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Religion shapes who we are because we follow certain beliefs and not everyone follows the same ones. This causes for major diversity in Australia. This diversity can cause problems at time, but nothing major so far. The most practiced religion in Australia is Catholic and Anglican. These religions are the most practiced because they were brought in by Australia's superior which was Britain, before Australia gained independence.

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Data from the 2011 Australian national census has been released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. There are many who may find the data on religious affiliation useful. In this series, I'll be attempting to outline the basic data as well as doing some minor analysis and drawing some conclusions.

The data

First, the census outlines the major religions represented in Australia.

Additionally, the Christian religion is broken down into denominational affiliation.

Analysis and conclusions

Several points are immediately apparent looking at this data.

1. Nominal Christianity remains the dominant religion in Australia.

2. Within Christianity, the medieval stream of the church-the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church-remain the dominant affiliations.

3. Besides Christianity, the dominant affiliation in Australia is non-religious. This would include agnostics and atheists as well as those who, for one reason or another, maintain no religious affiliation.

Several additional points are worth noting.

1. While 75.2% of Australians report some sort of religious affiliation, only 8% attend religious services at least once a month (McCrindle Research, 2013).

2. Only roughly 32% of Australian do not consider themselves Christian. This suggests that efforts to evangelise nominal Christians by instruction in the teachings of Christianity might be fruitful.

3. A revival of evangelical fervour within Australian Christianity has the potential to reach a broad proportion of the Australian population who consider themselves at some level affiliated with these denominations.

There is much more to be learned by comparing the 2011 census to previous data to learn about the trends. This will be the goal of my next post.

Grace to you.

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Religion in Australia: Statistics from the 2011 census

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Data from the 2011 Australian national census has been released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. There are many who may find the data on religious affiliation useful. In this series, I'll be attempting to outline the basic data as well as doing some minor analysis and drawing some conclusions.

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Australia's culture shapes it's people because of those who are still following the original beliefs of their ancestors. These people live in the outback. They eat from plants and hunt wildlife to survive. They also wear traditional clothing and paint themselves with dots of light colored paints.

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This week marks the 20th anniversary of the High Court's Mabo decision, which was the first formal recognition of Indigenous land rights in Australia.

The ruling paved the way for native title settlements, such as the one on Anna Plains Station in the Kimberley region of Western Australia last week.

Around 150 people gathered at the cattle station to celebrate the Federal Court's recognition of a joint native title determination of nearly 200,000 hectares south of Broome.

Celebrations on the day included the Federal Court hearing, traditional ceremonies and dance from both the Karajarri and Nyangumarta claim groups.

Nyangumarta woman Janet Stewart says the formal recognition is extremely significant.

"When you come here you might just see the dirt and trees, but those things are connected to us... and sometimes we're sad when we see people digging up these places or not caring for our country, it's so important to look after country because the country is looking after us," she said.

"So it's been a happy time today for me, and I'm happy that both groups (Nyangumarta and Karajarri) got together and sorted their differences out."

Manager of the Anna Plains cattle station David Stoate says the native title determination doesn't effect the daily running of the station.

"The symbolism of the native title decision obviously means a lot to Aboriginal people and we respect that," he said.

"The native title rights give traditional owners the right to access the station to hunt, fish and conduct cultural ceremonies, which is something we've always allowed in the past and don't see any change to that in the future,

"There's not too many implications I can think of in the short term, (but) in the longer term if we do try to undertake some different activities there might be some implications of having to consult the traditional owners, but I don't see that as a great problem because we have a good relationship with them now and hopefully that'll continue into the future."

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Mabo ruling continues to deliver results for Indigenous Australians

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This week marks the 20th anniversary of the High Court's Mabo decision, which was the first formal recognition of Indigenous land rights in Australia. The ruling paved the way for native title settlements, such as the one on Anna Plains Station in the Kimberley region of Western Australia last week.

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Australia's economy can shape it's citizens because they get so much money from tourists each year they have better life styles unlike other countries. Some countries have very poor citizens that are being killed because they can not feed them. But Australia's people are multiplying because they have so much money, way more people can survive into adulthood then have more children.

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Language can either limit or expand your knowledge. It just depends on what you know, understand, and feel comfortable speaking with. If you speak one language but a tourist comes to your country and tries to speak with you, you may not understand what they are trying to say, or the other way around. This could limit your interaction with other religions and cultures. But language can also benefit you. If you knew how to speak multiple languages you could communicate with a diverse group of others and learn way more

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A family doesn't just shape Australians, but everyone. Your family shapes how you dress, the way you act, what you believe in, and so many other things. You are constantly surrounded by either family or friends and they all determine what you do and what you become when you grow up because of their influences. Influence is a big part of how you are shaped because you are more likely to try and be/do the same way/things that others you look up to do.

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The out back shapes Australians because it's a barren land with nothing but rugged bushes, the occasional wild life, and harsh temperatures. Because this place is located at the heart of Australia, most inhabitants live near the coasts. Since they live near the coasts they have different sports, foods, and clothing options. This is due to the different climate and location.

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While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines, and encompass a number of climatic zones; including tropical and monsoonal climates in northern areas, arid areas in the 'red centre' and semi-arid and temperate climates in southerly regions.

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Australia's geography is a very important factor in shaping Australians. The geography shapes Australians because they are surrounded by oceans, giving them a high appreciation for aquatic sports. For example surfing is a really big sport in Australia. Most people living there live in cities near coasts and not many live in the heart of Australia.

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The Great Barrier Reef can shape who Australians are because it is apart of their environment. The great Barrier reef brings in millions of tourists each year causing for Australia's people to be more interactive with millions of diverse people. With the Reef dying away Australians are affected greatly. They don't get as many tourists in certain areas like major cities near the coast. This is happening because no tourist wants to see a dead coral reef, this is causing for Australians to realize what they are doing and to be more concerned about the matter.