The changing face of faith in Melbourne
Barney Zwartz; 7/6/08
Hinduism Buddhism and Islam are Melbourne’s fastest growing religions, but Catholicism remains the city’s dominant faith. An analysis of the 2006 census prepared for the city’s church leaders also found that fewer people identify as Christians — down from 66% in 1996 to 59% a decade later. The Christian Research Association’s Philip Hughes says 32% identified as non-religious or did not say, while 13% declared they were atheists. The fastest-growing faiths over the decade have been Hinduism (up 157% to 41,000), Buddhism (up 107% to 126,000) and Islam (up 62% to 103,000). There are 40,000 Jews, up 12.6%. Melbourne has more than a million Catholics, up 7% over the decade to 2006. Pentecostals grew 36% to 30,000 and Baptists 10% to 51,000.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-changing-face-of-faith-in-melbourne-20080606-2my4.html