Religion in New Zealand - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Religion in New Zealand is dominated demographically by Christianity, at just over half of the population at the 2006 New Zealand Census

New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings

The New Zealand government department Statistics New Zealand conducts a census of population and dwellings every five years. The census scheduled for 2011 was cancelled due to circumstances surrounding the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, however, and legislation introduced to hold the next...

although regular church attendance

Church attendance

Church attendance refers to the reception of religious services offered by a particular church, or more generally, by any religious organisation.-Participation statistics:...

is probably closer to 15%. Prior to European colonisation

History of New Zealand

The history of New Zealand dates back at least 700 years to when it was discovered and settled by Polynesians, who developed a distinct Māori culture centred on kinship links and land. The first European explorer to discover New Zealand was Abel Janszoon Tasman on 13 December 1642...

the religion of the indigenous Māori population was animistic

Maori religion

Māori religion is the religious beliefs and practice of the Māori, the Polynesian indigenous people of New Zealand.-Traditional Māori religion:...

, but the subsequent efforts of missionaries such as Samuel Marsden

Samuel Marsden

Samuel Marsden was an English born Anglican cleric and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand...

resulted in most Māori converting to Christianity.

New Zealand has no state religion

State religion

A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...

and freedom of religion

Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...

has been protected since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi

Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....

.

More recently the number of adherents of non-Christian religions has increased dramatically due to immigration and dispersal of culture, to around 5% in 2006. Roughly one-third of New Zealanders claim no religious affiliation.

History

New Zealand's religious history after the arrival of the Europeans was characterised by substantial missionary activities (with Māori conversions to Christian faith generally being voluntarily, unlike some missionary work in previous centuries in other parts of the world) as well as by the new immigrants bringing their particular Christian faiths with them.

The religious climate of early New Zealand was influenced by 'voluntarism'. Whereas in Britain, the Anglican Church was an established state church

State religion

A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...

, by the middle of the 19th century even the Anglicans themselves sometimes doubted this arrangement, while the other major denominations of the new colony (Presbyterians, Methodist and Catholics) obviously preferred that the local set up allowed for all their groups.

Initial religious distribution was heavily influenced by the fact that local communities were still small and often came from comparatively small regions in the origin countries in Great Britain. As a result, by the time of the 1921 census, no uniform distribution existed amongst the Non-Māori Christian, with Presbyterians being the dominant group in Otago and Southland, Anglicans in the Far North, the East Cape and various other areas including the Banks Peninsula, while Methodists flourished mainly in the Taranaki and Manawatu. Catholicism meanwhile was the dominant religion on the West Coast with its many mining concerns, and in Central Otago. The Catholic Church, while not being particularly dominant in terms of pure numbers, became especially known throughout the country in the early and middle 20th century for its strong stance on education, establishing large numbers of schools.

Demographics

Religious affiliation

Religious affiliation has been collected in the New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings

New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings

since 1851.
Statistics New Zealand

Statistics New Zealand

Statistics New Zealand is the national statistical office of New Zealand.-Organisation:New Zealand's Minister of Statistics is Maurice Williamson who serves as a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and holds several other posts within government...

state that:

Religious affiliation is a variable of strong interest to religious organisations, social scientists, and can be used as an explanatory variable in studies on topics such as marriage formation and dissolution, fertility and income.

One of the many complications in interpreting religious affiliation data in New Zealand is the large proportion who object to answering the question, roughly 240,000 in 2006. Most reporting of percentages is based on the total number of responses, rather than the total population.

In the early 20th century New Zealand census data indicates that the vast majority of New Zealanders affiliated with Christianity. The total percentages in the 1921 non-Māori census were 45% Anglicans, 19.9% Presbyterians, 13.6% Catholics, 9.5% Methodists and 11.2% Others. Statistics for Māori were only available from 1936, with 35.8% Anglicans, 19.9% Ratana, 13.9% Catholics, 7.2% Ringatu, 7.1% Methodists, 6.5% Latter Day Saints, 1.3% Methodists and 8.3% Others recorded at this census.

The population increased 7.8% between the 2006 and 2001 census. The most notable trend in religion over that time is the 26.2% increase in the number of people indicating no religion

Irreligion

Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...

