Religion in New Zealand

The Religion of Māori people before European colonisation has been generally and somewhat dismissively categorised as having been polytheistic and animistic. Efforts of Christian missionaries and their churches resulted in most Māori converting to Christianity, though with the development of some significant, distinctly Māori churches or denominations such as the Te Nakahi and Pai Mārire 'movements,' and the Ringatū and Rātana churches. In the 1840s, it is probable that a larger proportion of Māori regularly attended church services than people did in the United Kingdom.{{citation |last=Stenhouse |first=John |entry=Religion and society - Māori and religion |entry-url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/religion-and-society/page-4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817205258/https://teara.govt.nz/en/religion-and-society/page-4 |archive-date=2017-08-17 |encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand }}

With the vast majority of 19th-century European immigrants coming from the British Isles, three Christian denominations predominated post-colonial New Zealand: Anglicanism, Catholicism and Presbyterianism. The tendency for Scottish immigrants to settle in Otago and Southland saw Presbyterianism predominate in these regions while Anglicanism predominated elsewhere; the effect of this is still seen in religious affiliation statistics today (see the map below). Subsequent arrivals of other groups of immigrants did little to change Christianity being the major religion, e.g., the influx of Pacific Islanders and other primarily Christianised ethnic groups dominated immigration until, say, 2000.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Immigration since 1991 has led to slight yet steady growth in the number of adherents of south and south-east Asian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, particularly in Auckland.{{Cite news|url = http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10837744|title = Christian faiths losing out to other religions|work = The New Zealand Herald|date = October 2012|last1 = Lincoln. Tan@Nzherald. Co. Nz @Lincolntannzh|first1 = Lincoln Tan Lincoln Tan is the New Zealand Herald's Diversity|access-date = 2 May 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200413191538/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10837744|archive-date = 13 April 2020|url-status = live}} The number and proportion of people affiliating with non-Christian religions has increased to around nine per cent of the population.{{cite web |title=2018 Census totals by topic national highlights |url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/2018-Census-totals-by-topic/Download-data/2018-census-totals-by-topic-national-highlights.xlsx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413185957/https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/2018-Census-totals-by-topic/Download-data/2018-census-totals-by-topic-national-highlights.xlsx |archive-date=13 April 2020 |access-date=30 March 2020 |publisher=Statistics New Zealand |at=Table 26}} Hinduism is the second-most popular religion with 2.9 per cent of the population. Sikhism is the fastest-growing faith.{{Cite web |url=https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/116295933/sikhs-in-new-zealand-have-tripled-in-number-since-2006 |title=Sikhs in New Zealand have quadrupled in number since 2006 |date=4 October 2019 |access-date=18 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214022314/https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/116295933/sikhs-in-new-zealand-have-tripled-in-number-since-2006 |archive-date=14 December 2019 |url-status=live}} While the number and proportion who identify as Christians has fallen in recent years, Sikhism (+31%), Islam (+22%) and Hinduism (+17%) were the fastest growing religions over the 2018-2023 period, fuelled by immigration to New Zealand from Asia.

In addition, there are adherents of many new religious movements like Spiritualism, Theosophy, Druidry, New Age and the Goddess movement branches.{{citation |surname=Ellwood |given=Robert S. |authorlink=Robert S. Ellwood |year=1993 |title=Islands of the Dawn: The Story of Alternative Spirituality in New Zealand |place=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=0-8248-1487-8 |url=https://dokumen.pub/islands-of-the-dawn-the-story-of-alternative-spirituality-in-new-zealand-9780824843847.html}}{{citation |surname=Rountree |given=Kathryn |title=Embracing the Witch and the Goddess: Feminist Ritual-makers in New Zealand |place=London |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-4153-0358-3}}

File:Ratana Pa 11.JPG temple in Rātana Pā. The Rātana movement is a Māori church.]]

