Liz Allen,a demographer at the Australian National University,said it was common for people to respond according to the religion of their family upbringing rather than their current beliefs or practices.
“The current census question doesn’t necessarily reflect religiosity - the level of importance that we invest in religion,and whether or not we practise our religion,and even belief in the faith that corresponds to that religion,” Dr Allen said.
A spokesperson for the Australian Bureau of Statistics,which runs the census,said the question is about a person’s “affiliation to a religion” and part of a section about cultural identity.
However,the ABS website also states the information is used “by religious organisations and government agencies to plan and deliver services,and incorporate religious practices within community services,such as education,hospitals and aged care facilities.”
Groups such as the Rationalist Society of Australia argue this means the official figures for religious membership are inflated. For the past few censuses,they’ve campaigned for people to answer “no religion” rather than nominating a religion they have no ongoing connection with or providing a frivolous answer such as Jedi or Pastafarian.
The Rationalist Society,Humanists Australia,the Atheist Foundation of Australia and others have chipped in $50,000 to the Census21:Not Religious? Mark ‘No Religion’ campaign,which will flood social media this week with messages such as “If you don’t practise what they preach,mark ‘No Religion’” and “Lapsed Catholic? Mark ‘No Religion’“.