Bernard Salt; 14/8/08
I am concerned for the spiritual well-being of the Australian nation. New figures extracted from the 2006 census show there are 14,800 ministers of religion in Australia, or about one per 1500 residents. Most ministers hover around middle-age, although I am pleased to advise that there are 16 Australians aged 15-19 who proudly proclaimed at the census that they were ministers of religion. I didn’t know there was a Church of Like Whatever? Middle-aged religious ministers are far more populous. In fact, 48 per cent are aged 50-plus, which means that within a decade much of this nation’s preaching stock could be either retired or doddering into old age. And the reason is that the 7100 ministers aged 50-plus are backed-up by just 5300 aged 35-50.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24176218-7583,00.html