New Zealand censuses have collected data on religious affiliation since 1851. Statistics New Zealand (the state agency that collects statistics on religion and other demographics) state that:

{{blockquote|Religious affiliation is a variable of strong interest to religious organisations, social scientists, and can be used as an explanatory variable in studies on topics such as marriage formation and dissolution, fertility and income.{{cite web | title = Religious Affiliation | work = Statistics NZ Home > Methods and services > Surveys and methods > Classifications and standards > Classifications and related statistical standards > | publisher = Statistics New Zealand (www.stats.govt.nz) | url = http://www.stats.govt.nz/methods_and_services/surveys-and-methods/classifications-and-standards/classification-related-stats-standards/religious-affiliation.aspx | access-date = 29 May 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100526194354/http://www.stats.govt.nz/methods_and_services/surveys-and-methods/classifications-and-standards/classification-related-stats-standards/religious-affiliation.aspx | archive-date = 26 May 2010 | url-status = dead }}}}

One complication in interpreting religious affiliation data in New Zealand is the large proportion who do not answer the question—roughly 313,000 respondents in 2018. Most reporting of percentages is based on the total number of responses, rather than the total population.

In the early 20th century, New Zealand census data indicates that the vast majority of New Zealanders affiliated with Christianity. The total percentages in the 1921 non-Māori census were: 45% Anglicans, 19.9% Presbyterians, 13.6% Catholics, 9.5% Methodists and 11.2% Others. Statistics for Māori in particular became available only from 1936, with 35.8% Anglicans, 19.9% Rātana, 13.9% Catholics, 7.2% Ringatū, 7.1% Methodists, 6.5% Latter-day Saints, 1.3% Methodists and 8.3% others recorded at this census.

The table below is based on religious affiliation data recorded at the last four censuses for usually resident people. Figures and percentages may not add to 100 per cent as it is possible for people to state more than one religion.{{Cite web|url= http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Census/2013%20Census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-culture-identity/tables.xls |title= 2013 Census QuickStats about culture and identity – tables |publisher=Statistics New Zealand |date= 15 April 2014 |access-date= 18 July 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140524102811/http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Census/2013%20Census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-culture-identity/tables.xls |archive-date= 24 May 2014 }} The trend indicators are based on the change in percentage of the population, not the number of adherents.

The 2018 census had an unusually low (83%) response rate.{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/105411421/census-response-rate-drops-as-survey-moves-to-online-focus|title=Census response rate drops as survey moves to online focus|last1=Cooke|first1=Henry|date=12 July 2018|work=Stuff |access-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413190008/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/105411421/census-response-rate-drops-as-survey-moves-to-online-focus|archive-date=13 April 2020|url-status=live}} Statistics New Zealand subsequently calculated the 2018 census statistics based on the combination of 2018 census responses (82.9%), 2013 census responses (8.2%) and imputation (8.8%). The reported results are deemed to be high quality, but are not completely reliable.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/reports/overview-of-data-quality-ratings-interim-coverage-and-response-rates-and-data-sources-for-2018-census|title=Overview of data quality ratings, interim coverage and response rates, and data sources for 2018 Census {{!}} Stats NZ|website=stats.govt.nz|access-date=2019-11-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200121211903/https://www.stats.govt.nz/reports/overview-of-data-quality-ratings-interim-coverage-and-response-rates-and-data-sources-for-2018-census|archive-date=21 January 2020|url-status=live}}

{{notelist}}

File:Religious affiliation in New Zealand 1991-2018 - line chart.svg)]]

File:2013 NZ census people stating no religion by sex.gif is highest among males and younger generations; with the exception of the 10–14 age bracket, the majority of New Zealanders under 35 are irreligious.]]

