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NB. This discussion is based on NCLS 1996 data.
Despite the prominent place given in the media to some theologians and church leaders who hold non-traditional views
of various basic Christian beliefs, the 1996 NCLS found the overwhelming majority of church attenders hold to
orthodox and traditional statements of the Christian faith. Some 87% of Catholic, 86% of Anglicans and 84% of Uniting
attenders agree or strongly agree with the statement that Christ was fully God, fully human and physically rose from
the dead. Even higher levels of attenders do so in other denominations.
High levels of agreement also exist on doctrine about the Trinity. The majority of attenders (85%) accept the
traditional statement of Christian belief: that there is One God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This ranges from 72%
of Catholic attenders, 84% of Uniting and 88% of Anglicans, to 98% of Pentecostal attenders. Few attenders expressly
disagree with a trinitarian view of God and fewer still believe that God does not exist.
In general, the majority of attenders share some basic views about their faith, and about the nature of God. This
suggests a relatively solid foundation on which the churches may continue to build as they enter a new millennium.
Click here to find out more about the religious beliefs of all Australians
Source: Taking Stock, 1999
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