Over the last 220 years population growth in Australia has been largely based on migration from many cultures. The resulting diverse range of people have brought with them their philosophies, both secular and religious. Twenty-first century Australia has developed into a broadly secular society where today less than twenty percent of Australians regularly engage in religious observances, while those active in organised secular groups make up less than 0.1 percent of the population. Among them is a small, active Humanist movement with nearly 1000 members and associates, concentrated in New South Wales and Victoria.

Attitudes to life
Australians, on the whole, are regarded as tolerant, easygoing with a good capacity to get along together; so differing beliefs – whether Humanistic or religious – are usually no barrier to Australians working, playing, living together or marrying. It is a country where its people can declare themselves Humanist, atheist or non-believer, with little cause for concern. Nor does personal belief create bars to the holding of high public office. Examples here include a Governor General (monarch’s representative) Bill Hayden (1989–1996), Prime Ministers Gough Whitlam (1972–1975) and Bob Hawke (1983–1991), and a State Premier of Western Australia, Carmen Lawrence (1990–93).

Australians invited to express ‘what I believe is important’ or give an account as to how they faced adversity, (as in the popular ABC TV series ‘Australian Story’), will, in the main, refer to the support of family, friends and community. Only a small minority mention the importance of religion or their faith in God’s support. The expression ‘god bless,’ commonly used by public figures in America, plays little part in Australian salutation, a country where religion is regarded more as a private than public matter.

Another indicator of the growing secularity of society is the speed with which Australians have embraced civil ceremonies for both marriage and funerals. The civil celebrant program was introduced in 1974 by the then Attorney-General, Lionel Murphy, who in 1983 become the first Australian Humanist of the Year. Presently over sixty percent of marriages are performed by civil celebrants rather than clergy. And in the state of Victoria, eighty-two percent of funerals are now performed by celebrants. (Data for other states is not readily available.)

While secular in most daily interactions, Australia is officially described as a Christian country (68 percent), with a minority of non-Christian faiths (6 percent) and no-religion (19 percent) . These percentages come from a single, optional question in the national five-yearly Census. The form of this question, however, leads respondents to favour affirmative answers where identification with a religion is concerned, but a National Church Life Survey indicates a level of less than ten percent church attendance on any representative weekend, a figure that is greatly at odds with the 68 percent who ticked Christianity on their 2006 Census form. Congregations are ageing, and decreasing, while across the country churches are being sold for housing or commercial use, and clergy recruitment is well below replacement level.

Because Census data is renowned for its accuracy, Humanists have, for many years, been trying to convince authorities that their question should be presented in a religious-neutral form. Their concerns remain unanswered and so while no-religion is officially given at nineteen percent, other social surveys record figures of over forty percent having no religion, with Christian groups recorded as below fifty percent.

History
For some 60 000 years prior to white settlement, in 1788, Australia was occupied by Stone Age hunter-gatherers, the Australian Aborigines. But the British chose to ignore this prior occupancy when they established a convict colony in New South Wales, primarily to solve the problem of their over-crowded prisons. Convicts continued to be transported to Australia for eighty years along with increasing numbers of free settlers arriving to improve their chances in life. This colonisation occurred in the post-Enlightenment period after the American and French revolutions, and many officials and settlers brought with them current views on the possibility of progress; a scepticism towards religion; and awareness of the value of applied scientific knowledge and methods. These attitudes gave Australian society a secular approach that influenced the decision to ban the sanctioning of a State religion (1836), and when State Schools, run and funded by the Government, were established in the late 1800s, legislation declared they would be both ‘free and secular’.

By the 1830s colonies had been established across the continent, and the land divided into self-governing states. In 1901 the six states federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia, which has remained a monarchy, to this day, with the Queen (or King) of England as head of state. Humanists are among the majority who strongly support an Australian Republic, a matter still under review and discussion.

The ever-expanding white colonial settlements across Australia not only displaced the indigenous occupants, the Aborigines from their traditional lands, it brought death to large numbers both by direct killing and by the introduction of previously unknown diseases. Today many of the descendents of the original Australians remain disadvantaged. While some are integrated into mainstream society, many live on the fringes of country towns or in small settlements, mostly in the northern parts or ‘top end’ of Australia. Inadequate services and poor living conditions mean the life expectancy of Australia’s Aborigines is twenty years less than other Australians. Humanists have been active in working towards helping to redress the shameful treatment and the disadvantaged position of Aborigines.

From the 1930s the Australian migration program included many refugees and displaced persons from European countries other than Great Britain and Ireland, particularly in the years after World War Two. An active migration program still continues to operate, with the annual intake now more likely to be people from Asia, the Middle East or Africa.