Christianity—historically the largest religious group since significant European colonisation began in the early 1800s—is declining, while stating no religion and affiliation to other (minority) religions is increasing. Statistics New Zealand report that about 80% of the largest non-Christian religious groups are composed of immigrants, almost half of whom have arrived in New Zealand since 2000. The exceptions to this are traditional Māori religion, Judaism (24% immigrant) and Bahá'í (20% immigrant).{{cite journal|last=Thomson |first=Barbara |title=Ethnic Diversity in New Zealand: a Statistical Profile |journal=Ethnic Affairs Service Information Series |year=1999 |volume=03 |pages=178, 183 |publisher=Research Unit, Department of Internal Affairs |url=http://www.ethnicaffairs.govt.nz/oeawebsite.nsf/wpg_url/Resources-Research-Index/$file/EthnicDiversity.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014200352/http://www.ethnicaffairs.govt.nz/oeawebsite.nsf/wpg_url/Resources-Research-Index/$file/EthnicDiversity.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 October 2008 |issn=1173-7166 |isbn=978-0-478-09244-8 |access-date=19 September 2009 }} Mirroring contemporary trends in immigration to New Zealand, immigrant religions increased fastest between the 2006 and 2013 censuses; Sikh by 102% to 19,191, Hindu by 39% to 89,319, Islam by 28% to 46,149, and Buddhist by 11% to 58,404. Hinduism emerged as the second-largest religious group in New Zealand after Christianity in the 2006 census.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Of the major ethnic groups in New Zealand, people belonging to European and Māori ethnicities were the most likely to be irreligious, with 46.9 per cent and 46.3 per cent stating so in the 2013 census. Those belonging to Pacific and Middle Eastern/Latin American/African were least likely to be irreligious at 17.5 per cent and 17.0 per cent respectively.{{cite web | url= http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-culture-identity/religion.aspx | title= 2013 Census QuickStats about culture and identity -- Religious affiliation | publisher= Statistics New Zealand | date= 15 April 2014 | access-date= 25 July 2015 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170828162758/http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-culture-identity/religion.aspx | archive-date= 28 August 2017 | url-status= live }}

In May 2018, McCrindle published The Faith and Belief in New Zealand Report.{{cite web |url=https://2qean3b1jjd1s87812ool5ji-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/FaithBeliefNZ_Report.pdf |title=Faith and Belief in New Zealand |publisher=McCrindle |access-date=24 September 2019 |ref=mccrindle2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924031657/https://2qean3b1jjd1s87812ool5ji-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/FaithBeliefNZ_Report.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2019 |url-status=live }} The report was commissioned by the Wilberforce Foundation.{{cite web |title=Faith and Belief in New Zealand website |url=https://mccrindle.com.au/insights/blog/faith-and-belief-in-new-zealand/ |website=mccrindle.com.au |date=28 May 2018 |publisher=McCrindle |access-date=24 September 2019 |ref=mccrindlefaithbeliefwebsite |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924031657/https://mccrindle.com.au/insights/blog/faith-and-belief-in-new-zealand/ |archive-date=24 September 2019 |url-status=live }} The results showed that more than half of New Zealanders (55%) do not identify with any main religion, indicating that New Zealand is a largely secular nation. The related infographic showed that, of the 33% who identified with Christianity, 16% were church-goers (attending at least monthly) and 9% were "Active Practisers" (described as "extremely involved").{{cite web |title=Faith and Belief in New Zealand Infographic |url=https://2qean3b1jjd1s87812ool5ji-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/images/Faith-and-Belief-NZ-infographic.pdf |publisher=McCrindle |access-date=24 September 2019 |ref=mccrindle2018infographic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411090514/https://2qean3b1jjd1s87812ool5ji-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/images/Faith-and-Belief-NZ-infographic.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2020 |url-status=live }}

{{clear}}

File:DunedinFirstChurch-back.jpg, a Presbyterian church in Dunedin. The Otago region was historically dominated by Presbyterianism because it was settled by Scots.]]

Immigration and settlement trends have led to religious differences between the various regions of New Zealand. The 19th-century settlement of Scottish immigrants in Otago (originally under the auspices of the Free Church of Scotland in 1848) and Southland continues to influence the dominance of Presbyterianism in the south of the South Island. The English mainly settled in the North Island and Upper South Island, hence the dominance of Anglicanism in these areas (especially Canterbury, where the Church of England sponsored the 1850 settlement through the Canterbury Association).

