Changes

==Religion==

==Religion==

Australia is a [[secular]] nation, in that it has no established religion associated with the Government. Of Australia's population of around 20 million, approximately 1.5 million attend weekly religious services <ref>[http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?docid=2250&track=82083| National Church Life Survey 2004]</ref>. The Australian public school system is described as "free, secular and compulsory" with the secular meaning without favour to any particular religion - most primary schools, however, do offer some form on non-compulsory religious education according to the parents' wishes.

Australia is a [[secular]] nation, in that it has no established religion associated with the Government. Of Australia's population of around 20 million, approximately 1.5 million attend weekly religious services <ref>[http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?docid=2250&track=82083| National Church Life Survey 2004]</ref>. The Australian public school system is described as "free, secular and compulsory" with the secular meaning without favour to any particular religion - most primary schools, however, do offer some form on non-compulsory religious education according to the parents' wishes.  The state systems of a number of states offer studies in religion at the senior level.

There is a large Catholic school system in Australia with most parishes having their own primary school and many hundreds of Catholic High Schools across the country.  There are also a large number of independent schools founded by various religions or demominations of the Christian faith - some hold that religious background to be more important than others.

There is a large Catholic school system in Australia with most parishes having their own primary school and many hundreds of Catholic High Schools across the country.  There are also a large number of independent schools founded by various religions or demominations of the Christian faith - some hold that religious background to be more important than others.