**Religious affiliation in New Zealand**
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
	2006		2001		1996

Anglican	554,925	14.7	584,793	16.7	631,764	18.8
Roman Catholic	508,437	13.4	485,637	13.9	473,112	14.1
Presbyterian Presbyterianism Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,... , Congregational and Reformed Reformed churches The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...	400,839	10.6	431,139	12.3	470,442	14.0
Christian Christian A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament... (not further defined)	186,234	4.9	192,165	5.5	186,891	5.6
Methodist	121,806	3.2	120,546	3.4	121,650	3.6
Pentecostal	79,155	2.1	67,182	1.9	69,333	2.1
Baptist Baptist Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...	56,913	1.5	51,423	1.5	53,613	1.6
Latter-day Saints	43,539	1.2	39,915	1.1	41,166	1.2
Brethren Brethren Brethren is a name adopted by several Protestant Christian bodies which do not necessarily share historical roots. As classified in The Pilgrim Church by EH Broadbent, the earliest primitive churches to Paulician Brethren, to Bogomil Brethren, to Anabaptist and to Moravian Brethren were historical...	19,617	0.5	20,397	0.6	21,933	0.7
Jehovah's Witness	17,910	0.5	17,829	0.5	19,527	0.6
Adventist Adventist Adventism is a Christian movement which began in the 19th century, in the context of the Second Great Awakening revival in the United States. The name refers to belief in the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It was started by William Miller, whose followers became known as Millerites...	16,191	0.4	14,868	0.4	14,691	0.4
Evangelical	13,836	0.4	11,016	0.3	1,584	0.0
Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodox Church The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...	13,194	0.3	9,576	0.3	6,933	0.2
Salvation Army Salvation Army The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....	11,493	0.3	12,618	0.4	14,625	0.4
Other Christian	16,830	0.4	15,513	0.4	16,734	0.5
Total Christian	2,027,418	53.6	2,043,843	58.4	2,143,995	63.8
Ratana Ratana The Rātana movement is a Māori religion and pan-tribal political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th century New Zealand...	50,565	1.3	48,975	1.4	36,450	1.1
Ringatu Ringatu The Ringatū church was founded in 1868 by Te Kooti Rikirangi. The symbol for the movement is an upraised hand, or "Ringa Tū" in Māori.Te Kooti was one of a number of Māori detained at the Chatham Islands without trial in relation to the East Coast disturbances of the 1860s...	16,419	0.4	15,291	0.4	8,271	0.2
Other Maori Christian	579	0.0	660	0.0	729	0.0
Total Maori Christian	65,550	1.7	63,597	1.8	45,450	1.4
Hindu Hindu Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...	64,392	1.7	39,798	1.1	25,551	0.8
Buddhist	52,362	1.4	41,634	1.2	28,131	0.8
Muslim Muslim A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...	36,072	1.0	23,631	0.7	13,545	0.4
Spiritualism Spiritualism Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living... and New Age New Age The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational... religions	19,800	0.5	16,062	0.5	9,786	0.3
Sikh Sikh A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...	9,507	0.3	5,199	0.1	2,817	0.1
Jewish	6,858	0.2	6,636	0.2	4,809	0.1
Other religions	14,952	0.4	13,581	0.4	7,359	0.2
Total non-Christian religions	203,934	5.4	146,544	4.2	91,998	2.7
No religion	1,297,104	34.3	1,028,049	29.4	867,264	25.8
Not stated/inadequately described	292,974	7.7	287,376	8.2	212,997	6.3
Object to answering	242,610	6.4	239,244	6.8	256,593	7.6
Total non-religious	1,832,688	48.4	1,554,669	44.3	1,336,854	39.7
Total population	4,027,947		3,737,277		3,618,303

(Note: All figures are for the census usually resident population.

Percentages are based on number of responses rather than total population.

In the 1996 Census only one response to religious affiliation was collected. In the 2001 and 2006 Censuses up to four responses were collected.)

Significant trends

Mirroring the recent immigration trends to New Zealand

Immigration to New Zealand

Immigration to New Zealand began with Polynesian settlement in New Zealand, then uninhabited, in the tenth century . The role of Moriori settlement is currently disputed, with some suggesting that the Moriori arrived in New Zealand before the Maori, and were distinct from Maori, & others favouring...

, immigrant religions increased fastest between the census, Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

by 83% to 9,507, Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

by 61.9% to 64,392, Islam by 53% to 36,072 and Buddhist by 25.8% to 52,392. Others that increased faster than the general population include Pentecostal Christianity (Assemblies of God, Elim), Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

, Evangelical Christianity, Latter-day Saints and New Age

New Age

The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...

