The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) notes that over the past 50 years, there has been a steady decline in the proportion of Australians who report an affiliation with religion. Overall, affiliation with Christianity decreased from 52 per cent in 2016 to 44 per cent in 2021. That means the difference between the number of people who claim to have an affiliation with a religious denomination and those who claim not to belong to a religion is minimal. The 2021 census reveals that an increasing number of people profess not to have a religion at all – a staggering 39 per cent. Millennials had the highest proportion at 46 per cent.

Perhaps, Australians should carefully consider what they might be losing as a society by abandoning their Christian values and traditions. Whenever people turn away from religion, there are consequences for society. It is therefore an appropriate time for an accounting of the tangible human and social benefits of religion and the recognition of the potential disadvantages to Australians becoming less religious, given the growing number of them proclaiming not to have a religious affiliation or belief.

Last Friday, I had the great honour of attending Dr Edith Moens’ Requiem Mass held at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Kenmore, Brisbane. Edith is the beloved wife of my esteemed friend and mentor Emeritus Professor Gabriël A. Moens AM, a prolific conservative author who also writes for this publication. Edith’s passing occurred after a brave six-year battle with cancer. She was a marvellous person, who always read and commented upon Gabriël’s work, and provided him with advice on the strength of his arguments. She will be greatly missed by all, especially by her husband.

Beethoven’s background music, a piece called Für Elise, preceded the funeral service. Edith used to play it on her piano at home. The entrance hymn Amazing Grace by John Newton was the opening song of the service. I had the honour of reading two passages of Holy Scripture. But what touched me the most was Professor Moens’ beautiful eulogy. Visibly moved, he touchingly told us about his life with his beloved wife and expressed all his love for her and the hope that she is in Heaven. He indicated that she had always been there for him.

The peace and serenity of the event was truly remarkable. In his eulogy, Professor Moens told the congregation that he had asked Edith why she was leaving him. ‘It is God’s will,’ were her words, the last spoken by Edith before she passed away. In her dying minutes, Edith, in saying it is God’s will’ sought to alleviate her husband’s pain, and reminded him of the purpose of life, and strengthened his capacity to understand what was happening. The eulogy was a true and genuine expression of belief in God and the power of freedom of religion in Australia.

I have attended many funerals. The comfort of those who believe in God is to know that this life is fleeting and that there is life after death. The big question is how to know if we will spend eternity with God. Religion, in fact, brings great comfort to scores of people. Faith in God and hope in eternal life are consolations to those who lose their loved ones. Jesus Christ told the thief who was crucified next to him that he would be with him immediately after his death, and before the resurrection of his body. The apostle Paul said that this absence of the body is to be present with the Lord.

On the other hand, those who do not believe in God are often filled with hopelessness and despair. One Oxford professor said that atheism is a fairy-tale for people afraid of the light. Christianity, on the other hand, offers the best possible outcome for those who follow religion. After leaving this life, believers are convinced that they will be in the presence of God and reunited with their loved ones. Living without struggles and fear. Contentment, joy, and love – forever!

In these dark, dystopian times it is especially important that we discover the importance of faith. People talk about a mental health epidemic in Australia. But the real epidemic is the rejection of a firm belief in the afterlife.

Interestingly, near-death experiences confirm the existence of a ‘bright light’ and the difficulty of explaining such an exultant experience. Most near-death experiences involve positive encounters. However, some studies reveal unpleasant experiences for those who reject God; this conforms with relevant passages in the Bible according to which God is judging people who do not seek sincere repentance.

At the very least, these cases of after-life experience appear to demonstrate that the person’s consciousness continues to function after the decree of clinical death. It partially explains a postmortem existence in some way. After the brain stops working, after the heart stops beating, and doctors declare the patient dead, the person’s conscience appears to survive.

Regardless, Australians should more carefully consider how much they might be losing as a society by becoming less religious. Greg Sheridan, a leading Australian journalist, soberly predicts, ‘The eclipse of Christianity will be like the eclipse of the sun. Darkness will be the result.’ When Christianity is entirely eradicated from our society and culture, it will be simply impossible to ignore the fact that without belief in God, there is no final human accountability. ‘Life is just what you can get away with, and the ultimate price to pay,’ Sheridan says.

And yet, even Australian major political parties regularly display animosity towards committed Christians. Indeed, these are not isolated instances of a broader, leftist agenda. In fact, voices that are extremely critical of Christianity and suspicious of any Christian influence in politics are becoming increasingly more influential and bigoted, even in the so-called conservative side of politics.

Rodney Stark was one of the world’s leading authorities on the sociology of religion. For many years, this Pulitzer Prize nominee was a sociology professor at the University of Washington. To rise above the din of the ‘culture wars’ and to focus exclusively on the facts, Stark, in his book America’s Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists, carefully measured the overall effects of religious belief on a society. Comparing less religious and irreligious people, Stark concluded that religious people:

• Are much less likely to commit crimes at all ages.
• Are far more likely to contribute even to secular charities, to volunteer their time to socially beneficial programs, and to be active in civic affairs.
• Enjoy superior mental health — they are happier, less neurotic.
• Enjoy superior physical health, having an average life expectancy more than seven years longer than that of the irreligious.
• Express a higher degree of satisfaction with their marriage and are substantially less likely to abuse their spouses and children.
• Perform better on standardised achievement tests and are far less likely to have dropped out of school, which is especially true for ethnic minorities.
• Are far less subject to being on unemployment or welfare.

According to a former Australian High Court justice, the ruling classes are objectively ‘rejecting a large part of the entire life and history of the nation — because Christianity is so integrated with the national life and history that to annihilate it is to destroy that national life, which can live only in memory.’ They go on to explain that, among the ruling ‘elites’, there is an undeniable ‘hostility to religion which has not been seen in the West since the worst excesses of the French Revolution’.

And yet, most people effectively need religion. It gives them hope and comfort. In a world torn apart by wars and conflicts of all sorts, it reminds them of an ultimate source of support and assistance. This is a discussion that reminds me of St Paul’s comments to the Ephesus Christians about their condition before they became believers. He said: ‘You were at that time separate from Christ … not having hope and without God in the world.’ (Eph. 2:12 NASB).

‘Not having hope and without God in the world…’ surely is one of the saddest statements in the whole human vocabulary when we understand the implications. Is it any wonder so many Australians are depressed and hopeless, taking their own lives?

‘It is God’s will,’ the last words of Dr Edith Moens, are a stark reminder of the importance of religious freedom in Australia. It is something worth fighting for.

Prof. Augusto Zimmermann PhD, LLM, LLB, CIArb is a former member of the Law Reform Commission in Western Australia and a former associate dean (research) at Murdoch University, School of Law. He is also the President and Founder of WALTA Legal Theory Association.