Intermarriage by religion in Australia.

Heard, Genevieve ; Khoo, Siew-Ean ; Birrell, Bob 等

Intermarriage between adherents of different religious affiliations is increasing in Australia. However, most intermarriage occurs between the various Christian denominations. Intermarriage between different faiths remains negligible, but is likely to increase over time as successive generations of migrant descent are exposed to the religious diversity and the forces of secularization at play in Australia.

INTRODUCTION

Religion can be a strong determinant of partner choice. Most religious groups have traditionally proscribed marriage outside the group boundaries--known as 'exogamy', in the language of sociology--and, conversely, have encouraged or prescribed marriage within the group ('endogamy'). Yet, particularly in a culturally diverse nation such as Australia, religious intermarriage may also be viewed as a measure of harmony between different communities and as evidence of a tolerant society.

At the most basic level, intermarriage is considered to be the outcome of close social interactions between members of different religions, (1) and implies that the social barriers separating these groups are weak. (2) Intermarriage across religious boundaries may also mean that people of different religious affiliations are becoming more similar with regard to other social and demographic characteristics. People tend to look for partners with similar educational and class backgrounds to themselves. (3) Where minority religious groups are socially or economically disadvantaged relative to the rest of society, exogamy is less likely, since prospective marriage partners are unlikely to bridge this gulf. Conversely, the sociological literature suggests that intermarriage between members of religious minorities will be relatively high where the members of a community achieve upward social mobility. Relatively high levels of education, in particular, are often found to facilitate intermarriage. (4)

Using data from the 2006 census, this paper assesses the extent of intermarriage (defined here as including both formal and de facto marriage) by religion in Australian society. Where possible, trend data are used to assess the direction of change. The paper is part of a larger study of intermarriage in Australia that also examines intermarriage by birthplace, ancestry and indigenous status. (5)

The question on religion in the Australian census is optional; that is, people can choose not to answer it. Eleven per cent of the population did not state their religion in the 2006 census. The analysis that follows is based on the 89 percent of the population that responded to the question, and relates to partnered persons only. (6) It should also be noted that some religions require that spouses of another religious affiliation convert to that religion on marriage to a person of that religion. People can also change their religion at any time after their marriage. The census data refer to respondents' religious affiliations at the time of the census, which may be different from their affiliations before or at the time of their marriage.

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION IN AUSTRALIA

The census of 1933 showed that Australians overwhelmingly affiliated with the various denominations of Christianity at that time. Owing to the settlement of the country mostly by people from Britain and Ireland, Protestants and Catholics dominated, albeit with sharp social divisions between the two groups.

Only in the later decades of the 20th century was this dominance challenged. In 1971, the proportion of the population affiliating with Christian denominations was 86 per cent. However, by the 2001 census, this proportion was 68 percent. (7) Greater religious diversity has come about through growth in the numbers of Australians, many of them migrants, practising Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and other non-western faiths. By 2006, over a million Australians (six per cent) identified with religions other than Christianity (see Table 1). Simultaneously, organised religion of any kind has lost some of its monopoly over Australian spirituality. (8) Those claiming no religious affiliation increased in number to 3.7 million, or 19 per cent of those answering the question on religion, in 2006 (Table 1).

Table 1: Religious affiliation, Australia, 1996, 2001 and 2006

 1996 2001 2006

 number

Buddhism 199,812 355,732 418,756

Christianity
 Anglican 3,903,324 3,845,537 3,718,252
 Assyrian Apostolic 6,236 7,096 8,189
 Baptist 295,178 306,709 316,738
 Brethren 22,063 19,245 24,232
 Catholic 4,798,950 4,967,200 5,126,880
 Churches of Christ 75,023 60,769 54,822
 Eastern Orthodox 497,015 528,133 544,160
 Jehovah's Witnesses 83,414 80,474 80,919
 Latter Day Saints 45,112 49,386 53,199
 Lutheran 249,989 247,635 251,107
 Oriental Orthodox 25,106 29,147 32,711
 Other Protestant 50,216 52,102 56,106
 Pentecostal 174,720 193,124 219,689
 Presbyterian & Reformed 675,534 631,188 596,671
 Salvation Army 74,145 70,748 64,200
 Seventh-day Adventist 52,655 53,238 55,251
 Uniting Church 1,334,917 1,236,104 1,135,427
 Christian, no further detail (a) 186,109 250,730 313,190
 Other Christian 33,058 32,403 34,093
 Total 12,582,764 12,660,968 12,685,836
Hinduism 67,279 95,128 148,119
Islam 200,885 280,435 340,392
Judaism 79,805 83,709 88,831