Subsequent migration trends have led to clusters of distinct religious practice. Catholics of Polish origin (many connected with the re-settlements from Siberia in 1944) have a presence (for example) in the Wellington region.{{cite encyclopedia

| last = Sawicka

| first = Theresa

| encyclopedia = Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

| title = Poles - Life in New Zealand

| url = http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/poles/page-3

| access-date = 13 June 2020

| date = 25 March 2015

| quote = Catholicism has been an important focus of Polish community life. Although there is no exclusively Polish parish, the Wellington Polish Association has maintained a Polish priest attached to St Anne's Church in Newtown.

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200613024949/https://teara.govt.nz/en/poles/page-3

| archive-date = 13 June 2020

| url-status = live

}}

Filipinos have become a noticeable element in the Roman Catholic communities of Southland.{{cite news

|last1 = Newman

|first1 = Tim

|title = New communities changing the religious landscape of the south

|url = https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/86834971/new-communities-changing-the-religious-landscape-of-the-south

|work = Southland Times

|location = Invercargill

|publisher = Stuff

|publication-date = 28 November 2016

|issn = 0112-9910

|access-date = 13 June 2020

|quote = While the Catholic Church has been dealing with [...] problems of declining attendance, the growth of Southland's Filipino community has transformed many churches. [...]
According to the 2013 census, there were just under 900 Filipinos living in Southland, 95 per cent of whom identified with some form of Christianity.
Because of the demand, the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin has this month begun to perform monthly Tagalog (Filipino language) masses throughout Otago and Southland.

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200613024932/https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/86834971/new-communities-changing-the-religious-landscape-of-the-south

|archive-date = 13 June 2020

|url-status = live

}}

File:NZ Religious denominations by TA 2013.svg

In the 2013 census, two of New Zealand's sixteen regions had a Christian majority: Southland (51.9 per cent) and Hawke's Bay (50.5 per cent), and two regions had a non-religious majority: Tasman (51.4 per cent) and Nelson (51.0 per cent).

{{See also|Jedi census phenomenon|Jediism}}

Encouraged by an informal email campaign prior to the 2001 census, over 53,000 people listed themselves as Jedi (over 1.5% of responses). If the Jedi response had been accepted as valid it would have then been the second-largest religion in New Zealand, behind Christianity. However, Statistics New Zealand treated Jedi responses as "Answer understood, but will not be counted".{{cite news| url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=2352142| title=Jedi Order lures 53,000 disciples| work=The New Zealand Herald| date=31 August 2002| first=Alan| last=Perrott| access-date=5 April 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050116193845/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=2352142| archive-date=16 January 2005| url-status=live}} In the next census, in 2006, the number of reported Jedis decreased to 20,000.{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_8042/is_20061208/ai_n47143286/| title=Jedi knights wane, migrant religions grow | work=The Dominion Post| date=8 December 2006| access-date=29 May 2010 |quote=... census general manager Nancy McBeth told The Dominion Post there were more than 20,200 followers of the force – down from 54,000 in 2001.}}

{{Main|Christianity in New Zealand}}

{{See also|Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia|Catholic Church in New Zealand|Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand}}

The first Christian service conducted in New Zealand waters was probably to have been Catholic liturgies celebrated by Father Paul-Antoine Léonard de Villefeix, the Dominican chaplain of the ship Saint Jean Baptiste commanded by the French navigator and explorer Jean-François-Marie de Surville. Villefeix was the first Christian clergyman to set foot in New Zealand, and probably said Mass on board the ship near Whatuwhiwhi in Doubtless Bay on Christmas Day 1769. He is reported to have also led prayers for the sick the previous day and to have conducted Christian burials.{{cite book|last=King |first=Michael|title=The Penguin History of New Zealand |year= 2003 |publisher=Penguin |location=Auckland}}{{cite web|title=Samuel Marsden's first service|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/samuel-marsdens-first-service|publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|access-date=21 August 2017|date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131133406/https://www.nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/samuel-marsdens-first-service|archive-date=31 January 2019|url-status=live}}