.

Mainstream Christian denominations, while still representing the largest categories of census religious affiliation, are not keeping pace with population increase. Anglicans fell by 29,868 to 554,925 and Presbyterians decreased by 30,102 to 401,445. While Roman Catholic numbers increased by 22,797 to 508,437 (4.7%), this was less than the total population increase. The only other religious group above 100,000 members is Methodist. Compare this with numbers in 1901, where 42% of people identified with the Anglican denomination, 23% with Presbyterian, and only 14% with Catholic. At this time 1 in 30 people did not identify with any religion compared with 1 in 3 today. If the current trends continue, Christianity will no longer be the majority religion at the 2011 census.

The International Social Survey Programme

International Social Survey Programme

The International Social Survey Programme is a collaboration between different nations conducting surveys covering topics which are useful for social science research. The ISSP researchers develop questions which are meaningful and relevant to all countries which can be expressed in an equal...

was conducted in New Zealand by Massey University in 2008. It received mail-responses from around one thousand New Zealanders above the age of 18, surveying issues of religious belief and practice. The results of this survey indicated that 72% of the population believe in God or a higher power, 15% are agnostic, and 13% are atheist (with a 3% margin of error).

Jedi census phenomenon

Encouraged by an informal email campaign, over 53,000 people listed themselves as Jedi

Jedi

The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...

in New Zealand's 2001 census (over 1.5% of responses). If the Jedi response had been accepted as valid it would have been the second largest religion in New Zealand. However, Statistics New Zealand

Statistics New Zealand

treated Jedi responses as "Answer understood, but will not be counted". The city of Dunedin

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

(a university town) had the highest population of reported Jedi per capita. In the 2006 census only 20,000 people gave Jedi as their religion.

Christianity

After the arrival of large numbers of European immigrants (most of whom were British) Māori enthusiastically adopted Christianity in the early 19th century, and to this day, Christian prayer (karakia) is the expected way to begin and end Māori public gatherings of many kinds. Christianity became the major religion of the country, with the Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian churches all establishing themselves strongly. The arrival of other groups of immigrants did little to change this, as Pacific Islanders and other primarily Christian ethnic groups dominated immigration until the 1970s.

In the following decades, Christianity declined somewhat in percentage terms, mostly due to people declaring themselves as having no religion as well as by the growth of non-Christian religions. The five largest Christian denominations in 2001 remained the largest in 2006. The Catholic and Methodist denominations increased, while Anglican denomination, the Presbyterian, Congregation and Reformed denomination, and undefined Christian denominations decreased. While smaller groups, there were larger percentage increases in affiliations with other Christian denominations between 2001 and 2006: Orthodox Christian religions increased by 37.8 percent, affiliation with Evangelical, Born Again and Fundamentalist religions increased by 25.6 percent, and affiliation with Pentecostal religions increased by 17.8 percent.

Despite strong affiliation to Christianity throughout its history, church attendance in New Zealand has never been high compared to other Western nations. Estimates of church attendance today range from 10–20%, while research by the Bible Society of New Zealand in 2008 indicated that 15% of New Zealanders attend church at least once a week, and 20% attend at least once a month.

Other religions

At the 2006 census around 5% of the New Zealand population affiliated to a non-Christian religion. Statistics New Zealand report that about 80% of the largest non-Christian religious groups are composed of immigrants, almost half of whom have arrived in New Zealand since 2000. The exceptions to this are traditional Maori religion, Judaism (24% immigrant) and Bahá'í (20% immigrant).

Māori religion

Traditional Māori religion, that is, the pre-European belief system of the Māori, was little modified in its essentials from that of their tropical Eastern Polynesian homeland, conceiving of everything, including natural elements and all living things as connected by common descent through whakapapa

Whakapapa

Whakapapa , or genealogy, is a fundamental principle that permeates the whole of Māori culture. However, it is more than just a genealogical 'device'...

or genealogy. Accordingly, all things were thought of as possessing a life force or "mauri". Very few Māori still identify themselves as adhering to traditional Māori beliefs (2,412 people at the 2006 Census).