Other religions:
 Aust Aboriginal Trad. Religions 7,357 5,101 5,377
 Other religious groups 59,333 83,657 103,645
 Total 66,690 88,758 109,022
No religion (b) 2,948,888 2,877,299 3,706,555
Other religious affiliation (c) 56,121 349,981 133,820
Religious affiliation not stated 1,550,585 1,796,298 2,223,957
Total 17,752,829 18,588,308 19,855,288

 1996 2001 2006

 percent

Buddhism 1.1 1.9 2.1

Christianity
 Anglican 22.0 20.7 18.7
 Assyrian Apostolic 0.0 0.0 0.0
 Baptist 1.7 1.7 1.6
 Brethren 0.1 0.1 0.1
 Catholic 27.0 26.7 25.8
 Churches of Christ 0.4 0.3 0.3
 Eastern Orthodox 2.8 2.8 2.7
 Jehovah's Witnesses 0.5 0.4 0.4
 Latter Day Saints 0.3 0.3 0.3
 Lutheran 1.4 1.3 1.3
 Oriental Orthodox 0.1 0.2 0.2
 Other Protestant 0.3 0.3 0.3
 Pentecostal 1.0 1.0 1.1
 Presbyterian & Reformed 3.8 3.4 3.0
 Salvation Army 0.4 0.4 0.3
 Seventh-day Adventist 0.3 0.3 0.3
 Uniting Church 7.5 6.6 5.7
 Christian, no further detail (a) 1.0 1.3 1.6
 Other Christian 0.2 0.2 0.2
 Total 70.9 68.1 63.9
Hinduism 0.4 0.5 0.7
Islam 1.1 1.5 1.7
Judaism 0.4 0.5 0.4

Other religions:
 Aust Aboriginal Trad. Religions 0.0 0.0 0.0
 Other religious groups 0.3 0.5 0.5
 Total 0.4 0.5 0.5
No religion (b) 16.6 15.5 18.7
Other religious affiliation (c) 0.3 1.9 0.7
Religious affiliation not stated 8.7 9.7 11.2
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: ABS cat. no. 2068.0.2006 census tables

Notes: The data here refer only to those who answered the questions on
religion.

(a) Comprises 'Christian, no further detail', 'Apostolic Church, so
described', Church of God, so described', 'Australian Christian
Churches, so described', and New Church Alliance, so described".

(b) Comprises 'No Religion, no further detail', 'Agnosticism',
Atheism', 'Humanism' and 'Rationalism'.

(c) Comprises 'Religious belief, no further detail', 'Not defined', New
Age, so described' and 'Theism'. In

These changes have taken place within the context of a trend towards secularisation across the western world. A secular society is not necessarily irreligious. Rather, secularisation refers to the diminished reach of organised religion, and implies that religious institutions have less control over the identities and social lives of individuals. (9)

RELIGION AND PARTNERING

Increased intermarriage between people of different religious affiliations may be considered a sign of advanced secularisation. In turn, religious intermarriage is considered to be a major factor contributing to further secularisation. Having a partner who does not belong to the same religion increases the probability of disaffiliation and reduces the probability that children of the union will be raised in that religion. (10)

In 1991, Hayes claimed that 'homogeneity along religious and non-religious lines is a characteristic feature of Australian marriage patterns''. (11) Yet if secularisation implies that religious institutions have less control over the social lives of individuals, it might be expected that partnering across denominations and religions would continue to increase overtime. As noted by Bouma: 'churches are not the primary local social centres they once were when they provided dances, socials, tennis and other occasions for people to meet'. (12)

Since ethnicity and religion are so closely related, the scale of intermarriage across ethnic lines in Australia (13) would also be expected to mean more couple relationships which also cross religious lines. That is, as migrants increasingly partner with those born in Australia or in source countries other than their own, so the salience of the religious commitments valued by their family or community of origin would be expected to diminish.

Table 2 confirms that religious exogamy--as measured by the proportion of men and women married to someone of a different religious affiliation at the time of the census--has increased marginally for the majority of religious groupings shown between 2001 and 2006. (In Table 2, and hereafter, tables and discussion are confined to the thirteen most popular religious affiliations, which claim in excess of 85,000 adherents each in Australia.)

