The Changing Face of Religion in Australia

[SYZ]

This is an extremely in-depth (and lengthy!) report about
current religious views in Australia.    Don't be put off by
its length though, as a lot of it is presented as infographics.
Although it's widely comprehensive, I actually—as a mature,
lifelong atheist—disagree with many of the data points.

The Changing Faith Landscape of Australia.

When it uses the term "builders", apparently they're the
demographic whose preference for reverence per se
is based on an overemphasis on the transcendence of God.

[SYZ]

Hinduism (of all religions!) is the third largest religion
in Australia consisting of more than 684,002 followers,
making up 2.7% of the population as of the 2021 census.

It's also the fastest growing religion in Australia—mostly
through immigration.

And as for assimilation?  English (at 13.0%) is the third most
common language spoken by Australian Hindus, behind
Hindi (at 22.7%) and Nepali (at 16.3%).

[pattylt]

Hinduism (of all religions!) is the third largest religion
in Australia consisting of more than 684,002 followers,
making up 2.7% of the population as of the 2021 census.

It's also the fastest growing religion in Australia—mostly
through immigration.

And as for assimilation?  English (at 13.0%) is the third most
common language spoken by Australian Hindus, behind
Hindi (at 22.7%) and Nepali (at 16.3%).

Do you have Australians bitching about them learning English like we have with Spanish speakers?  Just curious.  At one point a few years ago, our wonderful Republican politicians were pushing for English to be the official language and no more government forms in Spanish and English.  It died on the vine, thankfully.

[SYZ]

...Do you have Australians bitching about them learning English like we have with Spanish speakers?  Just curious.  At one point a few years ago, our wonderful Republican politicians were pushing for English to be the official language and no more government forms in Spanish and English.  It died on the vine, thankfully.

This is an illegal sign at a polling booth for our
2019 federal election;  it's Chinese, and was
deemed too similar to an official AEC sign next
to it. It was encouraging non-English speakers
to vote Liberal—in breach of AEC regulations.

[jerry mcmasters]

Hinduism (of all religions!) is the third largest religion
in Australia consisting of more than 684,002 followers,
making up 2.7% of the population as of the 2021 census.

It's also the fastest growing religion in Australia—mostly
through immigration.

And as for assimilation?  English (at 13.0%) is the third most
common language spoken by Australian Hindus, behind
Hindi (at 22.7%) and Nepali (at 16.3%).

I'd be happy to take as many Hindus as you can spare.  Thin out our nutter Christians and Muslims.

[SYZ]

A Melbourne synagogue fire has been condemned
as an "act of antisemitism".  Two masked people
were seen spreading accelerant inside Adass Israel
synagogue in Ripponlea (an inner Melbourne suburb)
a couple of nights ago.

The synagogue was totally gutted, with 60 firefighters
and 17 trucks fighting the fire.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...l-position

Cynically,  Israeli war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu
has linked this attack to Australia’s stance on the
Israel-Gaza war, despite knowing absolutely nothing
about the incident itself, or Australian politics, or our
religious sentiments.

In Australia—rightly or wrongly—Jews have often been
regarded with suspicions of their motives, mistrusted,
disliked, and ostracised.

Thankfully, there are only 46,645 Jews living in my home
state of Victoria—not even enough to fill a stadium for an
Aussie rules football game—and make up only 0.4% of the
Australian population.  Meanwhile, the US has to put up
with 7.5m of them.

[Cavebear]

A Melbourne synagogue fire has been condemned
as an "act of antisemitism".  Two masked people
were seen spreading accelerant inside Adass Israel
synagogue in Ripponlea (an inner Melbourne suburb)
a couple of nights ago.

The synagogue was totally gutted, with 60 firefighters
and 17 trucks fighting the fire.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...l-position

Cynically,  Israeli war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu
has linked this attack to Australia’s stance on the
Israel-Gaza war, despite knowing absolutely nothing
about the incident itself, or Australian politics, or our
religious sentiments.

In Australia—rightly or wrongly—Jews have often been
regarded with suspicions of their motives, mistrusted,
disliked, and ostracised.

Thankfully, there are only 46,645 Jews living in my home
state of Victoria—not even enough to fill a stadium for an
Aussie rules football game—and make up only 0.4% of the
Australian population.  Meanwhile, the US has to put up
with 7.5m of them.

Most of my best friends were Jewish. Unlike the Catholic and Protestant friends, they never tried to "convert" me. I appreciated that.

Whoa " the US has to put up with 7.5m of them"? I almost missed that part. They sure never did me any harm!

