The results of the Australian Census 2021 have been announced. People identifying as “No Religion” now account for 38.9% of the population, which is almost double the number identifying as Catholic. Last year, the Mark ‘No Religion’ campaign was supported by a coalition of  Australian free-thinking organisations. (Humanists Australia, Atheist Foundation of Australia, Sydney Atheists, Rationalist Society of Australia, National Secular Lobby, and Humanists Victoria). The purpose of the campaign was to encourage people to think seriously about their religious beliefs, to ensure that the religious beliefs of Australians were accurately represented in the census results.

The results exceeded expectations. People answering ‘No Religion’ (inclusive of atheism, agnosticism etc) went from 30.1 % in 2016 to 38.9 % in 2021. This represents a 29.2% increase in the ‘No Religion’ category! On the current trajectory, the ‘No Religion’ category should overtake Christianity by mid-2023.

The officially released statistics can be found here.