Religion and Spirituality in Australia: A Demographic Analysis with Dr Ruth Powell

<p>Sociologist Ruth Powell joins Jonathan for a conversation about religion and spirituality in contemporary Australia. They discuss the recent historic census which saw those identifying as religious drop below 50%, demographic trends within different Christian denominations, the growth of non-Christian minority religions, the surprising and growing interest in Christianity among younger generations and what surveys are telling us about spirituality and its connection (or disconnection) with religion.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Dr Ruth Powell is Director of <a href="http://www.ncls.org.au">NCLS Research</a> and an Associate Professor and Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at Charles Sturt University. She studies the sociology and psychology of religion, with a special focus on Christianity and Christian churches in Australia.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The Political Animals is hosted by Dr <a href="https://www.jonathancole.com.au/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jonathan Cole</a>, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/reign-of-god-9780567707468/">The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority</a> and <a href="https://wipfandstock.com/9781532679346/christian-political-theology-in-an-age-of-discontent/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality</a>.</p> <p><br></p> <p>You can follow Jonathan and the show on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ThePoliticalAnimalsPodcast" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/polanimalspod" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" ta