Table 2: Intermarriage by religion, 2001 and 2006

 Males

 2001 2006

 Partnered Exogamous Partnered Exogamous
 no. (a) per no. (a) per
 cent cent

Catholic 1,031,398 35 1,067,406 37

Anglican 907,563 39 878,393 41

No Religion 607,761 38 789,030 37

Uniting Church 278,014 40 257,776 43

Presbyterian and 169,580 61 158,626 61
Reformed

Eastern 133,989 19 135,742 21
Orthodox

Other Christian 145,114 20 159,606 20

Buddhism 68,661 17 81,250 18

Islam 55,922 9 67,883 8

Baptist 67,141 32 69,910 31

Lutheran 57,254 48 57,467 51

Pentecostal 38,520 7 43,791 6

Hinduism 22,747 12 36,217 10

Judaism 20,205 20 21,581 21

 Females

 2001 2006

 Partnered Exogamous Partnered Exogamous
 no. (a) per no. (a) per
 cent cent

Catholic 1,114,383 39 1,159,527 40

Anglican 952,608 40 930,099 42

No Religion 492,693 23 658,281 23

Uniting Church 321,371 46 300,474 49

Presbyterian and 165,070 59 156,150 60
Reformed

Eastern Orthodox 130,251 16 133,474 19

Other Christian 164,302 28 180,073 27

Buddhism 76,751 24 95,169 29

Islam 54,327 6 66,634 6

Baptist 73,282 36 76,907 36

Lutheran 60,903 50 61,513 53

Pentecostal 43,171 15 49,574 15

Hinduism 22,783 11 36,247 10

Judaism 19,756 17 21,127 19

Source: 2006 census customised table.

Notes: (a) Rate excludes those whose partner's religion was not stated
or whose partner was temporarily absent on census night.

As would be expected, rates of exogamy for each religious affiliation are similar for males and for females, with few exceptions: men with no religion are much more likely to have partnered women who have a religious affiliation (37 per cent) than are women of no religion to have partnered men who have a religion (23 per cent); and Pentecostal women are much more likely to have partnered outside their church (15 per cent) than are Pentecostal men (six per cent). Buddhist women are also more likely than Buddhist men to have a partner of a different religious affiliation. The gender differences probably reflect the fact that these affiliations allow spouses to maintain different religious affiliations. There are notable excesses of men over women professing no religion, and of Pentecostal women over Pentecostal men.

Intermarriage is more common among some religious groups than others. A substantial proportion of those who identify with the main Christian religious groups are exogamous. By 2006, some 37 per cent of Catholic men and 40 percent of Catholic women were partnered with non-Catholics. The exogamy rate was similar for Anglicans and Uniting Church adherents, while more than half of all partnered men and women affiliated with the Presbyterian and Reformed and Lutheran churches had married outside their own church. The highest overall rate of exogamy was among Presbyterian and Reformed adherents at 61 per cent for men and 60 per cent for women. Pentecostals were an exception, with exogamy rates among the lowest of all religious affiliations. The Pentecostal church is relatively recently established in Australia. Otherwise, these are all long established communities in Australia, with most of their adherents being Australia-born. Their relatively high rates of exogamy are consistent with the theory that social mobility and secularisation tend to erode exclusive religious attachments. Certainly it seems that the sharp divide between Catholics and Protestants that remained strong until well into the 20th century has largely disappeared, as measured by intermarriage between the two groups.

However, it is important to note that most exogamous Christians have spouses with a different Christian affiliation, rather than with a non-Christian affiliation. Twenty-eight per cent of Catholic men and women were partnered with someone from the main Protestant groups shown in Table 3. More than one fifth of Anglicans and Presbyterian and Reformed adherents were partnered with Catholics. Lutherans had the highest rate of exogamy outside the Christian affiliations, yet this was only three per cent.

