltops Council area'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 Hilltops Council area'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 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilltops Council area - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Religion totals | Number | % | Regional NSW % | Number | % | Regional NSW % | 2011 to 2016 | |
 Christian total | 13,556 | 73.3 | 61.5 | 35500 | 14,590 | 80.1 | 71.0 | -1,034 |
| Non Christian total | 431 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 35501 | 287 | 1.6 | 2.1 | +144 |
| Non-classifiable religious belief | 66 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 35502 | 72 | 0.4 | 0.8 | -6 |
| No Religion/secular beliefs | 2,934 | 15.9 | 26.3 | 35503 | 1,997 | 11.0 | 18.4 | +937 |
| Not stated | 1,510 | 8.2 | 9.3 | 35504 | 1,273 | 7.0 | 7.8 | +237 |
| Total Population | 18,497 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 18,219 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +278 | |
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 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilltops Council area - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Religion | Number | % | Regional NSW % | Number | % | Regional NSW % | 2011 to 2016 | |
| Western (Roman) Catholic | 6,368 | 34.4 | 23.8 | 35044 | 6,694 | 36.7 | 26.2 | -326 |
| Anglican | 4,795 | 25.9 | 21.9 | 35000 | 5,337 | 29.3 | 26.6 | -542 |
| Uniting Church | 846 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 35043 | 972 | 5.3 | 5.8 | -126 |
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 622 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 35036 | 642 | 3.5 | 4.2 | -20 |
| Islam | 276 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 35017 | 168 | 0.9 | 0.4 | +108 |
| Christian,nfd | 275 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 35011 | 277 | 1.5 | 1.9 | -2 |
| Baptist | 165 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 35006 | 153 | 0.8 | 1.4 | +12 |
| Brethren | 109 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 35007 | 120 | 0.7 | 0.1 | -11 |
| Buddhism | 72 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 35008 | 57 | 0.3 | 0.8 | +15 |
| Salvation Army | 67 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 35038 | 70 | 0.4 | 0.4 | -3 |
| Jehova's Witnesses | 61 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 35018 | 57 | 0.3 | 0.4 | +4 |
| Lutheran | 57 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 35021 | 65 | 0.4 | 0.6 | -8 |
| Seventh Day Adventist | 49 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 35040 | 48 | 0.3 | 0.5 | +1 |
| Pentecostal | 34 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 35033 | 46 | 0.3 | 0.9 | -12 |
| Other Protestant | 28 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 35034 | 11 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +17 |
| Hinduism | 26 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 35016 | 18 | 0.1 | 0.3 | +8 |
| Serbian Orthodox | 24 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 35039 | 16 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +8 |
| Greek Orthodox | 23 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 35015 | 22 | 0.1 | 0.5 | +1 |
| Paganism | 15 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 35035 | 14 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +1 |
| Other Christian | 14 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 35027 | 10 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +4 |
| Other Non-Christian Religions | 13 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 35031 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +10 |
| Show me more! | ||||||||
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 the Hilltops Council area in 2016 compared to Regional NSW shows that there was a higher proportion of people who professed a religion and a lower proportion who stated they had no religion.
Overall, 75.6% of the population nominated a religion, and 15.9% said they had no religion, compared with 63.9% and 26.3% respectively for Regional NSW.
The largest single religion in the Hilltops Council area was Western (Roman) Catholic, with 34.4% of the population or 6,368 people as adherents.
The major differences between the religious affiliation for the population of the Hilltops Council area and Regional NSW were:
- A larger percentage who nominated Western (Roman) Catholic (34.4% compared to 23.8%)
- A larger percentage who nominated Anglican (25.9% compared to 21.9%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the religious affiliation of the population in the Hilltops Council area between 2011 and 2016 were for those who nominated:
- Anglican (-542 persons)
- Western (Roman) Catholic (-326 persons)
- Uniting Church (-126 persons)
- Islam (+108 persons)