[Paleophyte]

Thankfully, there are only 46,645 Jews living in my home
state of Victoria—not even enough to fill a stadium for an
Aussie rules football game—and make up only 0.4% of the
Australian population.  Meanwhile, the US has to put up
with 7.5m of them.

Is there anybody that you don't hate?

[SYZ]

Thankfully, there are only 46,645 Jews living in my home
state of Victoria—not even enough to fill a stadium for an
Aussie rules football game—and make up only 0.4% of the
Australian population.  Meanwhile, the US has to put up
with 7.5m of them.

Is there anybody that you don't hate?

As a lifelong atheist I've seen far too much societal disorder,
murder and mayhem carried out by by theists in the names of
and distorted causes of their religions.  I truly believe there is
(ideally—and simplistically of course!) no place for any religions
in an enlightened 21st century society.  They're divisive and
unnecessary.

So yes:  I do have an aversion to zealous theists such as Jews,
but rather than a hatred, I have a forbearance.

[Thumpalumpacus]

In Australia—rightly or wrongly—Jews have often been
regarded with suspicions of their motives, mistrusted,
disliked, and ostracised.

Thankfully, there are only 46,645 Jews living in my home
state of Victoria—not even enough to fill a stadium for an
Aussie rules football game—and make up only 0.4% of the
Australian population.  Meanwhile, the US has to put up
with 7.5m of them.

Why do you seem to view Jews as negative influences ("thankfully", "put up with")?

Myself, I don't see Netanyahu's bullshit as a mark against Jews in America -- many of whom are against his policies -- but as a mark against Israeli politics. Take care to not confuse Israelis and Jews.

[Paleophyte]

So yes:  I do have an aversion to zealous theists such as Jews, but rather than a hatred, I have a forbearance.

Emphasis mine. Perhaps you should check the realities of these "zealots" you're complaining about.

"Secularism has a long tradition in Jewish life in America, and most U.S. Jews seem to recognize this: 62% say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, while just 15% say it is mainly a matter of religion. Even among Jews by religion, more than half (55%) say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, and two-thirds say it is not necessary to believe in God to be Jewish."
 - A Portrait of Jewish Americans, Pew Research Center, 2013.

It's a pretty peculiar type of zeal where 22% are non-believers while only 15% view it as mainly religious. Similar numbers are reported from Israel.

Perhaps you ought not to use quite such a broad brush to tar an entire people with the atrocities of Netanyahu and the Likud party.

[SYZ]

There's an interesting report here, published in April
last year about "Jewishness" in the United States:

What does it mean to be Jewish in the US?.

Amnesty International on Wednesday said that it had
gathered "sufficient evidence to believe" that Israel’s
conduct during the war in Gaza amounts to genocide
against the Palestinian people.

I note that 78% of Israel's population is Jewish, and who
ostensibly support Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likudniks.

There have been numerous instances in which Amnesty
International says Israeli forces and government authorities
have committed three of five acts prohibited under the
United Nations’ Genocide Convention—including the mass
killing of Palestinian civilians, causing serious bodily or
mental harm, and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in
Gaza conditions of life "calculated to bring about their
physical destruction in whole or in part".

    Are these the Jewish people you're so quick to  
    defend, or take me to task for?

[Thumpalumpacus]

There's an interesting report here, published in April
last year about "Jewishness" in the United States:

What does it mean to be Jewish in the US?.

Amnesty International on Wednesday said that it had
gathered "sufficient evidence to believe" that Israel’s
conduct during the war in Gaza amounts to genocide
against the Palestinian people.

I note that 78% of Israel's population is Jewish, and who
ostensibly support Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likudniks.

There have been numerous instances in which Amnesty
International says Israeli forces and government authorities
have committed three of five acts prohibited under the
United Nations’ Genocide Convention—including the mass
killing of Palestinian civilians, causing serious bodily or
mental harm, and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in
Gaza conditions of life "calculated to bring about their
physical destruction in whole or in part".

    Are these the Jewish people you're so quick to  
    defend, or take me to task for?

"The" Jewish people, as if they're monolithic. As for your assumption that Israelis support Netanyahu en masse:

As Israel's military campaign in Gaza enters its second year, recent polls indicate a surge in public support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government's actions, despite international accusations of human rights violations.

A Sept. 13 survey by the Israeli newspaper Maariv found that 41% of Israelis believe Netanyahu is the most suitable person to lead a coalition government. This marks a significant recovery from earlier polls that showed plummeting approval ratings following the Oct 7, 2023 attacks.

