1. Religious Affiliation identifies the religious belief to which a person adheres or the religious group to which they belong. This variable is used to assess the composition of the Australian community in terms of religion.
2. Data relating to this variable is useful to religious organisations in planning their services to members, and in social research where it is one of the variables which can aid in indicating a person's cultural background. The others are Country of Birth of Person, Country of Birth of Father, Country of Birth of Mother and the language variables First Language Spoken, Main Language Spoken at Home and Main Language Other than English Spoken at Home. Some agencies and organisations have found this data helpful in delivering more culturally relevant services to clients based on their religion.
3. The variable Religious Affiliation has been endorsed by the Ministerial Council of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs as one of the standard set of indicators for use in measuring cultural and linguistic diversity. It is to be progressively implemented in relevant administrative and service settings to provide data to determine, measure and monitor service needs (in terms of access and equity requirements), and to provide a measure of cultural diversity in its broader sense.
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