Wagga Wagga City
Religion
In Wagga Wagga City in 2016, the largest religious group was Western (Roman) Catholic (30.4% of all people), while 22.4% of people had no religion and 7.6% did not answer the question on religion.
Wagga Wagga City'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.
Wagga Wagga City'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 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wagga Wagga City - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Religion totals | Number | % | Turvey Park % | Number | % | Turvey Park % | 2011 to 2016 | |
 Christian total | 41,817 | 67.0 | 65.4 | 35500 | 45,606 | 76.7 | 75.8 | -3,789 |
| Non Christian total | 1,570 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 35501 | 1,098 | 1.8 | 2.0 | +472 |
| Non-classifiable religious belief | 313 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 35502 | 421 | 0.7 | 1.2 | -108 |
| No Religion/secular beliefs | 13,975 | 22.4 | 24.9 | 35503 | 8,935 | 15.0 | 15.7 | +5,040 |
| Not stated | 4,711 | 7.6 | 6.3 | 35504 | 3,403 | 5.7 | 5.4 | +1,308 |
| Total Population | 62,386 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 59,463 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +2,923 | |
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 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wagga Wagga City - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Religion | Number | % | Turvey Park % | Number | % | Turvey Park % | 2011 to 2016 | |
| Western (Roman) Catholic | 18,954 | 30.4 | 33.1 | 35044 | 19,765 | 33.2 | 37.9 | -811 |
| Anglican | 12,136 | 19.5 | 15.8 | 35000 | 14,210 | 23.9 | 20.4 | -2,074 |
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 3,085 | 4.9 | 6.2 | 35036 | 3,658 | 6.2 | 5.9 | -573 |
| Uniting Church | 2,814 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 35043 | 3,267 | 5.5 | 5.6 | -453 |
| Christian,nfd | 1,147 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 35011 | 1,130 | 1.9 | 1.4 | +17 |
| Baptist | 801 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 35006 | 716 | 1.2 | 1.0 | +85 |
| Lutheran | 703 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 35021 | 944 | 1.6 | 1.2 | -241 |
| Pentecostal | 611 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 35033 | 544 | 0.9 | 0.6 | +67 |
| Islam | 552 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 35017 | 344 | 0.6 | 0.7 | +208 |
| Hinduism | 432 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 35016 | 215 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +217 |
| Buddhism | 359 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 35008 | 334 | 0.6 | 0.9 | +25 |
| Other Protestant | 248 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 35034 | 169 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +79 |
| Brethren | 189 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 35007 | 204 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -15 |
| Jehova's Witnesses | 163 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 35018 | 137 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +26 |
| Other Eastern Catholic | 152 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 35028 | 0 | 0.0 | -- | +152 |
| Greek Orthodox | 147 | 0.2 | -- | 35015 | 138 | 0.2 | -- | +9 |
| Seventh Day Adventist | 147 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 35040 | 177 | 0.3 | 0.6 | -30 |
| Salvation Army | 145 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 35038 | 171 | 0.3 | 0.2 | -26 |
| Coptic Orthodox | 120 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 35014 | 121 | 0.2 | -- | -1 |
| Churches of Christ | 85 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 35013 | 98 | 0.2 | 0.3 | -13 |
| Sikhism | 73 | 0.1 | -- | 35041 | 42 | 0.1 | -- | +31 |
| Latter Day Saints (Mormons) | 73 | 0.1 | -- | 35020 | 67 | 0.1 | -- | +6 |
| Paganism | 44 | 0.1 | -- | 35035 | 42 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +2 |
| Other Oriental Orthodox | 34 | 0.1 | -- | 35032 | 24 | 0.0 | -- | +10 |
| Other Christian | 27 | 0.0 | -- | 35027 | 23 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +4 |
| Other Non-Christian Religions | 25 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 35031 | 16 | 0.0 | -- | +9 |
| Australian Aboriginal Traditional Religions | 22 | 0.0 | -- | 35004 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +16 |
| Judaism | 18 | 0.0 | -- | 35019 | 12 | 0.0 | -- | +6 |
| Wiccan/Witchcraft | 17 | 0.0 | -- | 35045 | 25 | 0.0 | -- | -8 |
| Baha'i | 15 | 0.0 | -- | 35005 | 26 | 0.0 | -- | -11 |
| Other Nature Religions | 12 | 0.0 | -- | 35030 | 14 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -2 |
| Serbian Orthodox | 10 | 0.0 | -- | 35039 | 9 | 0.0 | -- | +1 |
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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 Wagga Wagga City in 2016 compared to Turvey Park shows that there was a higher proportion of people who professed a religion and a lower proportion who stated they had no religion.
Overall, 69.5% of the population nominated a religion, and 22.4% said they had no religion, compared with 68.0% and 24.9% respectively for Turvey Park.
The largest single religion in Wagga Wagga City was Western (Roman) Catholic, with 30.4% of the population or 18,954 people as adherents.
The major differences between the religious affiliation for the population of Wagga Wagga City and Turvey Park were:
- A larger percentage who nominated Anglican (19.5% compared to 15.8%)
- A larger percentage who nominated Uniting Church (4.5% compared to 3.4%)
- A smaller percentage who nominated Western (Roman) Catholic (30.4% compared to 33.1%)
- A smaller percentage who nominated Presbyterian and Reformed (4.9% compared to 6.2%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the religious affiliation of the population in Wagga Wagga City between 2011 and 2016 were for those who nominated:
- Anglican (-2,074 persons)
- Western (Roman) Catholic (-811 persons)
- Presbyterian and Reformed (-573 persons)
- Uniting Church (-453 persons)