Table 3: Partnered Christian men and women, religious affiliation of
spouse, 2006 (percent)

 Catholic Anglican Uniting Presbyterian Eastern
 Church & Reformed Orthodox

Males

Catholic 63 18 4 3 1

Anglican 23 59 6 4 1

Uniting 17 16 57 2 0
Church

Presbyterian 23 24 5 39 1
& Reformed

Eastern 11 4 1 1 79
Orthodox

Baptist 10 10 3 2 0

Lutheran 19 14 6 3 1

Pentecostal 2 1 0 0 0

Females

Catholic 60 18 4 3 1

Anglican 21 58 4 4 1

Uniting 16 17 51 3 0
Church

Presbyterian 21 22 4 40 1
& Reformed

Eastern 10 3 1 1 81
Orthodox

Baptist 10 10 3 2 0

Lutheran 17 13 5 3 1

Pentecostal 3 3 1 1 0

 Baptist Lutheran Pentecostal Other No Total
 Religion

Males

Catholic 1 1 0 2 6 100

Anglican 1 1 0 2 4 100

Uniting 1 1 0 2 4 100
Church

Presbyterian 1 1 0 2 4 100
& Reformed

Eastern 0 0 0 1 2 100
Orthodox

Baptist 69 1 0 2 3 100

Lutheran 1 49 0 3 6 100

Pentecostal 0 0 94 1 1 100

Females

Catholic 1 1 0 2 10 100

Anglican 1 1 0 2 9 100

Uniting 1 1 0 2 9 100
Church

Presbyterian 1 1 0 2 8 100
& Reformed

Eastern 0 0 0 1 3 100
Orthodox

Baptist 64 1 0 2 8 100

Lutheran 1 47 0 2 11 100

Pentecostal 0 0 85 2 4 100

Source: 2006 census customised table

Studies based on earlier censuses indicated that intermarriage was negligible outside the dominant (Catholic, Anglican and other Protestant) religious groups in Australia. (14) These findings are replicated in the 2006 census data. Rates of exogamy are under one quarter for all the non-Christian religious groups, with the exception of Buddhist women (29 percent). Exogamy is least common among Muslim women and men (six and seven per cent respectively).

Table 4 shows that exogamous men and women from all the major non-Christian religious groups are more likely to be married to adherents of the major Christian denominations or to partners with no religious affiliation than they are to be married to adherents of a different non-Christian religion.

Table 4: Partnered non-Christian men and women, by religious
affiliation of spouse, 2006 (per cent)

 Buddhism Islam Hinduism Judaism Catholic

Males

Buddhism 82 0 0 0 7
Islam 0 92 0 0 3
Hinduism 1 0 90 0 4
Judaism 1 0 0 79 6

Females

Buddhism 71 0 0 0 8
Islam 0 94 0 0 2
Hinduism 0 0 90 0 3
Judaism 0 0 0 81 4

 Anglican Other Christian Other No Religion Total

Males

Buddhism 2 3 1 5 100
Islam 1 2 0 1 100
Hinduism 1 2 1 1 100
Judaism 4 4 1 5 100

Females

Buddhism 5 4 1 11 100
Islam 1 1 0 2 100
Hinduism 2 1 1 2 100
Judaism 4 3 1 7 100

Source: 2006 census customised table.

Outside the major Christian denominations, intermarriage patterns are inseparable from migration patterns. The next sections address religious intermarriage by country of birth and by generation.

RELIGIOUS INTERMARRIAGE BY COUNTRY OF BIRTH

While increased religious diversity owes much to migration, (15) it should not be assumed than all migrants from non-western countries, especially Asian countries, bring non-western faiths with them. Of partnered men and women from China, Hong Kong and Japan, 'no religion' was the most common response in 2006, while Catholicism was most commonly nominated among those from Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. The same applies to partnered immigrants from some Middle Eastern countries: men and women from Iraq were most likely to be Catholic, as were women from Lebanon. Nevertheless, many religious groups in Australia have their origin in particular migrant source countries.

Table 5 shows the top three countries of birth for men and women of particular religious groups, and their rate of intermarriage. Australia was the most common country of birth for Catholics, Anglicans and those of Eastern Orthodox and Jewish faiths. These are all well-established religions in Australia, of which large numbers of adherents are second- or third-plus generation Australians. Thus it is not surprising that exogamy rates for the Australia-born are relatively high. For example, amongst Catholics, the Australia-born exogamy rate is 46 per cent for males and 47 per cent for females. It is also notable that exogamy rates are similarly high for the United Kingdom-born adherents of these faiths. The explanation is undoubtedly the same. That is, these people come from a society with similar strong secular value trends, thus facilitating cross-faith partnerships.

