Tamworth is one of Australia's bastions of faith, with about 70 per cent of the city's residents believing in God.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bucking a national trend, more than half believe in the Christian one.
More than 500 members of five Tamworth churches will gather this month to celebrate faith, in one of the biggest religious meetings in years.
North Tamworth Anglican Church senior minister Scott Dunlop pointed to the recent census for evidence that religion in the region remains unusually strong, within an increasingly secular country.
He said the recent census shows that the city has resisted a nation-wide shift away from religion.
READ MORE:
"Generally, the Christian faith has had a significant effect in Tamworth community," he said.
"And you see that when you look at the census data compared to other areas.
"The churches are strong across our community, which is great."
According to the census, 57 per cent of the 52,436 residents of Tamworth hold some stripe of Christian faith. It's substantially higher than the national figure of 43.9 per cent.
The largest group, representing 12,114 Tamworth residents, identify as Anglicans, including senior minister of North Tamworth Anglican Church Scott Dunlop.
Tamworth boasts no fewer than five local Anglican Churches, plus several more in the surrounding region.
Together with churches from other faiths, the district will unite this month to take part in a national event to celebrate the depth of their faith.
Billed as a unique 12-part video series, Faith Runs Deep is a travelling documentary show about famous Australians and their relationship with religion.
Former deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, now a Mullaley farmer, is featured in the show.
The documentary is intended to serve as "an inspiration and encouragement to the church," according to Olive Tree CEO Karl Faase, who produced it.
Senior Minister at St Paul's Anglican Church Darrell Parker said they're hoping people who don't regularly attend church will front up to get some answers to the big questions.
The coronavirus pandemic had shaken up people's assumptions about the world, he said.
"We've got a great story to tell and the world's in a place now where some good stories need to be told," he said.
"And people are asking big questions about meaning and purpose and all that kind of stuff. They always have I guess. But I think the COVID lockdown and people being isolated, has created opportunities for people to think about those big, big, big issues."
The documentary will be played at the Peter Chiswell Hall, at Calrossy Anglican School's William Cowper Campus on August 11 at 7pm, as a free live event open to the community.
Special guests country music celebrity musician Colin Buchanan, and indigenous man Peter Gibbs, will attend the event.
The second most popular faith in Tamworth is Catholicism. There are 13,742 Catholics in Tamworth.
Some 19,634 Tamworth residents have some kind of secular belief, a spiritual belief or just no religious affiliation.
The city's smallest religion, Judaism, has just 13 members.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News