Maryland
Religion
In Maryland in 2021, the largest religious group was Western (Roman) Catholic (19.1% of all people), while 42.2% of people had no religion and 3.8% did not answer the question on religion.
Maryland'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.
Maryland'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 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Religion totals | Number | % | Hunter Region SA4 % | Number | % | Hunter Region SA4 % | 2011 to 2021 | |
 Christian total | 3,891 | 50.0 | 49.9 | 35500 | 5,746 | 74.5 | 71.0 | -1,856 |
| Non Christian total | 272 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 35501 | 175 | 2.3 | 1.8 | +96 |
| Non-classifiable religious belief | 34 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 35502 | 34 | 0.4 | 0.7 | -1 |
| No Religion/secular beliefs | 3,289 | 42.2 | 41.1 | 35503 | 1,382 | 17.9 | 19.2 | +1,907 |
| Not stated | 299 | 3.8 | 5.8 | 35504 | 375 | 4.9 | 7.3 | -77 |
| Total Population | 7,785 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 7,715 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +70 | |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2011 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
(Usual residence data)
| Religion - Ranked by size | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Religion | Number | % | Hunter Region SA4 % | Number | % | Hunter Region SA4 % | 2011 to 2021 | |
| Western (Roman) Catholic | 1,486 | 19.1 | 19.3 | 35044 | 1,907 | 24.7 | 24.4 | -421 |
| Anglican | 1,190 | 15.3 | 17.0 | 35000 | 2,130 | 27.6 | 27.4 | -941 |
| Christian,nfd | 247 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 35011 | 188 | 2.4 | 2.0 | +58 |
| Uniting Church | 232 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 35043 | 540 | 7.0 | 6.7 | -308 |
| Baptist | 155 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 35006 | 282 | 3.7 | 2.1 | -128 |
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 138 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 35036 | 255 | 3.3 | 3.6 | -118 |
| Islam | 100 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 35017 | 53 | 0.7 | 0.4 | +47 |
| Pentecostal | 93 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 35033 | 55 | 0.7 | 1.0 | +37 |
| Buddhism | 67 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 35008 | 67 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0 |
| Greek Orthodox | 65 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 35015 | 59 | 0.8 | 0.5 | +6 |
| Hinduism | 65 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 35016 | 34 | 0.4 | 0.3 | +31 |
| Macedonian Orthodox | 55 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 35022 | 64 | 0.8 | 0.2 | -9 |
| Seventh Day Adventist | 44 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 35040 | 37 | 0.5 | 0.8 | +7 |
| Salvation Army | 38 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 35038 | 61 | 0.8 | 0.5 | -24 |
| Other Protestant | 37 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 35034 | 15 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +22 |
| Jehova's Witnesses | 26 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 35018 | 16 | 0.2 | 0.3 | +10 |
| Sikhism | 22 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 35041 | 12 | 0.2 | 0.0 | +10 |
| Latter Day Saints (Mormons) | 21 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 35020 | 25 | 0.3 | 0.2 | -4 |
| Lutheran | 17 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 35021 | 30 | 0.4 | 0.4 | -13 |
| Serbian Orthodox | 16 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 35039 | 24 | 0.3 | 0.0 | -8 |
| Other Eastern Catholic | 14 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 35028 | 6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +8 |
| Show me more! | ||||||||
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2011 and 2021. 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 Maryland in 2021 compared to Hunter Region SA4 shows that there was a higher proportion of people who professed a religion as well as a higher proportion who stated they had no religion.
Overall, 53.5% of the population nominated a religion, and 42.2% said they had no religion, compared with 52.5% and 41.1% respectively for Hunter Region SA4.
The largest single religion in Maryland was Western (Roman) Catholic, with 19.1% of the population or 1,486 people as adherents.
The major difference between the religious affiliation for the population of Maryland and Hunter Region SA4 was:
- A smaller percentage who nominated Anglican (15.3% compared to 17.0%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the religious affiliation of the population in Maryland between 2011 and 2021 were for those who nominated:
- Anglican (-941 persons)
- Western (Roman) Catholic (-421 persons)
- Uniting Church (-308 persons)
- Baptist (-128 persons)