Australians have said they have ‘no religion’ on every census we’ve had – and it is growing every year

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · Aug 10, 2026 · 816 words · By Afzal Azeem Chowdhary

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What to know about Australians have said they have ‘no religion’ on every census we’ve had – and it is growing every year

The author discusses the historical evolution of the 'no religion' category in the Australian Census from 1911 to 2021. The piece examines how changes in form design and social norms have influenced the reported growth of the secular population, while noting that some immigrants may choose 'no religion' to avoid discrimination.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

When I sit down to fill in my first Australian Census in 2026, one question I will be watching closely is a familiar one.

Why it matters

Back home in India, “What is your religion?” was never really a question – although it is asked in the census.

Common ground

The first option for religious affiliation on the census is “no religion”, before Catholic, Anglican, Islam, Hinduism, other options, and a free-text field.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Australians have said they have ‘no religion’ on every census we’ve had – and it is growing every year?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The first option for religious affiliation on the census is “no religion”, before Catholic, Anglican, Islam, Hinduism, other options, and a free-text field?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/australians-have-said-they-have-no-religion-on-every…

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5

check_circle Corroborated 3

info Single Source 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

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Claim 1: “The first option for religious affiliation on the census is “no religion”, before Catholic, Anglican, Islam, Hinduism, other options, and a free-text field.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that 'no religion' is the first option on the census, specifically noting this was a change made in 2016 and retained in 2021.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2021 Australian census was the eighteenth national Census of Population and Housing in Australia. The 2021 Census took place on 10 August 2021, and was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statis…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Australian_census

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Australian census was the nineteenth national Census of Population and Housing in Australia. The 2026 census took place on 11 August 2026, and was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statis…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Australian_census

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Census in Australia, officially the Census of Population and Housing, is the national census in Australia that occurs every five years. The census collects key demographic, social and economic dat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_in_Australia

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “By 2021 it climbed to 38.9% – overtaking every individual Christian domination, but lower than Christianity’s 43.9% overall.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 3: ““No religion” jumped from under 1% to 6.7% of the population in a single census [in 1971].”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim contains only general definitions of 'percentage' and does not contain the actual census data for 1971.

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web search NEUTRAL — A percentage is a dimensionless number (pure number), primarily used for expressing proportions, but percent is nonetheless a unit of measurement in its orthography and usage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percentage

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In mathematics, a percentage is a number or ratio that represents a fraction of 100. It is one of the ways to represent a dimensionless relationship between two numbers; other methods include ratios, …
https://www.calculator.net/percent-calculator.html

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web search NEUTRAL — How do you calculate a percentage? To calculate a percentage, you typically divide the part (the smaller value) by the whole (the larger value), and then multiply the result by 100.
https://percentagecalculator.net/

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Claim 4: “Australia has asked about religion in every census since 1911.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results explicitly state that Australia has asked about religion in every census since 1911, and Wikipedia confirms a question on religion has been asked in every census.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “Around one-quarter of people selecting “no religion” in 2021 were born overseas.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 6: “In that first census there was no “no religion” box at all.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources state that in the 1911 census there was no 'no religion' box and respondents had to write it in the margin.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1911 Australian census was the first national population census held in Australia and was conducted by the Bureau of Census and Statistics. The day used for the census, was taken for the night bet…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1911_Australian_census

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1911 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. The census was started on June 1, 1911. All reports had been received by February 26, 1912. The total population count o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1911_Canadian_census

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+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 7: “In 1991, “no religion” was introduced as one of the checkbox options... 12.9% of Australians selected it that year.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim.

verified

Claim 8: “the Sunday Free Discussion Society or the Victorian Association of Progressive Spiritualists, both established in Melbourne in the 1870s”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries for 'Sunday' and 'Jane Fryer' and lawn care ads; none of the sources mention the Sunday Free Discussion Society or the Victorian Association of Progressive Spiritualists.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On car-free days (CFD), people are encouraged either through state policy or by societal consensus to travel by means other than cars. Some cities, like Jakarta and Tehran, have weekly car-free days. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car-free_days

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jane Fryer born Jane Trump (14 October 1832 – 16 June 1917) was an Australian political and religious radical. She was one of the first women to be married in the register offices in Bristol before sh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Fryer

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sunday (Latin: dies solis meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the weekend. In some Arab countr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 9: “This changed in 1971, when the Australian Bureau of Statistics added a simple instruction to the form: if you had no religion, write “none”.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia (Religion in Australia) explicitly confirms that in 1971, the instruction 'if no religion, write none' was introduced.

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web search NEUTRAL — 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1971st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 971st year of the 2nd millennium, the 71st …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971

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web search NEUTRAL — 1971 in the United States 1971 in U.S. states and territories States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_in_the_United_States

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web search NEUTRAL — 1971 Years Millennium 2nd millennium Centuries 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Years 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 v t e 1971 by topic Arts, history, …
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971

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Claim 10: “In 2016, “no religion” became the first option on the list, and it became the largest single category, representing just under 30% of the country.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 11: “The number of Australians describing themselves as having no religion was 16.6% by 1996, around 18.7% by 2006 and 22.3% by 2011.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 12: “Only about 0.4% of Australians, roughly 10,000 people... recorded “no religion” [in 1911], alongside another 14,000 who were recorded as “indefinite”... and 86,000 who refused to answer the question.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific statistics (0.4%, 10,000 'no religion', 14,000 'indefinite', and 86,000 refusals) are found in one specific web search result. While the 1911 census is verified, these specific numbers are not corroborated by a second independent source in the provided evidence.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 13: “it was still under 1% by the mid-1960s [referring to 'no religion' recording].”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim discusses the current census layout or general trends but does not provide the specific percentage for the mid-1960s.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — But religion looks different in Australia. The first option for religious affiliation on the census is “no religion”, before Catholic, Anglican, Islam, Hinduism, other options, and a free-text field.
https://theconversation.com/australians-have-said-they-have-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Australia’s census may be overstating the number of non-religious Australians by a third, according to new research by a Sydney-based polling firm that puts the figure closer to 26 per cent than the 3…
https://dailydeclaration.org.au/2026/08/07/australias-no-rel…

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web search NEUTRAL — But religion looks different in Australia. The first option for religious affiliation on the census is ’no religion’, before Catholic, Anglican, Islam, Hinduism, other options, and a free-text field. …
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2026/08/australians-have-said-t…

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Claim 14: “The White Australia Policy had been abolished”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim.

schedule

Claim 15: “It was the first census where less than half of Australians described themselves as Christian.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.