Should Australians avoid “No Religion” on 2016 census?
Messages are circulating social media that implore Australian readers to tick “Christianity” or the religion they were christened or born into in the upcoming 2016 census, to help prevent Australia from “being official declared a Muslim country”.
Other earlier versions of the same rumour also claimed that doing this would prevent the construction of more mosques and help prevent Easter and Christmas traditions from becoming banned.
Two versions that spread across 2016 be seen below.
As you may or may not realise, the next Australian Census will be taken in one month on Tuesday, 9^th August, 2016.
For the first time this year there will be a No Religion option. Please be careful how you answer this question. Bear in mind that although many Australians have no religion these days, the Muslim population in Australia will all declare that they are Muslim and this fact will be counted to ascertain what type of country we are in regard to religion.
Even though you may now have no religion, please consider entering the religion you were christened or born into, when answering this question. Otherwise in time Australia will officially be declared to be a Muslim country because the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census will reflect this. Just imagine the repercussions if that were to happen.
For Australia’s future I would ask you to please pass this message on to your family members and friends
AUSTRALIA WILL BE HOLDING A CENSUS IN AUGUST.
DO NOT LEAVE THE ‘RELIGION’ SECTION BLANK. BE SURE TO AT LEAST TICK CHRISTIAN (OR YOUR UPBRINGING FAITH).
1,000,000 MUSLIMS WILL TICK THEIR BOX.
10,000,000 AUSTRALIANS WILL LEAVE IT BLANK THEN WONDER WHY A MOSQUE IS BUILT IN THEIR NEIGHBOURHOOD!!!
PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS
The rumour is misleading, scare-mongering nonsense in a number of different ways. We address some claims separately.
Can Australia be officially declared a Muslim country if I don’t mark Christian?
No. Australia, like many other countries including the UK and United States, has a ruling government that is secular, meaning there is a strict separation between church and state.
Thus regardless what religion people choose to tick on the 2016 census, Australia cannot be “officially declared” a Muslim country.
Additionally, in the 2011 census, only 2.2% of Australians ticked Muslim, meaning it is nigh-impossible that Australia could even be colloquially considered a Muslim country in 2016.
If I don’t mark Christian, does that make it more likely that mosques will be built in my area?
No. The government does not decide how many mosques (or other religious buildings) are built in the country. While the census information can help in deciding the number and location of religious buildings, including mosques, it is ultimately down to the demand for such facilities in specific locations across Australia. Selecting “Christian” as opposed to “No Religion” will have absolutely no effect on that demand whatsoever.
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Will 1,000,000 Muslims really tick their own box?
The information in a number of these rumours above provide drastically inaccurate information. It claims that 1,000,000 Muslims will tick the Islam religious box. However in the 2011 census there was only 475,562 Muslims in Australia, with 30% unable to vote due to age restrictions. Thus the number of voting Muslims in 2016 will be nowhere near 1,000,000.
Is this really the first time “No Religion” is an option on the census?
Many 2016 versions of this rumour (above) claim that this is the first time there is a “No Religion” option. This isn’t true. ‘No Religion’ has always been an option since the religious question changed from the write-in response to a tick box selection featuring the most commonly used answers back in 1991.
This is however, the first time ‘No Religion’ will be placed at the top of this list. In previous versions (including 2011) this option was at the bottom, underneath the “Other – please specify” write-in box.
Summary
To summarise, selecting Christian as opposed to “No Religion” makes no difference to the number of mosques or facilities in Australia, nor will Australia be declared a Muslim Country if enough people don’t select Christian. Facilities are built in accordance to demand, and that demand will not change depending on whether you select Christian or No Religion.
Thus if you are secular, agnostic or atheist with no religious beliefs, it is recommended to select the “No Religion” option. This helps Australia record the most statistically accurate information of the country.
Further claims that assert selecting Christian will help in keeping traditions associated with Easter and Christmas in place are also demonstrably false. Despite being religiously Christian holidays, both are incredibly large cultural and commercial holidays, celebrated by many people of all religions (and secularists) and any cursory glance in any shopping mall, TV screen or supermarket during December should demonstrate that there has been no meaningful ban or censorship on these colossally massive traditions.
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