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WITCHCRAFT IS
FASTEST-GROWING RELIGION IN AUSTRALIA
MELBOURNE, July
3, 2002 (LSN.ca) - Nearly 9,000 Australians consider themselves to be
"witches", according to the country's 2001 census, up from fewer than
2,000 in 1996. Self-described "pagans" have more than doubled to
10,632 while the number of people calling themselves "druids,"
"animists" and "pantheists" have also increased. Muslims and Hindus
grew by around 30%, while the overall proportion of Australians
identifying with a religion other than Christianity grew from 3.5% in
1996 to nearly 5% in 2001.
By contrast, most Christian denominations suffered attrition,
according to Philip Hughes of the Christian Research Association.
Overall, the population grew by 5.4% during the five years from 1996
to 2001, but those identifying with Christianity grew by only 1.4%.
Many Christian denominations declined in actual numbers, including the
Uniting Church, the Presbyterian and Reformed, The Salvation Army,
and, to a lesser extent, the Anglican Church. Catholics experienced
their first proportional decline since the 1970s, while the Orthodox
stayed level, as did Baptists. The greatest decline was in the
Churches of Christ and the Brethren, the former by 22% and the latter
by 14%. Lutherans and Seventh-day Adventists also dropped. The only
established sect to show significant growth were the Mormons.
Jehovah's Witnesses, who grew strongly from 1991 to 1996, declined.
According to the Census, Pentecostals fell by 46%, Hughes reports.
However, leaders in the Australian Christian Churches, formed in 2000,
encouraged members to identify themselves as "Australian Christian
Churches," and some Pentecostals may have been lost in this switch.
Others may appear under "Other Christian" (which rose strongly) or
"Inadequately Described" (which also rose strongly), the latter
capturing persons who scribbled "Jedi" as their religion. Buddhists
are nearing 2% of the population, including increasing numbers of
Anglo-Celtic citizens, Hughes says. One of the biggest surprises,
according to Philip Hughes, is that the 'no religion' numbers actually
declined. But 10% also refused to answer, a figure that may include
religious people who object to the government's collecting such
information.
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/jul/02070309.html
For Melbourne Herald-Sun coverage of the rise of witches in Australia
see:
http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,4609334%255E662,00.html
For more details from the Christian Research Association see:
http://www.cra.org.au/pages/00000088.cgi
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