澳大利亚统计局日前发表声明，敦促民众在下周二进行的人口普查中如实填报宗教信仰问卷，并无视社交媒体上宗教团体与世俗游说团体之间的相互竞争活动[1]。统计局强调，宗教问卷衡量的是个人的真实宗教信仰，而非宗教实践或参与程度[1]。该问题自1911年首次人口普查以来就成为常规内容[1]。
宗教信仰问题已成为澳大利亚社会的焦点。宗教团体发起了"被计数"运动，而国家世俗游说团体则推进"非宗教者标记无宗教"的反制活动[1]。历史数据显示，宗教信仰的下降趋势明显：2021年普查中42%的受访者（990万人）表示无宗教信仰，而1911年首次普查这一比例仅为0.4%[1]。同期，天主教徒数量为510万人，英国圣公会信徒250万人，犹太人约10万人[1]。此外，2001年普查中曾有近7万人自称"绝地武士"[1]。
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has issued a statement calling on citizens to answer honestly about their religious beliefs in this month's census, despite competing campaigns waged on social media between faith communities and secular groups [1]. Religious organizations have launched a "Be Counted" initiative while secular advocacy bodies are promoting a counter-campaign encouraging people to mark "no religion" [1].
The statistics bureau emphasized that the religion question has been part of the census since 1911 and responses should reflect individuals' genuine beliefs [1]. According to the bureau, "the religion question measures a person's religious belief, which may differ from their religious practice or participation" [1].
Previous census data shows significant shifts in religious identification over the past century. The 2021 census recorded 42 percent of respondents—9.9 million people—indicating no religion, compared to just 0.4 percent in the first census of 1911 [1]. The 2021 census also documented 5.1 million Catholics, 2.5 million Anglicans, and approximately 100,000 Jewish Australians [1].
The census is scheduled to take place next Tuesday [1].