Hinduism

The 1st New Zealand Hindu Youth Conference was organised on 2 May 2009. More than 130 delegates participated in the conference. Several parliamentarians including Pansy Wong

Pansy Wong

Pansy Yu Fong Wong is a former New Zealand politician. She was New Zealand's first Asian MP, serving as a member of parliament for the National Party from 1996 to 2011...

, Minister for Ethnic Affairs and the Minister of Women’s Affairs addressed the delegates. At the last census, Hindus made up 1.6 percent of the population.

Buddhism

Buddhism is the third largest religion in New Zealand, at 1.3% of the population. In 2007 the NZ$20 million Fo Guang Shan Temple

Fo Guang Shan Temple, Auckland

The Fo Guang Shan temple is a large temple and community centre of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist movement in the East Tamaki/Flatbush suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the country. The temple and complex were built over seven years at a cost NZ$ 20 million. It was...

was opened in Auckland for the promotion of Humanistic Buddhism

Humanistic Buddhism

Humanistic Buddhism is a modern Buddhist philosophy practiced mostly by Mahayana Buddhists. It is the integration of people's spiritual practice into all aspects of their daily lives...

. It is the largest Buddhist temple in New Zealand.

Islam

Islam in New Zealand began with the arrival of Muslim Chinese gold prospectors

Gold prospecting

Gold prospecting is the act of searching for new gold deposits. Methods used vary with the type of deposit sought and the resources of the prospector...

in the 1870s. The first Islamic organisation in New Zealand, the New Zealand Muslim Association

New Zealand Muslim Association

New Zealand Muslim Association - the oldest Islamic institution in New Zealand. It was established in 1950. In 1959 it purchased a house in Ponsonby, central Auckland, and converted it into the first Islamic Centre in the country. In 1960 the NZMA invited Maulana Said Musa Patel from the Gujarat...

, was established in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

in 1950. 1960 saw the arrival of the first imam

Imam

An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...

, Maulana Said Musa Patel

Maulana Said Musa Patel

Ahmed Said Musa Patel was the first Imam in New Zealand and served as the principal spiritual and religious advisor to the Islamic community here from 1960 to 1986....

, from Gujarat, India. Large-scale Muslim immigration began in the 1970s with the arrival of Fiji Indians, followed in the 1990s by refugees from various war-torn countries. In April 1979 the three regional Muslim organisations of Canterbury

Canterbury, New Zealand

The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...

, Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

and Auckland, to create the only national Islamic body – the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand

Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand

The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand was set up in April 1979 by Mazhar Krasniqi and other Muslim community leaders to draw together the regional Islam organisations of Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury into one centralised New Zealand-wide body.-Origins:Following the creation...

. Early in the 1990s many migrants were admitted under New Zealand's refugee quota, from war zones in Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

, Afghanistan, Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

and Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. Since the 11 September attacks there was a spike in conversions to Islam among Maori prisoners in jail. At the 2006 census 0.9% of the population, or 36,072 people, identified themselves as Muslim.

Sikhism

The Sikhs have grown 83.0% between 2001 and 2006 and compose 0.2% of the population. There are thirteen gurdwara

Gurdwara

A Gurdwara , meaning the Gateway to the Guru, is the place of worship for Sikhs, the followers of Sikhism. A Gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib ....

s (the Sikh place of worship) in New Zealand.

Judaism

The history of the Jews here begins in the 1830s including noted early settler Joel Samuel Polack

Joel Samuel Polack

Joel Samuel Polack was one of the first Jewish settlers in New Zealand, arriving in 1831. He is regarded as an authority on pre-colonial New Zealand and his two books are often cited.-Early life:...

and continued to grow from immigration. Among the prominent New Zealand Jews include nineteenth century Premier

Prime Minister of New Zealand

The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

Julius Vogel

Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...

and at least five Auckland mayors

Mayor of Auckland

The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland region in New Zealand...

, including Dove-Myer Robinson

Dove-Myer Robinson

Sir Dove-Myer Robinson was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office....

. The current Prime Minister, John Key

John Key

John Phillip Key is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006....

of the National Party

New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

is of part Ashkenazi Jewish descent, although he does not practice Judaism. Currently, the Jewish population is estimated at around 7,000 out of the total New Zealand population of 4.2 million. The majority of New Zealand Jews reside in Auckland

Auckland

and Wellington

Wellington

, though there is also a significant Jewish community in Dunedin

Dunedin

which is believed to have the world's southernmost permanent synagogue. In 2006, 0.2% of the population identified as Jewish/Judaism.

