The Atheist Plot to Undermine Religion in Australia

An atheist group is pushing for Australians to mark "no religion" on the 2016 Census.

The group Atheist Foundation of Australia is advocating to move the "no religion" option to the top of the list of possible responses to the "What is the person's religion?" question on the Census form.

The "Catholic" option has been moved to the second on the list.

After the Census of 2011, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the "religious affiliation" question attracted the highest number of submissions. Then there was a campaign around question 19, "What is the person's religion?'  Some suggested re-wording of the question, split the question, or bring the "no religion" option to the top of the list.

The number of people claiming "no religion" in Australia has risen in the past 100 years from one in 250 people to one in five. In 1911, 10,000 people chose "no religion".

The AFA said the results could have huge impacts on the way governments spend money on welfare and education.

"Census data is used by governments to make important funding decisions like assigning chaplains to hospitals, schools, prisons and armed services, for planning educational facilities, for aged care and other social services," AFA president Kylie Sturgess said.

"Many of those services are run by religious-based organizations," added Sturgess.

In the 2011 Australian Census, 4.7 million people indicated "no religion" on the Census.

About 5.4 million chose "Catholic" and 13.1 million identified their religion as Christian.

New Zealand and the UK have had similar campaigns.

In New Zealand's 2006 Census, Christianity lost the top spot with the number of people opting for the "no religion" choice, an increase from 36 percent to 42 percent.

Meanwhile, the Census question is optional, and respondents can choose not to answer it at all.

Australia's Census will be conducted August 9th.