Table 5: Religious intermarriage, males and females in couple families
by top three countries of birth

 Males

Religious Country of Partnered Exogamous
affiliation birth number (a) percent

Catholic Australia 682,021 44
 Italy 74,432 11
 United Kingdom 39,677 46
Anglican Australia 665,018 42
 United Kingdom 142,592 36
 New Zealand 19,310 45
Eastern orthodox Australia 42,979 37
 Greece 39,698 9
 FYROM (b) 14,374 7
Buddhist Viet Nam 25,994 8
 China (c) 9,305 10
 Australia 9,071 57
Muslim Lebanon 12,100 3
 Turkey 8,342 7
 Australia 7,437 16
Hindu India 18,642 7
 Fiji 7,155 8
 Sri Lanka 3,910 8
Jewish Australia 7,412 28
 South Africa 3,774 10
 United Kingdom 1,306 32

 Females

Religious Country of Partnered Exogamous (a)
affiliation birth number percent

Catholic Australia 765,094 47
 Italy 55,978 6
 United Kingdom 41,377 51
Anglican Australia 717,891 44
 United Kingdom 135,869 35
 New Zealand 20,528 48
Eastern orthodox Australia 48,304 33
 Greece 34,405 6
 FYROM (b) 13,178 4
Buddhist Viet Nam 27,545 12
 China (c) 11,409 25
 Australia 8,677 65
Muslim Australia 10,044 7
 Lebanon 9,930 1
 Turkey 7,528 4
Hindu India 18,127 4
 Fiji 7,636 14
 Sri Lanka 3,783 5
Jewish Australia 8,002 24
 South Africa 3,647 8
 United Kingdom 1,201 30

Source: 2006 census customised table.

Notes: (a) Rate excludes those whose partner's religion was not stated
or whose partner was temporarily absent on census night.

(b) Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

(c) Excludes SARs and Taiwan Province

The pattern is quite different for the smaller and more recently established religious communities in Australia. For each religious group there tends to be a distinct country-of-origin pattern and a very low rate of exogamy. For example, Australia's Buddhists were most commonly born in VietNam, Muslims in Lebanon and Hindus in India, and the overseas-born adherents of these religions have lower rates of intermarriage than do their Australian-born counterparts.

RELIGIOUS INTERMARRIAGE BY GENERATION

Arguably, these findings do not help much in understanding the dynamics of religious exogamy among the less established religious groups. Most migrants when they arrive in Australia are already partnered with co-religionists. Thus where a community consists primarily of recent arrivals it is no surprise that, as with Muslims and Hindus, exogamy is low. The interest lies in what happens with second and subsequent generations within each religious community. Table 6 addresses this question by providing intermarriage data by religion and generation in Australia.

Table 6: Religious intermarriage by generation, 2006

 Males Females

Religion and Partnered Exogamous Partnered Exogamous
generation number (a) number (a)
 percent percent

Catholic
First generation 350,065 23 354,990 27
Second generation 193,435 39 217,479 41
Third+ generation 488,673 46 547,896 49
Total (b) 1,067,401 37 1,159,518 40

Anglican
First generation 186,438 36 183,011 37
Second generation 108,809 42 119,768 45
Third+ generation 558,546 42 601,716 44
Total (b) 878,388 41 930,103 42

No Religion
First generation 227,648 32 185,096 18
Second generation 123,042 38 111,385 25
Third+ generation 419,396 39 345,936 24
Total (b) 789,031 37 658,294 23

Uniting Church
First generation 30,023 31 34,250 39
Second generation 28,038 41 33,184 50
Third+ generation 193,388 45 225,570 51
Total (b) 257,782 43 300,477 49

Presbyterian and Reformed
First generation 41,578 48 40,018 46
Second generation 20,030 65 20,238 64
Third + generation 92,526 67 91,449 65
Total (b) 158,627 61 156,146 60

Eastern Orthodox
First generation 86,987 13 79,313 11
Second generation 39,819 37 43,807 32
Third+ generation 2,675 47 3,868 36
Total (b) 135,744 21 133,474 19

Buddhism
First generation 69,307 13 83,101 25
Second generation 2,719 53 2,788 63
Third+ generation 6,392 58 5,965 66
Total (b) 81,244 18 95,162 29

Islam
First generation 57,606 7 53,645 6
Second generation 5,924 14 8,387 7
Third + generation 1,352 25 1,408 12
Total (b) 67,883 8 66,637 6

