Australians have said they have ‘no religion’ on every census we’ve had – and it is growing every year

State Library of South Australia

When I sit down to fill in my first Australian Census in 2026, one question I will be watching closely is a familiar one. Back home in India, “What is your religion?” was never really a question – although it is asked in the census.

But religion looks different in Australia. The first option for religious affiliation on the census is “no religion”, before Catholic, Anglican, Islam, Hinduism, other options, and a free-text field.