Spiritualism and New Age religions

This collection of religious beliefs is represented by around 0.5% of the New Zealand population.

Baha'i

The first Bahá'í in the Antipodes

Antipodes

In geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points that are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth....

was Englander Dorothea Spinney who had just arrived from New York in Auckland in 1912. About 1913 there were two converts – Robert Felkin

Robert Felkin

Robert William Felkin was a medical missionary and explorer, a ceremonial magician and member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a prolific author on Uganda and Central Africa, and early anthropologist, with an interest in ethno-medicine and tropical diseases.He was founder in 1903 of the...

who had met `Abdu'l-Bahá

`Abdu'l-Bahá

‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...

in London in 1911 and moved to New Zealand in 1912 and is considered a Bahá'í by 1914 and Margaret Stevenson who first heard of the religion in 1911 and by her own testimony was a Bahá'í in 1913. The first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1926 and their first independent National Spiritual Assembly in 1957. By 1963 there were four Assemblies. At the 2006 census 0.07% of the population, or 2,772 people, identified themselves as Bahá'í. There are some 45 local assemblies and smaller registered groups.

Religion in culture and the arts

Although New Zealand is a largely secular country, religion finds a place in many cultural traditions. Major Christian events like Christmas and Easter are celebrated by religious and non-religious alike, as in many countries around the world. The country's national anthem, God Defend New Zealand

God Defend New Zealand

"God Defend New Zealand" is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the Queen". Legally they have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used, and is popularly referred to as "the national anthem"...

, is strongly Christian in both name and lyrics. There has been occasional controversy over the degree of separation of church and state

Separation of church and state

The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....

, for example the practice of prayer and religious instruction at school assemblies.

The architectural

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

landscape of New Zealand has been affected by religion and the prominence of churches in cities, towns and the countryside attests to its historical importance of Christianity in New Zealand. Notable Cathedrals include the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland

Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland

Holy Trinity Cathedral is situated in Parnell, a residential suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.The first Anglican place of worship in Auckland was "Old" St Paul's, at the bottom of Princes Street, but Parnell residents tired of walking about over paddocks to reach their church. The first church...

, Christchurch Cathedral, Christchurch and St Paul's Cathedral, Wellington

Wellington Cathedral of Saint Paul

This article relates to the Anglican Cathedral of Wellington. For the two other Wellington Cathedrals see: Sacred Heart Cathedral and Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary thumb|View of the chancel...

and the Catholic St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland

St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland

The Cathedral of St Patrick and St Joseph is the Cathedral of the Catholic Bishop of Auckland.-Origins:...

, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and of Saint Mary His Mother, better known as Sacred Heart Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral on Hill Street, Thorndon in Wellington, New Zealand. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Wellington...

, Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch

The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand, commonly known as the Christchurch Basilica, is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch and seat of the Bishop of Christchurch...

, St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin. The iconic Futuna Chapel

Futuna Chapel

Futuna Chapel is a building in the suburb of Karori, Wellington designed by the architect John Scott.Built by the brothers of the Society of Mary, the chapel is named after the Pacific Island of Futuna on which the missionary Peter Chanel, to whom the project is dedicated, was martyred in 1841...

was built as a Wellington retreat center for the Catholic Marist order in 1961. The design by Maori architect John Scott, fuses Modernist and indigenous design principles.

Christian and Maori choral traditions have been blended in New Zealand to produce a distinct contribution to Christian music

Christian music

Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....

, including the popular hymns Whakaria Mai and Tama Ngakau Marie New Zealand hosts one of the largest Christian music festivals in the Southern Hemisphere, Parachute Music Festival

Parachute music festival

The Parachute Music Festival is a Christian music festival held annually at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, New Zealand.The festival is run by Parachute Music and lasts for four days and three nights. 'Parachute' is the Southern Hemisphere's largest Christian music festival, primarily...

Religion in politics

Religion has played and continues to play a 'significant and sometimes controversial role' in the politics of New Zealand

Politics of New Zealand

The politics of New Zealand take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy. The basic system is closely patterned on that of the Westminster System, although a number of significant modifications have been made...