Baptist
First generation 20,129 24 22,441 31
Second generation 9,195 32 10,390 37
Third+ generation 38,599 35 41,83 38
Total (b) 69,909 31 76,901 36

Lutheran
First generation 18,737 56 17,923 55
Second generation 6,859 71 8,408 74
Third+ generation 30,419 44 33,613 47
Total (b) 57,472 51 61,515 53

Pentecostal
First generation 15,820 5 17,448 13
Second generation 6,281 7 7,184 15
Third+ generation 20,428 7 23,477 16
Total (b) 43,788 6 49,570 15

Hinduism
First generation 34,579 10 34,408 9
Second generation 367 32 459 39
Third+ generation 461 44 516 44
Total (b) 36,217 10 36,253 10

Judaism
First generation 13,185 17 12,099 15
Second generation 5,461 25 5,687 22
Third+ generation 1,909 33 2,290 28
Total (b) 21,581 21 21,123 19

Source: 2006 census customised table.

Notes: (a) Rate excludes those whose partner's religion was not stated
or whose partner was temporarily absent on census night.

(b) Totals include those whose generation was not stated.

Table 6 shows that exogamy is notably low for all the first generation non-Christian religious groups, including Muslims, Jews and Hindus. Intermarriage is discouraged in almost all these faiths. In the case of many countries from which Australia's Muslim community derive, exogamy is strongly proscribed. In Australia, however, it may be more difficult to maintain such proscriptions. Although data are not available on when the marriage occurred, most partnered members of the Islamic community are likely to have arrived in Australia as married couples--Table 6 indicates that over 80 per cent of Muslims are first generation Australians.

Table 6 also shows that intermarriage by religion increases with each successive generation. In some cases the shift is quite dramatic between generations. Whereas only seven per cent of overseas-born Muslim men are exogamous, this proportion increases to fourteen per cent among second-generation Muslim men and to 25 per cent among Muslim men who are third or more generation. However, the numbers of second and third generation Muslims remain small. As the Muslim community increases in size and institutional complexity (that is, as mosques and Islamic schools and related institutions develop), the younger generation of Muslims may more easily find partners within their religious community.

THE JEWISH CASE

Exogamy is also low amongst first generation Jewish men and women. Most of these men and women would have been married at the time of migration to Australia. The rate of exogamy increases to 25 per cent among second generation Jewish men and to 33 per cent among Jewish men who are third generation or more. For Jewish women the parallel rates are 22 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. Are these rates high or low? From the point of view of the Jewish community in Australia they may be considered high--community leaders have been concerned about any indications of increased out-marriage, (16) because it often implies (as noted above) that the couple will not carry on Jewish religious traditions or raise their children as Jews. A third generation exogamy rate of around 30 per cent may indicate that Australia is following the pattern in North America, where the rate of exogamy reaches almost 50 per cent. (17) Although it is possible that marriages to non-Jews may be followed by conversion, the evidence suggests that exogamy is usually associated with a decline in Jewish identification and commitment to the Jewish community institutions on the part of the intermarried couple. (18)

On the other hand, a 30 per cent level of exogamy amongst the third generation may seem low in the light of the theory that upward mobility and secularisation normally promote intermarriage. The Jewish community in Australia has been one of the most successful in regards to upward educational and occupational mobility. Table 7, which shows exogamy by level of education for those identifying as Jews, highlights this point. It shows that around half of Jewish partners hold a degree or higher (a rate far higher than any other major religious group in Australia). It also shows that exogamy is low for all levels of education, including those with a degree or higher. The development of Jewish social institutions appears to have functioned as community leaders have hoped, that is to counter the erosive impact of upward mobility on ethnic attachment. According to one leader, writing of Melbourne's Jews:

Table 7: Jewish intermarriage by educational attainment

 Males Females

 Partnered Exogamous Partnered Exogamous
 no. (a) no. (a)
 per cent per cent

Degree or higher 10,986 19 9,682 19

Other post-school 4,194 22 3,971 18
qualification

Year 11-12 3,450 24 4,123 18

Up to year 10 1,195 24 1,324 23

Total (b) 21,581 21 21,123 19

Source: 2006 Census customised table.

Notes: (a) Rate excludes those whose partners religion was not stated
or whose partner was temporarily absent on census night.