The Reverend Samuel Marsden of the Anglican Church Missionary Society (then chaplain in New South Wales) conducted the first Christian service on New Zealand land on Christmas Day in 1814, at Oihi Bay, a small cove in Rangihoua Bay in the Bay of Islands, at the invitation of chiefs Te Pahi and Ruatara, considered to have been the first preaching of the gospel in New Zealand.{{Cite book|last=Newman|first=Keith|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/655641724|title=Bible & treaty : missionaries among the Māori : a new perspective|date=2010|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-320408-4|location=North Shore [City] N.Z.|oclc=655641724}}

File:2001-01 Russell.jpg in Russell, built in 1835, is one of the oldest churches in New Zealand.{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Orange|first1=Claudia|title=Northland places - Russell|url=https://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/7804/christ-church-russell|encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=17 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818004216/https://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/7804/christ-church-russell|archive-date=18 August 2017|url-status=live}}]]

The CMS sent missionaries to settle in New Zealand, and founded its first mission at Rangihoua Bay in the 1814 and over the next decade established farms and schools in the area. In June 1823 Wesleydale, the first Wesleyan Methodist mission in New Zealand, was established at Kaeo, near Whangaroa Harbour.{{cite web|title=Wesleyan mission established|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/wesleyan-mission-established|publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|access-date=21 August 2017|date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821085250/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/wesleyan-mission-established|archive-date=21 August 2017|url-status=live}}

Church Missionary Society printer/missionary, William Colenso's 1837 Māori New Testament was the first indigenous-language translation of the Bible published in the southern hemisphere. Demand for the Māori New Testament, and for the Prayer Book that followed, grew exponentially, as did Christian Māori leadership and public Christian services, with 33,000 Māori soon attending regularly. Literacy and understanding the Bible increased {{lang|mi|mana}} and social and economic benefits, decreased the practices of slavery and intertribal violence, and increased peace and respect for all people in Māori society, including women.{{cite book |last=Newman |first=Keith |title=Bible & Treaty, Missionaries among the Māori – a new perspective |publisher=Penguin |year=2010 |isbn=978-0143204084 |orig-year=2010}} pp 20-116

Jean Baptiste Pompallier was the first Catholic bishop to come to New Zealand, arriving in 1838. With a number of Marist Brothers, Pompallier organised the Catholic Church throughout the country.{{cite web|last1=Simmons|first1=E. R.|title=Pompallier, Jean Baptiste François|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1p23/pompallier-jean-baptiste-francois|website=Dictionary of New Zealand Biography|via=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand|orig-year=1990|date=November 2010|access-date=21 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821085521/https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1p23/pompallier-jean-baptiste-francois|archive-date=21 August 2017|url-status=live}}

Although in England the Anglican Church was an established state church, by the middle of the 19th century even the Anglicans themselves sometimes doubted this arrangement, while the other major denominations of the new colony (Presbyterians, Methodist and Catholics, for example) obviously preferred that the local situation allowed for all their groups.New Zealand Historical Atlas (1997) McKinnon, Malcolm (Editor); David Bateman, Plate 70 George Augustus Selwyn became the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand in 1841. In 1892 the New Zealand Church Missionary Society (NZCMS) formed in a Nelson church hall and the first New Zealand missionaries were sent overseas soon after.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nzcms.org.nz/our_mission.html |title=NZCMS |access-date=18 July 2008 |publisher=New Zealand Church Missionary Society |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014031447/http://nzcms.org.nz/our_mission.html |archive-date=14 October 2008 }}

File:LDSTempleHamiltonNewZealand.JPG of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]

