MANY RELIGIONS

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 79, 27 December 1928, Page 13

MANY RELIGIONS

WHAT LAST CENSUS SHOWS OVER 60,000 “OBJECT TO STATE” * ' ” Classified under 38 heads, the statistical return of the religious professions of the population of New Zealand contains a great deal of interesting information. The census paper of 1926 requested citizens to make a definite statement of creed, and 33 beliefs are so returned, the remaining five being "no denomination,” “no religion” (so returned), "other beliefs,” “object to state,” aud_“not specified.” No fewer than 02,585 expressed themselves as objecting to state, and those returning "no religion” amounted to 2838. . , The list of religious professions includes the denominations of Swedenborgian, Ratana, New Thought, Followers of Jesus, and Conditional Immortalists, while amongst minor religious professions returned are “Danielite,” “Dipper,” “Faith in the Apostle.” “Full Gospel,” “Free Church of Tonga,” "Sinner Saved by Grace,” “Holly Roller,” "Holy Jumper,” and many more. The “Followers of Te Whitt” returned in the 1926 census numbered 11. The introductory note to the official return states; "It is a noteworthy characteristic to the social structure of New Zealand that there exists an almost entire freedom of religious thought and worship. There is no State Church, nor is State aid given to any form of religion. In the early colonial days, endowments of land were set aside for the principal religious bodies, but this practice has long since been discontinued.” In 1926 adherents of the various Christian creeds comprised 93.83 per cent, of the total population. The four largest Christian churches were the Church of England, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and Methodist. The proportions per cent, were as follow :—Church of England, 41.21; Presbyterian, 24.60; Roman Catholic (including Catholic undefined), 12.89; and Methodist, 9.02. The respective totals returned were 553,993, 330,731, 173,364, and 121,212. Next came the Baptists, with 21,955: the Brethren, with 12,924, and Salvation Army, with 12,241.