(b) Total includes those whose educational attainment was not stated,
inadequately described, or none.
 [T]he organic development of an extensive structure of formal and
 informal community organisations has operated as a particularly
 effective socialising framework. Certainly the current evidence
 documents a relatively high level of ethnic endogamy and suggests
 that the experience of growing up within such a community has
 engendered widespread positive commitment towards the principle of
 ethnic continuity among succeeding generations of Melbourne Jews.
 (19)

The Jewish case shows that the trend towards greater religious intermarriage in Australia is not unidirectional and may be affected not only by broad social trends such as secularisation, but by factors specific to minority religious communities themselves.

CONCLUSION

Religious exogamy is increasing in Australia. Rates of intermarriage by and between Catholics and Protestants, already high in 2001, were higher in 2006, suggesting the continuing erosion of the historic divide between these two groups. Catholics and Protestants are more exogamous than other groups due to their longer exposure to each other and to the forces of secularisation operating in Australia, as in most western nations. However, most exogamous Catholics and Protestants are married to spouses from other Christian denominations. Intermarriage across religions remains relatively rare in Australia.

Cultural diversification in Australia has been accompanied by greater religious diversification. However, the overseas-born Australians who are now contributing to Australia's religious diversity have often arrived as couples, and are not yet contributing much to rates of intermarriage. Nevertheless, sharp differences between migrants and subsequent generations of migrant descent are evident. There is a high level of exogamy amongst second and third-plus generation Australians across religious boundaries.

It will be interesting to compare intermarriage patterns among the second generation of more recently arrived migrants from Asia and the Middle-East, whose religious attachments are to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and other non-Christian religions. Intermarriage by members of these newer communities may increase over time as these groups have more opportunities to mix, both with each other and with adherents of the longer-established Catholic and Protestant faiths. Alternatively, however, the boundaries between religions may prove to be stronger than those between denominations.

References

(1) M. Kalmijn and H. Flap, 'Assortative meeting and mating: Unintended consequences of organized settings for partner choices'. Social Forces, vol. 79, no. 4, 2001

(2) R. D. Alba and V. Nee. Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration. Harvard University Press. Cambridge. MA. 2003

(3) M. Kalmijn. 'Intermarriage and Homogamy: Causes. Patterns, Trends', Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 24. 1998

(4) ibid.; D. E. Sherkat, 'Religious intermarriage in the United States: trends, patterns and predictors', Social Science Research, vol. 33, no. 4, 2004

(5) G. Heard, S. E. Khoo and B. Birrell, Intermarriage in Australia: Country of birth, ancestry, religion and indigenous status. Centre for Population and Urban Research, Monash University, Melbourne, (forthcoming)

(6) There were inevitably some partnered census respondents who did not state their religion. These are excluded from the calculations in the following analysis. However, couples are included in the calculations if one partner stated their marital status but the other did not.

(7) ABS, 'Religious affiliation and activity', Australian Social Trends 2004. cat. no. 4102.0, 2004

(8) G. Bouma, Australian Soul: Religion and Spirituality in the 21st Century, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 2006

(9) ibid.

(10) D. Voas, 'Intermarriage and the demography of secularization'. British Journal of Sociology, vol. 54, no. 1. 2003

(11) B. C. Hayes, 'Religious identification and marriage patterns in Australia'. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, vol. 30. no. 4, 1991

(12) G. Bouma, 2006, op. cit.

(13) S. E. Khoo, B. Birrell and G. Heard. "Intermarriage by birthplace and ancestry in Australia', People and Place. vol. 17, no. 1.2009

(14) A. C. Gariano, 'Religious identification and marriage'. People and Place, vol. 2, no. 1, 1994: A. C. Gariano and S. D. Rutland. 'Religious intermix: 1996 census update'. People and Place, vol. 5, no. 4, 1997

(15) ABS 2004, op. cit.

(16) Goldlust, The Jews of Melbourne, a Community Profile: A Report of the Findings of the Jewish Community Survey, 1991, Jewish Welfare Society, Melbourne, 1993

(17) Gariano and Rutland, 1997, op. cit.

(18) Waxman, 'Is the cup half-full or half-empty? Perspectives on the future of the American Jewish Community', in S. M. Lipset (Ed.), American Pluralism and the Jewish Community, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, 1990

(19) Goldlust, 1993, op. cit.