Waves of new immigrants brought their particular (usually Christian) faiths with them. Initial denominational distribution very much reflected the fact that local immigrant communities started small and often came from comparatively small regions in the origin countries in Great Britain. As a result, by the time of the 1921 census, no uniform distribution existed amongst non-Māori Christians, with Presbyterians as the dominant group in Otago and Southland; Anglicans in the Far North, the East Cape and various other areas including Banks Peninsula; while Methodists flourished mainly in Taranaki and the Manawatū; and Catholicism was the dominant religion on the West Coast with its many mining concerns, and in Central Otago. The Catholic Church, while not particularly dominant in terms of proportional numbers, became more prominent throughout the country in the early and middle 20th century through establishing many schools in that period.

File:The Rev Thomas Kendall and the Maori chiefs Hongi and Waikato, oil on canvas by James Barry,.jpg chiefs Waikato (left) and Hongi Hika, and Anglican missionary Thomas Kendall.]]

Beginning in the mid-1960s church membership and attendance started declining in percentage terms,{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Stenhouse|first1=John|title=Religion and society - Towards a more secular society, 1970–21st century|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/religion-and-society/page-8|encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=17 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817205955/https://teara.govt.nz/en/religion-and-society/page-8|archive-date=17 August 2017|url-status=live}} mostly due to people declaring themselves as having no religion as well as dur to growth of non-Christian religions. The five largest Christian denominations in 2001 remained the largest in 2006. But, despite fairly strong historical affiliation of New Zealanders to Christianity since colonisation, church attendance in New Zealand has not been as high as in other Western nations.{{cite journal | last = Ward | first = Kevin | title = Towards 2015: the future of mainline Protestantism in New Zealand | journal=Journal of Beliefs & Values | volume = 27 | issue = 1 | pages = 13–23 | publisher=Research Unit, Department of Internal Affairs | date = 1 April 2006 | doi = 10.1080/13617670600594152 | s2cid = 162274743 }}

The Anglican, Presbyterian, Congregation and Reformed denominations, and undefined Christian denominations decreased; yet the Catholic and Methodist denominations increased, as did some with other Christian denominations between 2001 and 2006: Orthodox Christian religions increased by 37.8 per cent; affiliation with Evangelical, Born Again and Fundamentalist religions increased by 25.6 per cent, and affiliation with Pentecostal religions increased by 17.8 per cent.{{cite web | title=QuickStats About Culture and Identity | work=Statistics NZ Home > Census > 2006 Census Data > About a Subject | publisher=Statistics New Zealand (www.stats.govt.nz) | url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2006CensusHomePage/QuickStats/quickstats-about-a-subject/culture-and-identity/religious-affiliation.aspx | access-date=29 May 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309165612/http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2006CensusHomePage/QuickStats/quickstats-about-a-subject/culture-and-identity/religious-affiliation.aspx | archive-date=9 March 2013 }}

Research by the Bible Society of New Zealand in 2008 indicated that 15% of New Zealanders attend church at least once a week, and 20% attend at least once a month.{{cite book | last = Opie | first = Stephen | title = Bible Engagement in New Zealand: Survey of Attitudes and Behaviour | pages = 4 | publisher=Bible Society of New Zealand | date = June 2008 | url =http://biblesociety.org.nz/mediafiles/bible-society-research-2008.pdf | access-date =29 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526105617/http://biblesociety.org.nz/mediafiles/bible-society-research-2008.pdf |archive-date=26 May 2010}} In 2013 42% of the population said they had no religion.

According to the 2018 census, 10.1% identified as Catholic or Roman Catholic, 6.8% are Anglican, 6.6% are Undefined Christian, 5.2% are Presbyterian, 1.3% are Māori Christian, and 8.6% reported affiliation to other Christian groups.

