The role of organised religion in Australia has been debated since the Australian Constitution guaranteed freedom of religion in 1901. In the first half of the 20th century, political expressions of religion focused primarily on sectarian relationships between Protestantism and Catholicism. Post-war migration and policies of multiculturalism since the 1970s dramatically altered the makeup of Australia’s religious communities, as well as the national conversation about the role of religion in public life. Census data and other sources indicate that overall religious identification is in decline. Results from the Australian Election Study (AES) since 1987 suggest a longer-term trend away from regular religious practice.

The Australian Cooperative Election Survey (ACES) religion module was weighted by population characteristics to approximate representativeness of the Australian voting population. The module included 30 survey items on multiple of aspects religion, power, trust, gender and conspiracies in Australian political and public life. Research on other aspects of religion and conspiracies will be published separately.

Select key findings

• Respondents overwhelmingly agreed that ‘in Australia, religion should be separate from politics’. A smaller share of respondents (25%) agreed with the statement proposition that the ‘Australian Government should promote Christian values’ and 43% disagreed, with agreement being higher among older respondents.
• Despite controversy over religious discrimination in the lead-up to the 2022 Federal Election, only about one quarter of respondents (27%) agreed with the statement that ‘Australians who hold religious beliefs face a lot of discrimination’.
• The findings indicate low trust in religious organisations. Reported trust, however, was somewhat higher for ‘church and religious leaders making public statements about poverty and disadvantage’.
• Overall, most respondents do not agree with the tax-free status of religious groups while opinions were evenly divided about continued government funding of religious schools.