Religion is known to be a set of values, beliefs, and the understanding of life. Every religion has its own different set of beliefs and values. This essay will show how much religion has decreased, why people do not practice religion, and how secularism and the media have played a role in the decline of religion.
Atheism, agnosticism, scepticism, and secular humanism are increasing in Australia. These groups are known to be believers of science and to be free thinkers. In Australia, most religions are based on the belief in God. Religions that associate with this belief include the Jewish, Christians, and the Muslims. However, religion does not play a major role in the lives of much of the population anymore.
A global poll taken in 2012 shows that 59% of the world's population is religious, and 36% are not religious. This includes 13% who are atheists. According to the (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011) men and teenagers are more likely to be non-followers of any religion.
Christianity was established as the major religion in Australia by 1947. In the 21st century, Christianity is known to be the most followed religion. Regardless of sectarianism between different religious groups, Christianity was the most influential in Australia. In 1947 approximately 88% of Australians considered themselves as Christians, 0.4% Jewish, and 0.2% had no religion at all. However, there has been a great change in numbers since 1947. Based on a census completed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than one fifth of the nation’s 21.5 million residents now do not follow or believe any religion at all. A total f 4.8 million people living in Australia states they do not follow any religion. The most dominant religious group continue...
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...nce. By having teenagers look up to celebrities that are involved in these organizations, there will obviously be a change of religion and beliefs. Teenagers will think it is right to follow and be like their favourite celebrity, but that is what slowly leads to decline in religion.
The last cause of lack of religious practice is the dismissal of religious programs in schools. In 2011, 940 schools provided a special religious instruction (SRI) program, but in 2013 only 666 schools decided to keep the program going. 274 schools shut down the program (Konrad 2014). By having schools shut down religious programs, this causes students to be less educated in the religion category.
In conclusion, there has been a great decline in religion over the past years. This decline can cause loss of religion and faith. To stop the decline schools must continue to teach children
Religion is the way a group of individuals freely choose to follow some or all set rules of a certain faith in accordance with the set shared values. People follow different religions for different reasons some are born into a religion and some choose there own religion. According to source 1, the way the Murri people prepare for Christmas is in a hybrid fashion blending Aboriginal culture and spirituality with Christian beliefs in a way that represents their Christian faith while representing their unique ancestry.22.5 % of indigenous Australians are Catholic and another 21.5% are of Anglican faith.
Per Regnerus et al, professors who hold reputable positions at accredited teaching institutions, studies “display strong evidence that public schools now lag behind Catholic schools in the average educational achievement of their students, most poignantly in cities and low-income neighborhoods” (16). Although this study pertained mostly to a specific type of school- Catholic school- similar results can be achieved by requiring a child to take at least one religion-specific class. Similarly, another study expressed the impact of religion on academic achievement: “Individuals with no religious affiliation reported the fewest years of education and were also likely to have the least religious socialization. Not being affiliated with a church resulted in a detrimental impact on educational achievement” (Brown & Gary 422). Without some form of religious impact on an individual’s life, one experienced low academic achievement. Religion should being an integral of public education and should be a requirement of all students; however, an array of different religious courses should be offered so that one is not forced to learn something they have no interest
The Church was not the centre of life as it was in Asia or in Europe. The separation of Church and State was clear, and the Church had nearly no influence in Politics. Australian Catholics focused on saints of Irish and English origin, while these saints held nearly no influence in other nations.
“About 270,000 religious congregations in the US have combined annual revenue of $80 billion. Slightly more than 50 percent of Americans belong to a religious congregation. In terms of membership, the largest faiths in the US are Catholic (about 25 percent of the population); Baptist (16 percent); Methodist (7 percent); Lutheran (5 percent); Presbyterian (3 percent); Pentecostal (2 percent); and Episcopalian (2 percent). Church membership statistics are notoriously unreliable.”(Hoover’s 2008)
Between 1947 and 1971, even if you did not practice your religion it was still expected that you would identify yourself as being a part of your/ your family’s religion. In 1947 the ‘no religion’ category made up only 0.3% of religious affiliation in Australia. A change in social values and attitudes has since seen a dramatic increase in people identifying as belonging to ‘no religion’ with the category reaching 6.7% in 1971, “The specific instruction 'if no religion, write none' included in the 1971 Census saw an increase in this response from 0.8% in the previous Census to 6.7%.”(Australian Social Trends, 2013). The chart below is a visual representation of the growth in the ‘no religion’ category.(sourced from Australian Social Trends, 2013).
Out of the desolation of World War II sprang the Australian Committee for the World Council of Churches. This developed into the Australian Council of Churches which, in 1994, grew to be the National Council of Churches in Australia. The NCCA is 15 Christian churches, gathered from across Australia, who have embarked on a pilgrimage together . Each brings a widely diverse record of place, experience, and theology, but all share a mutual faith and confession in the Jesus Christ as God and Savior. All share a common future as they are confident that the future of Christians in Australia lies together, not in division. The aim of the NCCA is to deepen the relationship of member churches so as to communicate more visibly the unity willed by Christ and to rally towards the achievement of their mission of common witness, proclamation and service .
In 2000, Christians made up the majority of the population in America. Shown by the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS)...
Religion is considered as a pervasive force in this world. It shapes people as to how they behave and interact with almost everything present in the society. Influencing behavior, character formations, ideals, policies, standards are just among the dimensions and societal perspectives affected and impacted by religion. Because of these applications and implications in human lives and existence, religion should be understood deeply, particularly, on how it affects the world. Looking at the American perspective of the term "religion," it could be simply
For clarity, we must define what the term "Christian country" really means and it is therefore worthwhile to examine the religious make-up of America. At this point, and for the foreseeable future, Christianity is the self-admitted majority religion of this Country. In 1990, sociologists at the Graduate School of the City University of New York completed and released the National Survey of Religious Identification. All results are from self-identified religious beliefs; the...
With the arrival of immigrants from places like India and other parts of Asia since the 1970s there has been an increase in the number of followers of non-Christian religions. Hinduism has grown as a religion due to the increased immigration of people from places like India. Buddhism has also grown. It is now the biggest non-Christian religion in Australia. Of the other religions, Islam continues to grow while the number of people following Judaism has been pretty constant. So ethnic background continues to effect how people view religion in Australia today. However, ( Andrew West and Professor Des Cahill, 2012 ) argue that Australia is becoming more religious but religious in different ways, particularly through non-religious choices. More people chose the "No Religion" option in the 2011 census than in past censuses.
In the early 1960s, people started to view religion in public school systems as a problem. Parents thought that their children should not be taught religion in school. Being taught religion is not the problem, forcing religion is (Boston).
Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...
Most of the contemporary problems bedeviling our society are because of lack of proper spiritual anchorage. Civil and technological differentiations embodied in the media have aggravated the situation. Technological differentiation has undermined religion by taking the place of spirituality in adherents’ lives.
University of Michigan. “Religion in Schools: A look at how religious practices influence education.” .
"Summary of Key Findings." Statistics on Religion in America Report. Ed. Tracy Miller. Pew Research, Feb. 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. .