From: fun@thingy.apana.spaaaamtraaaaap.org.au (David Gerard)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Called up Australian Bureau of Statistics today
Date: 8 Aug 1997 20:05:59 +1000
Organization: Bruderhof Xenuetics Australia Corporation
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Data from the 1996 Census is finally coming through. I had a look at the
Web site (http://www.abs.gov.au) and it had nothing about religions. So I
gave 'em a call.

SUMMARY: If you want to know the actual count of self-proclaimed
Scientologists in Australia as per Census, you can either buy the complete
classification count of 'Religion' right now from the ABS for $100, or
wait till December 1997 (or mid-1998) for the CLIB CD-ROM to hit your
library and look it up yourself. Data for past Censuses should be in your
State library - at some point in my copious free time I will check these
past figures myself (or maybe you can, Frank).



The 'Religion' question was the only voluntary question on the Census, but
that's OK because that's what I'm after: the number of people in Australia
who will say that they do indeed consider themselves Scientologists when
filling in a census form anonymously.

Summarised data for the major religions (generally the Christian ones) is
available now. The publication is titled 'Census of Population and
Housing: Selected Social and Housing Characteristics', the one for all of
Australia is catalogue number 2015.0 and you can buy it from the ABS for
$26 (you can also get separate ones for each State for $25), or go to your
State library and look it up yourself (it should be on the shelves soon or
now).

Summarised data for the small religions is more trouble. The ABS can sell
you the data right now - a full classification count of 'Religion' - for
$100, if you're that burningly keen (I'm not). Else, you can wait for CLIB
(the Census on CD-ROM) to show up at your State library and look it up
yourself.

CLIB comes in three releases (as more data is processed - millions of
Census forms do take a while to get through). The first release will be in
libraries by December 1997 and *may* include a full classification count
for 'Religion'. The second release will be around May to July 1998 and
will *almost certainly* include the small religions. The third will be
around March 1999 and should include everything.



By the way, I filled in 'SubGenius' on my form, and urged all others who
sincerely (hand on heart) felt this was their religion to do so as well.



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