Atheist Foundation of Australia

To encourage and to provide a means of expression for informed free-thought on philosophical and social issues.
To advocate for and safeguard the rights of all non-religious people.
To serve as a focal point for the community of non-religious people.
To offer verifiable information in place of superstition and to promote logic and reason.
To promote atheism.

2026 Census No Religion campaign

Your census – Your truth.

Australia’s census doesn’t reflect what we actually believe.

Millions of Australians still mark a religion they were raised in — not one they live by. The result is a national portrait that’s out of date.

And it matters. Census data shapes how billions in public funding are allocated, how much influence religion holds in policy, and whose values get amplified in public life.

The next Australian Census is on Tuesday 11 August 2026. When you reach the religion question, pause. Don’t answer for the person you were raised to be. Answer for who you actually are today.

If faith is no longer part of your life, mark ‘No religion’.

Atheism is not a religion, mark ‘No Religion’ in the census.

Visit the Campaign Web Site

A joint letter from pro-secular organisations

A joint letter from pro-secular organisations Friday 5 July 2024 Dear Member of Parliament, Our organisations represent the worldviews of pro-secular and non-religious people across Victoria. We are writing to urge you to support modernising the parliamentary…

Submission to the Productivity Commission’s Draft Report on Philanthropy

Atheist Foundation of Australia Incorporated (AFA) Submission to the Productivity Commission’s Draft Report on Philanthropy February 2024 The Atheist Foundation of Australia Incorporated (AFA) was established in 1970 and has members in every State and Territory…

Atheists disturbed over religious discrimination by NSW Government

The NSW government has rejected the nomination of Sydney Atheists President, Steve Marton, to sit on its newly devised Faith Affairs Council. According to the most recent Census, one third of the NSW population is non-religious. But the views of this large…

What do “human rights” mean to you?

The Human Rights Commission has released a video marking 10th December as the 75th anniversary of the Declaration for Human Rights. The video features several people stating what human rights mean to them, including Steve Marton who currently serves on the Atheist…

Atheist applies for seat on new NSW Religious Affairs Council

President of Sydney Atheists and Committee Member of The Atheist Foundation of Australia, Steve Marton, has applied for nomination to the NSW Government’s inaugural Faith Affairs Council. The Minns Government has called for a 16-member council to be set up to provide…

Secularism Australia Conference

With guest speakers already sharing their excitement surrounding the Secularism Australia Conference, we would like to offer you the opportunity to purchase tickets at the discounted early-bird rate, which will conclude on Saturday 7 October. The early-bird rate of…

See what we’ve been up to

The Atheist Foundation of Australia Committee would like to thank for your support. We also like to update you of two of our important and successful achievements in the last two years. In 2021, we took a leading role in association with six other free-thought…

Atheism is not a religion, mark “no religion”

As you know, the Australian Government is conducting a census of the population on the 10th August 2021. The census is an important snapshot of the country and informs government and businesses in their decision making. Census data is used to plan and deliver services…

Census21 No Religion Campaign Rejects Fake News and Fearmongering

The Census No Religion campaign is aware of a particularly hateful and misleading message circulating on social media, by email and SMS text message. The message suggests that non-religious people should incorrectly record that they are religious or face the…

Census No Religion Campaign

On the 10th of August, a census is being conducted to collect important data on the circumstances and attitudes of the Australian people. Your friends and family will be asked if they hold religious beliefs, and it’s an important chance for them to think carefully…

Religious Discrimination Bill is resurrected

In a recent webinar with Family Voice Australia, Kevin Andrews (Liberal Party Back Bencher) indicated that “compromise had been reached” regarding the proposed Religious Discrimination Bill, and that it would be introduced into the Parliament “shortly”. Mr. Andrews…

Religious Freedom Bill Submission

Religious Freedom Bill Submission Religious Discrimination Bill – Second Exposure Draft Date: 19 January 2020 Submission type: Non-Profit – Atheist Foundation Of Australia and Sydney Atheists Email: [email protected] Confidentiality: For Public…

Submission to the Australian Bureau of Statistics – Review of 2021 Census Topics

The question on religion in the Australian Census contains an element which is problematical in obtaining accurate figures. The problem is that it asks “What is the person’s religion?” This is a leading question and can elicit a religion of baptism when the person may…

Religions are like fireflies. They require darkness in order to shine.

Arthur Schopenhauer

I cannot be angry at God, in whom I do not believe.

Simone de Beauvoir

“Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

Douglas Adams

ATHEISM = Liberation through Reason and Knowledge.

Brenda Cornish

Scientific research confirms that humans are a link in the evolutionary life chain. There is no credible evidence for the existence of an immortal supernatural element. Our only life is here and now. Make it worthy of a moral person.

Keith S. Cornish

I’m an atheist, and that’s it. I believe there’s nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for other people.

Katharine Hepburn

Existentialism isn’t so atheistic that it wears itself out showing that God doesn’t exist. Rather, it declares that even if God did exist, that would change nothing.

Jean-Paul Sartre

I count religion but a childish toy, And hold there is no sin but ignorance.

Christopher Marlowe

The intelligent beings in these regions should therefore not be surprised if they observe that their locality in the universe satisfies the conditions that are necessary for their existence. It is a bit like a rich person living in a wealthy neighborhood not seeing any poverty.

Stephen Hawking

If you want to get together in any exclusive situation and have people love you, fine – but to hang all this desperate sociology on the idea of The Cloud-Guy who has The Big Book, who knows if you’ve been bad or good – and CARES about any of it – to hang it all on that, folks, is the chimpanzee part of the brain working.

Frank Zappa

Atheist Foundation of Australia

2026 Census No Religion campaign

Your census – Your truth.

Australia’s census doesn’t reflect what we actually believe.

Campaigns