why Australian women have so little trust in religious institutions

The Albanian government is weighing the costs of fulfilling an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when they were incorporated into state anti-discrimination laws. However, the debate over religious discrimination became toxic under former Prime Minister Scott Morrison when it became linked to the rights of religious schools to discriminate against LGBTIQ+ staff and students.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that the government has a draft law ready. However, it will not introduce it without bipartisan support because “now is not the time to have a divisive debate, especially with the rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.”

Religious discrimination may not be addressed by the Australian parliament anytime soon. Albanians must first convince opposition leader Peter Dutton to support legislation that protects religious people as well as LGBTIQ+ staff and students at religious schools.

Second, he will face an electorate that seems at best ambivalent about the issue of religious discrimination, while remaining deeply concerned about discrimination against LGBTIQ+ groups.

Confidence in organized religion is low

Our new research report, Trust in Religion Among Women in Australia, highlights some electoral realities relevant to legislating to protect religion in Australia today. The report analyzes data from the nationally representative Australian Cooperative Election Survey, conducted from May 2 to 18, 2022. We surveyed 1,044 voters, 531 of whom were women. Although we analyzed the data for both men and women, we found that women were significantly more likely than men to express distrust of religion, which is why our report focused on them.

Our findings paint a bleak picture for religious organizations that hope to gain political traction based on confidence in their ability to act ethically and responsibly.

Internationally, Australians – especially women – have very low trust in organized religion. This gendered outcome makes Australia an outlier in the Western world and is likely related to women’s concerns about children in the care of religious organizations. Key findings include:

• about a third of Australian women do not trust organized religion and religious leaders

• Distrust is greatest among younger women: almost half of all women between the ages of 18 and 29 do not trust religious leaders

• among religious women, about 10% have no confidence in organized religion and religious leaders, while about half have “not very much confidence” in either

• LGBTIQ+ women have the lowest levels of trust in Australia. Nearly two-thirds have no confidence in religious leaders

• Women living in outer and remote regions of Australia are significantly more likely to distrust religion than women living in cities and inner regions.

Child abuse scandals have eroded trust

Consistent with international studies, our research shows that religious child abuse scandals have significantly eroded trust. Australian women are deeply skeptical about the ability of religious leaders to protect the children in their care. Almost half even report little or no confidence.

They also question the ability of religious leaders to respond to the findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. More than half indicate that they have little or no confidence in this. Childcare concerns are highest among LGBTIQ+ women, likely reflecting concerns about discrimination against LGBTIQ+ schoolchildren and child abuse.

Trust influences how women view the role of religion in the public sphere. We found that about four in five women who do not trust religion believe that religious organizations should no longer receive tax exemptions from the government. About two-thirds of this group also believe that the government should stop funding religious schools.

Similarly, two-thirds of women who do not trust religion believe that religious organizations should play a smaller role, or no role at all, in school guidance. About 60% of this group also believes that religious organizations should play a smaller role, or no role at all, in primary and secondary education.

Can trust be regained?

The report concludes that organized religion is facing a deep crisis of confidence, especially among women. Concerns about children are paramount in shaping women’s opinions about religious organizations and the services they offer. The high levels of distrust among younger women indicate that the crisis is generational and cannot be corrected without committed interventions on the part of religious organizations and governments.

If left unchecked, this crisis has the potential to undermine Australia’s social and economic fabric, given the prominent role of religious organizations in providing education, health and social services.

Religious organizations must work to win or gain the trust of the electorate, especially among regional and remote communities. The current national emergency of violence against women may provide an opportunity for religious organizations to build this trust. This is especially true given the critical role they now play in the once community-run outsourced domestic violence services sector.

Politically, this crisis of confidence does not bode well for governments seeking support for legislation that appears to offer greater protection to organized religion.

In particular, any protections perceived to infringe on children’s rights will almost certainly be rejected by those large parts of the Australian electorate who report little or no trust in religion. The Albanians will have to find the balance.