. Although most New Zealanders today consider politicians' religious beliefs to be a private matter, a large number of New Zealand Prime Ministers have been professing Christians, including Jenny Shipley

Jenny Shipley

Dame Jenny Shipley, DNZM , served as the 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 1997 to December 1999, the first woman to hold this office and the first, and to date only, woman to serve as parliamentary leader of the National Party of New Zealand.-Early life:Shipley was born as Jennifer...

, Jim Bolger

Jim Bolger

James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ was the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was elected on the promise of delivering a "Decent Society" following the previous Labour government's economic reforms, known as Rogernomics...

, Geoffrey Palmer, David Lange

David Lange

David Russell Lange, ONZ, CH , served as the 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. He headed New Zealand's fourth Labour Government, one of the most reforming administrations in his country's history, but one which did not always conform to traditional expectations of a...

, Robert Muldoon

Robert Muldoon

Sir Robert David "Rob" Muldoon, GCMG, CH served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984, as leader of the governing National Party. Muldoon had been a prominent member of the National party and MP for the Tamaki electorate for some years prior to becoming leader of the party...

, Walter Nash

Walter Nash

Sir Walter Nash, GCMG, CH served as the 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960, and was also highly influential in his role as Minister of Finance...

, Keith Holyoake

Keith Holyoake

Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, KG, GCMG, CH, QSO, KStJ was a New Zealand politician. The only person to have been both Prime Minister and Governor-General of New Zealand, Holyoake was National Party Prime Minister from 20 September 1957 to 12 December 1957, then again from 12 December 1960 to 7...

, and Michael Joseph Savage

Michael Joseph Savage

Michael Joseph Savage was the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand.- Early life :Born in Tatong, Victoria, Australia, Savage first became involved in politics while working in that state. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1907. There he worked in a variety of jobs, as a miner, flax-cutter and...

. However both the current Prime Minister John Key

John Key

John Phillip Key is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006....

and his predecessor Helen Clark

Helen Clark

Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...

are agnostic. The current Deputy Prime Minister Bill English

Bill English

Simon William "Bill" English is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Infrastructure of New Zealand.English entered parliament in 1990 as a National party MP representing the Wallace electorate...

is Roman Catholic and has acknowledged that religious groups should contribute to political discourse. Sir Paul Reeves

Paul Reeves

Sir Paul Alfred Reeves, ONZ, GCMG, GCVO, CF, QSO was Archbishop and Primate of New Zealand from 1980 to 1985 and the 15th Governor-General of New Zealand from 22 November 1985 to 20 November 1990...

, Anglican Archbishop and Primate of New Zealand

Archbishop of New Zealand

The Archbishop of New Zealand is the primate, or head, of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. However, since Whakahuihui Vercoe stepped down at the end of his two-year term as archbishop in 2006, the church has decided that three bishops shall share the position and style of...

from 1980–85, was appointed Governor General from 1985–1990.

Christian political parties have never gained significant support, and have often been characterised by controversy and public disgrace. Many of these are now defunct, such as the Christian Democrat Party

Christian Democrat Party (New Zealand)

The Christian Democrat Party of New Zealand was a Christian political party established in 1995. It contested the 1996 general election as part of the Christian Coalition with the Christian Heritage Party....

, the Christian Heritage Party

Christian Heritage New Zealand

The Christian Heritage Party of New Zealand was a New Zealand political party espousing Christian values...

which collapsed after leader Graham Capill

Graham Capill

Graham John Capill is a former New Zealand Christian leader and politician. He served as the first leader of the now-defunct Christian Heritage Party, stepping down in 2003. In 2005 he was convicted of multiple sexual offences against girls under 12 years of age and sentenced to nine years...

was convicted as a child sex offender, Destiny New Zealand

Destiny New Zealand

Destiny New Zealand was a Christian political party in New Zealand centred on the charismatic/pentecostal Destiny Church. The party described itself as "centre-right". It placed a strong focus on socially conservative values and argued that the breakdown of the traditional family was a primary...

, The Family Party and the New Zealand Pacific Party

New Zealand Pacific Party

The New Zealand Pacific Party was a Christian political party that existed in New Zealand from 2008 to 2010. The party was founded as a vehicle for former Labour MP Taito Phillip Field, who was subsequently convicted for bribery and corruption...

whose leader Taito Phillip Field

Taito Phillip Field

Taito Phillip Hans Field is a Samoan New Zealand politician. He was a Member of Parliament for south Auckland electorates from 1993 to 2008. Field was a minister outside Cabinet in a Labour-led government from 2003 to 2005. Following charges of bribery and perverting the course of justice, he was...

was convicted on bribery and corruption charges. United Future has been more successful, which although not a Christian party has had significant Christian backing. The two main political parties, Labour

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

and National

New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

, are not religious, although religious groups have at times played a significant role (e.g. the Ratana

Ratana

The Rātana movement is a Māori religion and pan-tribal political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th century New Zealand...

