Pastor Lee Kohler and Michelle Laukart in the Templestowe Baptist Church auditorium.
(This article was originally written for The Swinburne Standard in May 2018)
A failure by religions to modernise is causing a continued decline in followers, says a Monash University academic.
Dr Julian Millie, an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of Monash University’s School of Social Sciences, says that religious participation among Australians shows a clear downward trend.
“Religious organisations that don’t accommodate change risk suffering badly from that decline,” says Dr Millie.
In the period between the 2011 and 2016 census, there was a decline in followers among most major religions.
The census reported that in 2016 the number of people identifying as Jewish fell by nearly 16,000, as Eastern Orthodox by around 56,000, and as Catholic by almost 150,000.
Dr Millie does not anticipate a change in this downward trend anytime soon.
“It’s difficult to see that there could be any great change to patterns that have been there for such a long time,” says Dr Millie.
“I’m inclined to think that those patterns will continue.”
Dr Millie says that immigration is a key factor in why some religions, such as Islam and Hinduism, saw an increase of followers in the 2016 Census.
“The established religions that are doing worst are those that can’t take advantage of migrant populations.”
Adel Salman, Vice President of the Islamic Council of Victoria, agrees that immigration has been significant in the rising amount of Muslim Australians, but it is not the only factor.
“The Australian Muslim community is very young, and that leads me to assume there will be ongoing growth,” says Salman.
One of the reasons Salman believes Islam will continue to grow in Australia, is that as people learn more about the religion, they discover what he sees as its traditional and compelling qualities.
“When people actually read about Islam, they find out its completely different to what they’ve been conditioned to think,” says Salman.
“I think people are attracted to Islam’s simplicity, its guiding principles, and its values.”
Lee Kohler, the Senior Pastor of the Templestowe Baptist Church, believes that applying the church’s teachings to a contemporary context is essential.
“We teach the scripture and apply it to a modern day setting very practically,” says Kohler.
Baptists recorded an increase of 1000 followers in the 2016 Census, making up 1.43 per cent of the population.
Offering services in other languages and incorporating different genres of music are some of the ways that the Templestowe Baptist Church seeks to stay relevant.
“It doesn’t mean were going to change the message in any way, but it does mean the context in which that’s communicated will change,” says Kohler.
According to Kohler, identifying as a member of the church is not as much a priority for Baptists as it is in other faiths.
“For a lot of Baptist churches, the membership is not necessarily reflective of how many come,” says Kohler.
“I think they would see their identity more as a Christian, rather than a Baptist. It’s about being a follower of Jesus.”
Michelle Laukart, the Youth Pastor at the Templestowe Baptist Church, says that organising and hosting events and programs for the local community is key part of the modern Baptist approach.
“We’ve opened this facility and just encouraged anyone to come,” says Laukart.
She is involved in organising youth engagement programs, such as the upcoming community youth space named ‘The Drop’.
“The idea is for a space for young people that is safe, drug and alcohol free, and where they can get connected to different services,” says Laukart.
“If they want to go down the religious line and find out what we believe, they’re welcome to, but they’re also welcome to just come and play Xbox or hang out in the gym.”