Reduced Majority of Australians Support Religious Education in Schools

Most Australians favour teaching religion in state-run schools, with Christians showing the greatest support, although the overall trend has dipped, according to a Roy Morgan Research Poll released last week.

According to the poll, taken from January to March 2005, sixty two percent of those surveyed said religion should be taught, which is down 4 percentage points since 2000.

"Do you think religion should - or should not be taught once a week in Government schools?" was the question posed by Roy Morgan Research, Australia's longest established market research and public opinion polling company.

The research group, which surveyed more than 14,000 Australians over 14 years of age, divided the results into several categories, including religion, gender, age, those with and without children, and educational level.

Among Christian denominations, Baptists were most in favour at 88 percent, followed by Uniting church members at 77 percent, Methodists at 76 percent, Anglicans at 71 percent, Presbyterians at 70 percent, Catholics at 69 percent, and "other" Christians at 75 percent. Those of other religions, including Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists, were grouped together and stood at 56 percent.

Among those without religion, 35 percent wanted religion in schools. Of all those surveyed, 30 percent were opposed and eight percent were undecided.

Parents, or guardians of children under 16 were more likely to favour religious instruction in schools, at 63 percent, over those without children under 16, 55 percent.

Also, women were more inclined to approve of religious teaching, at 66 percent, than men, 57 percent.

Overall, older Australians tended to want religion in school more than younger people. Those 50 plus were 72 percent in favour, while those ages 18-24 were the lowest age group in favour at 50 percent.

Those with lower educational levels preferred religious teaching to those with more education. Seventy-seven percent of those with a primary education were in favour, while there was a steady decrease as educational levels increased with those at universities approving by 58 percent.





Francis Helguero
Christian Today Correspondent