People in the Illawarra – and around Australia – are quickly losing their religion, according to the results of the 2016 Census.
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The national survey, released on Tuesday, shows the most common response for religious affiliations across three of the four Illawarra electorates was none.
And across the region as a whole (measured by the ABS as Helensburgh to Gerringong) 27,037 more people ticked “no religion” than in 2011.
That’s an increase from 19.1 per cent of the population, to 27.2 per cent – just pipping the next most common religious affiliation (Catholicism) by 1.2 per cent.
Only the Shellharbour electorate showed Catholicism holding strong, with 27.4 per cent (22,243 people) believing compared to “no religion”, which finished in second place with 25 per cent (20,298 people).
The Keira electorate recorded the highest “no religion” score, with 29.8 per cent.
In Wollongong 26.3 per cent reported “no religion” while in Kiama it was 28 per cent.
This reflected a broader national trend, which has seen “no religion” jump from 19 per cent in the 2011 Census to 30 per cent in 2016.