Australia is not “God’s own country”

 — July 4, 20084 juil. 2008

[Religion Monitor press release] When Pope Benedict XVI travels to Australia for the first time for World Youth Day this week, he will be descending on one of the least religious nations in the western world. Although two-thirds of Australians identify themselves as Christians, religion plays an important role in the minds and everyday lives of only a minority according to the Religion Monitor, an international survey carried out by the Bertelsmann Foundation, Europe’s biggest operating foundation. The Religion Monitor is the most extensive and detailed international comparative study on the significance of religion in the main cultures of the world.

According to this representative international survey of 21.000 people, 28% of the Australian population see themselves as not at all religious, with religious practices and beliefs barely featuring in their lives. A similar number classify themselves as deeply religious (25%) whilst 44% of Australians say they consider themselves religious but that religion does not play a central role in their lives.

48% of Australians do not partake in personal prayer, and 52% never or very seldom visit a church, mosque, synagogue or temple for religious reasons. 31% said that they did not believe in God or a divine power or in life after death. Religion scored lower than all other parts of daily life, with 50% of Australians considering religion the least important when compared to family, partners, work/career, leisure time and politics.

• Read the entire news story from the Bertelsmann Foundation’s Religion Monitor
• Take the Religion Monitor Online Survey

Posted: July 4, 2008 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=482
Categories: News
Transmis : 4 juil. 2008 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=482
Catégorie : News


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