The survey found that 47% view Netanyahu as the best suited for the role of prime minister compared to 34% for opposition leader Yair Lapid.

The results show a rise in Netanyahu's popularity compared to previous opinion polls, which may reflect implicit public support for the continuation of the genocide in Gaza.

According to an earlier poll conducted by Israel's Channel 12 on July 13, 70% of Israelis supported Netanyahu's dismissal, while 44% demanded his immediate resignation.

Another poll conducted on April 12 showed that 35% of Israelis supported Netanyahu.

Similarly, according to a poll conducted on Jan. 4, Netanyahu's support rate remained at only 15%, while the vast majority of Israelis wanted him to resign.

This backing persists despite mounting international pressure and concerns over civilian casualties.

The shift in public opinion comes amid international criticism of Israel's attacks in Gaza.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/isr...rt/3353576

Seriously, dude, you're better than this -- or should be.

[Inkubus]

Are these the Jewish people you're so quick to  
defend, or take me to task for?

Dude, put the shovel down.

[SYZ]

I certainly don't see any valid need to defend my
opinions of Jews and or "Jewishness" on any forum
like this.

I'm actually surprised that—particularly on an atheist
forum like this—so many people stridently jump to the
defence of a religion like Judaism, and also jump down
my throat for merely expressing my personal sentiments.

Or are we not allowed to do that any more?

   Not impressed.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I certainly don't see any valid need to defend my
opinions of Jews and or "Jewishness" on any forum
like this.

I wouldn't want to have to defend the tripe you've posted here, either.

I'm actually surprised that—particularly on an atheist
forum like this—so many people stridently jump to the
defence of a religion like Judaism, and also jump down
my throat for merely expressing my personal sentiments.

For someone normally pretty percipient, your obtuseness in this thread is remarkable in itself. You see, I'm not defending Judaism, or Israeli policies in Gaza, Lebanon, or elsewhere. I and others are criticizing your plain willingness to lump all Jews into one basket without regarding them as individuals.

That, my friend, is bigotry; and as I wrote earlier, you should be better than this.

Or are we not allowed to do that any more?

   Not impressed.

Of course you're still allowed to opine. But you seem to have this naive assumption that you're entitled to our agreement -- or at least silence --no matter how full of shit your opinion is.

That is not the case. When I see bigotry, I speak up. Sorry if that rustles your jimmies.

Well, not really.

[jerry mcmasters]

Thankfully, there are only 46,645 Jews living in my home
state of Victoria—not even enough to fill a stadium for an
Aussie rules football game—and make up only 0.4% of the
Australian population.  Meanwhile, the US has to put up
with 7.5m of them.

What are they doing wrong in Australia?  Here in the US all they do is go about their business being good productive citizens who aren't trying to shove their religion down anyone's throats.

[Paleophyte]

There's an interesting report here, published in April
last year about "Jewishness" in the United States:

What does it mean to be Jewish in the US?.

From CNN? Try for a little basic rigor in your sources.

Amnesty International on Wednesday said that it had
gathered "sufficient evidence to believe" that Israel’s
conduct during the war in Gaza amounts to genocide
against the Palestinian people.

Try to distinguish between the state of Israel, Netanyahu, Likud, and the Israeli people. Blaming all Israelites for Netanyahu's atrocities is like blaming all Americans for Trump's. And that broad brush doesn't even get you out of Israel.

I note that 78% of Israel's population is Jewish, and who
ostensibly support Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likudniks.

Either you haven't been keeping up with current events or you're too blinkered to have noticed that Netanyahu and Likud are getting blasted by the Israeli people for bombing Hamas rather than trying to get the hostages back. Did you miss the fact that hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to pressure Netanyahu to negotiate?

Are these the Jewish people you're so quick to defend, or take me to task for?

Yes, these are.

[Paleophyte]

I certainly don't see any valid need to defend my
opinions of Jews and or "Jewishness" on any forum
like this.

I'm actually surprised that—particularly on an atheist
forum like this—so many people stridently jump to the
defence of a religion like Judaism, and also jump down
my throat for merely expressing my personal sentiments.

Or are we not allowed to do that any more?

   Not impressed.

I can't imagine why you'd think that you could voice an opinion in a room full of skeptics and not have somebody disagree. And nobody is defending any religion, so kindly put that strawman back where you found it. I'll happily defend good people regardless of their beliefs. It's called secularism.

After all, I'm just expressing my opinion on your personal sentiments. Or are we not allowed to do that anymore?