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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Comment
Van Badham

Christmas in Australia has become an expression of diverse, personalised and secular joy

Beach picnic
Whether it’s a beach picnic or an evening meal with the whole clan in matching pyjamas, what defines Australian Christmas is the re-performance of those things that bring most happiness. Photograph: Dougal Waters/Getty Images

How is it that Australia has become a country without a Christian majority and yet we voluntarily outstrip ourselves year on year with the scale of our Christmas festival. Friends, I think we’re in it for the good time.

The 2022 census revealed religious affiliation in Australia is in sharp decline. In 1901, the year of federation, 96.1% of Australians identified as Christian, but today only 43.9% do. Nearly 40% told the census they had no religious affiliation at all. In South Australia, there are now more people with “no religion” than Christians, and in Tasmania, non-believers are the majority.

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