Movement). Politicians are often involved in public dialogue with religious groups. The Exclusive Brethren gained public notoriety during the 2005 election

New Zealand general election, 2005

The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...

for distributing anti-Labour pamphlets, which former National Party leader Don Brash

Don Brash

Donald "Don" Thomas Brash , a New Zealand politician, was Leader of the Opposition, parliamentary leader of the National Party from 28 October 2003 to 27 November 2006 and the leader of the ACT Party for 28th April 2011 - 26 November 2011...

later admitted to knowledge of.

Murray Smith was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1972 to 1975. His interest in governance continued when he later enrolled in the Bahá’í Faith and contributed in national and international roles within the Bahá'í Community

Bahá'í International Community

The Bahá'í International Community, or the BIC, is an international non-governmental organization representing the members of the Bahá'í Faith; it was first chartered in March 1948 with the United Nations, and currently has affiliates in over 180 countries and territories.The BIC seeks to "promote...

.

New Zealand has no established religion, although this is not stated formally in its constitution. The Treaty of Waitangi

Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....

, which itself has a complicated status within New Zealand law, contains a last-minute addition concerning freedom of religion (sometimes called the 'fourth' article). In 2007, the government issued a National Statement on Religious Diversity

National Statement on Religious Diversity

The National Statement on Religious Diversity is a result of the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme, and is intended to provide “a framework for the recognition of New Zealand's diverse faith communities and their harmonious interaction with each other, with government and with other groups in...

containing in its first clause "New Zealand has no official or established religion." The statement caused controversy in some quarters, opponents arguing that New Zealand's head of state Queen Elizabeth II is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England

Supreme Governor of the Church of England

The Supreme Governor of the Church of England is a title held by the British monarchs which signifies their titular leadership over the Church of England. Although the monarch's authority over the Church of England is not strong, the position is still very relevant to the church and is mostly...

. However, the Queen does not act in that capacity as the Queen of New Zealand; although she retains the styling of Defender of the Faith

Defender of the Faith

Defender of the Faith may refer to:*Fidei defensor , a title of several European Christian monarchs.*Defender of the Faith, a title of the heads of the ruling Solomonic dynasty of the former Ethiopian Empire....

within her official title in that role. A poll of 501 New Zealanders in June 2007 found that 58% of respondents did not think Christianity should be New Zealand's official religion.

However, there has been increasing recognition of Māori spirituality in political discourse and even in certain government legislation. In July 2001 MP Rodney Hide

Rodney Hide

Rodney Hide is a New Zealand politician who was leader of the political party ACT New Zealand from 2004 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he represented the electorate of Epsom as its Member of Parliament. Rodney Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and Minister of...

alerted parliament to a state funded hikitapu (tapu-lifting) ceremony at the opening of the foreign embassy in Bangkok. It was revealed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had a standard policy of employing Māori ritual experts for the opening of official offices around the world. The Resource Management Act 1991 recognises the role of Māori spiritual beliefs in planning and environmental management. In 2002 local Māori expressed concerns that the development of the Auckland-Waikato expressway would disturb the taniwha
Taniwha
In Māori mythology, taniwha are beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers...

, or guardian spirit, of the Waikato River, leading to delays and alterations to the project.

In New Zealand blasphemous libel

Blasphemy law in New Zealand

In New Zealand, Section 123 of the Crimes Act 1961 allows for imprisonment up to one year for anyone who publishes any "blasphemous libel". Prosecution may proceed only with the leave of the Attorney-General....

is a crime, but cases can only be prosecuted with the approval of the Attorney-General and the defence of opinion is allowed: "It is not an offence against this section to express in good faith and in decent language, or to attempt to establish by arguments used in good faith and conveyed in decent language, any opinion whatever on any religious subject." The only prosecution, in 1922, was unsuccessful.

External links

Statistics New Zealand – religion affiliation summary.
Statistics New Zealand – full religious affiliation tables.

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