A century ago New Zealand was one of most religious places on the planet, with the great majority of Kiwis, Pakeha and Maori alike, believing in some form of Christianity.

Fast forward a few generations and not only Christianity, but belief in any form of religion, has dissipated to the point where almost half of all Kiwis don't associate with any religious belief at all.

Comparing the decline in religious belief over the past five national censuses shows just how accelerated non-belief has become since the 1990s.

So what's behind the decline?

Massey University professor Peter Lineham has studied religious history in New Zealand for decades, and says today's society does not value religious commitment, as our free time and financial circumstances have changed.

"Historically, religion flourished among what we would call middle income people, the middle classes. Now today, that's the area of tremendous decline in religiosity."

Auckland is still our most religious city

New Zealand's biggest city is by far the country's most religious, but the topography of where that religion is based has changed markedly.

"In the old days, Remuera and the North Shore were the areas of strong religious groups," Professor Lineham says.

"Today they're significantly weaker, that's because in South Auckland and West Auckland you have these very large pentecostal mega-churches frequented by Pasifika peoples, and the large Catholic churches are still flourishing."

Migrants are far more religious than Pakeha and Maori

Most migrants to New Zealand bring with them some kind of religious belief - but they arrive in a country that has very little.

Professor Lineham says Pacific Island peoples, Chinese, Koreans and Filipinos are now the dominant people in New Zealand's traditional churches.

"That's a very big change. New Zealand is very irreligious compared to most other societies. Koreans come here to live and are alarmed by our secular society." Continue reading

Sources

• Article by Tony Wright, Newshub.
• Image: NZ Catholic

Donald Trump is now the president-elect of the United States and like it or not, we're all on board for what promises to be a bumpy ride.

But while much could be said (and certainly is) about the dire global consequences of the election, I've decided that in the spirit of making the most of what you have, the result is a wonderful opportunity to focus on just how developed we are in New Zealand compared with the so-called "leader" of the developed world: America.

So here, fellow Kiwis, are some great reasons to be really, really, REALLY happy this week.

1. We're not building a wall.
As a coastal nation geographically distant from other countries, New Zealand has never faced problems with border hopping.

But despite this we have a "say hello" rather than "wave goodbye" immigration policy and a proud tradition of opening up our borders to those in need. This year 70,000 new migrants have been welcomed, mostly from India, China, the Philippines, UK and South Africa.

2. We don't ban people because of their religion.
Provided he's true to his word (which, fortunately, is not at all guaranteed), President Trump will shortly begin banning all Muslims from entering his dominion and monitor those already there.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand we've had an almost 30 per cent increase in the number of people affiliating with the Muslim religion since 2006 - almost 75 per cent of those made up of people born outside New Zealand. Assalamu alaikum, y'all! Continue reading

• Eva Bradley is Hawke's Bay Today Weekend columnist