Australia’s unique history has resulted in a multicultural society in which most daily interactions are secular. Its population of 21 million people is composed of descendents of the original Aboriginal inhabitants, the early British convicts and free settlers, and more recently migrants from over 140 other countries.

Organised Humanism
Though there have been secularists from the earliest days of settlement, a Humanist movement only developed after the foundation of IHEU in 1952. The first Humanist Society was formed in New South Wales in 1960, followed a few years later by societies in Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Each state-based society provides a social network for members and promotes Humanism in a state-specific way. For example Queensland focuses on separation of church and state and the right of Humanists to provide services alongside religious groups in schools. New South Wales has an active civil celebrant network and focuses on challenging religion. Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia focus on promoting a Humanist voice, particularly on human rights and bioethical issues through submissions to the relevant authorities. Humanist Societies work with kindred organisations, such as campaigns for legalising voluntary euthanasia, and in 2006 Humanists joined with the Australian Rationalists and the Australian National Secular Association to run a conference in Melbourne, on ‘Separating of church and state’.

In 1965, the state societies affiliated to form a national body, the Council of Australian Humanist Societies (CAHS), run by an elected executive. This was done to facilitate affiliation with IHEU, of which CAHS is now a full member. Delegates from each affiliated society meet together once a year for an annual convention where ideas and experiences are shared, and national action is agreed to, including the selection of an Australian Humanist of the Year, (see below). Between conventions, national Humanist action and the production and distribution of the quarterly Australian Humanist is handled by the CAHS executive.

Humanism then, has a small respectable presence in Australia but while membership is growing in Victoria, it is static in the other states.

Humanist concerns
On many areas of traditional Humanist concern, such as discrimination in employment and public office, freedom of expression, availability of contraceptives, choice of sexual partners and abortion, Australia has largely resolved these with liberal laws. Liberalisation is an ongoing process and just a few months ago the Federal (national) government passed legislation giving same sex couples the same legal rights and entitlements as married or de facto heterosexual couples, something Humanists had agitated for.

Among the most challenging concerns for Humanists are those that relate to the failure of Australia to have a clear separation of church and state. This has resulted in generous government funding of religious organisations to run schools (to the disadvantage of government schools) and secondly to handle many welfare provisions like aged care, private hospitals and more recently employment agencies and advice services. Though these services are generally provided in a non-discriminatory way, the government funding so allocated is serving to prop up and extend the life of religious organisations. Many religious organisations, following the British pattern, are classed as ‘charities’ thus enabling them to operate largely tax free, with their accounts not freely disclosed to the public. On both these issues Humanists make strong submissions.

Other current concerns include ‘pockets’ of social injustice and the infringement of human rights, the lack of a national Bill of Rights, and recent anti-terrorist legislation that threatens the civil liberties of citizens.

Australian Humanist of the Year
Humanism is recognised in Australia as an ethical alternative to religion, and Humanists are frequently contacted by the media for comments and appearances on radio and TV. Humanist organisations are invited to make submissions to government inquiries, particularly on ethical matters and our credibility enables us to attract prominent Australians willing to be honoured with the award of Australian Humanist of the Year (AHOY).

Since 1983 the award of AHOY has been bestowed on a person who has made an outstanding contribution to public life, consistent with Humanist principles and values. The people who have accepted this honorary award give a picture of the range of Humanist Australians. Among them are the late Lionel Murphy, former Federal Attorney-General and judge on the High Court, for his contribution to legislative initiative, in particular the civil celebrant program; Phillip Adams, an outspoken journalist best known for his many books and for hosting a Radio National program ‘Late Night Live’ heard around the world by pod casting; Gareth Evans, former federal Foreign Minister now head of UN Crisis Centre; Ian Plimer, professor of geology, an active critic of creationism; Eva Cox, a social analyst and outspoken supporter of feminist and Humanist causes; Dr Philip Nitschke, an active campaigner for legalised voluntary euthanasia; Eric Bogle, folk songwriter and singer, renowned for his strong anti-war sentiments; Peter Singer, philosopher, world renowned animal liberationist and promoter of Humanist ethics; Dr Tim Flannery, biologist and author, an advocate of sustainable population and strong climate change action; and Diana Warnock, for her fearless advocacy of abortion law reform in the WA. (Further details CAHS website, http://humanist.org.au)

Summary
The history of modern Australia has produced an easygoing, multicultural society with low-key religious observance and a small Humanist movement with a growing profile as a secular alternative to religion. There are many significant issues to keep Humanists active in Australia for the foreseeable future.

(Percentages rounded up to whole numbers. Also, some people don’t answer this optional question.)

Rosslyn Ives is President of CAHS and editor of the Australian Humanist.