To this day, however, Christian prayer (karakia) is the expected way to begin and end Māori public gatherings of many types. Its use in local government meetings become contentious in the early 2020s.{{cite news |last1=Kitchin |first1=Tom |title=The core of karakia |url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/podcast-the-detail/the-core-of-karakia |access-date=9 May 2024 |work=Newsroom |date=2 April 2023}}

According to a 2019 survey, nearly four in ten New Zealanders lacked trust in evangelical Christians.{{Cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114838216/new-survey-reveals-which-religions-new-zealanders-trust-most--and-least--after-christchurch-shootings|title=New survey reveals which religions New Zealanders trust most - and least - after Christchurch shootings|access-date=12 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413190037/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114838216/new-survey-reveals-which-religions-new-zealanders-trust-most--and-least--after-christchurch-shootings|archive-date=13 April 2020|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Hinduism in New Zealand}}

File:Aucklandtemple.jpg inside the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Auckland]]

Hinduism is the second largest religion in New Zealand after Christianity, with over 153,534 adherents according to the 2023 census, constituting 2.9% of the New Zealand population.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/2018-Census-totals-by-topic/Download-data/2018-census-totals-by-topic-national-highlights.xlsx|title=Table 26, 2018 Census Data – Tables}} The number of Hindus in New Zealand grew modestly after the 1990s when the immigration laws were changed.{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Beaglehole |first=Ann |url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/immigration-regulation/page-5 |title=Immigration regulation – 1986–2003: selection on personal merit |encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |date=18 August 2015 |access-date=19 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401175124/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/immigration-regulation/page-5 |archive-date=1 April 2016 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Islam in New Zealand}}

File:Christchurch Mosque, New Zealand.jpg in Riccarton, Christchurch (pictured in 2019). Built in 1984–1985, it was the world's southernmost mosque until 1999.{{cite web|title= Masjid An-Nur in Riccarton, Canterbury|url= https://www.salatomatic.com/spc/Riccarton/Masjid-An-Nur/XFXXBFR6Gk|website= salatomatic.com|publisher= Salatomatic - your guide to mosques & Islamic schools|access-date= 17 August 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190318220221/https://www.salatomatic.com/spc/Riccarton/Masjid-An-Nur/XFXXBFR6Gk|archive-date= 18 March 2019|url-status= live}}]]

Islam in New Zealand began with the arrival of Muslim Chinese gold prospectors in the 1870s.{{cite web | title=The New Zealand Muslim Community | work=Islam in NZ | publisher=The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand | url=http://www.fianz.co.nz/index.php?/aboutus/nzmuslims_content.php | access-date=10 October 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724192458/http://www.fianz.co.nz/index.php?%2Faboutus%2Fnzmuslims_content.php | archive-date=24 July 2011 | url-status=live }} The first Islamic organisation in New Zealand, the New Zealand Muslim Association, was established in Auckland in 1950.{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.fianz.co.nz/history|website=fianz.co.nz|publisher=FIANZ|access-date=17 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817204238/http://www.fianz.co.nz/history|archive-date=17 August 2017|url-status=live}} 1960 saw the arrival of the first imam, Maulana Said Musa Patel, from Gujarat, India.Bishop, Martin C. '"A History of the Muslim Community in New Zealand to 1980", thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of M.A. in history at the University of Waikato' (Waikato University, 1997). Large-scale Muslim immigration began in the 1970s with the arrival of Fiji Indians, followed in the 1990s by refugees from various war-torn countries. In April 1979 the three regional Muslim organisations of Canterbury, Wellington and Auckland, joined together to create the only national Islamic body—the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand. Early in the 1990s many migrants were admitted under New Zealand's refugee quota, from war zones in Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} Since the 11 September attacks there was a spike in conversions to Islam among Māori inmates in prisons.{{cite news | last = Hume | first = Tim | title = Disenchanted Maori find spiritual crutch in Islam | work=Sunday Star-Times | url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-12022835.html | access-date =10 October 2009}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news | last = Hume | first = Tim | title = Muslim faith draws converts from NZ prisons | work=Sunday Star-Times | date = 17 October 2004 | url =http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-12022860.html | access-date =10 October 2009}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

In the 2018 census, 61,455 people, identified themselves as Muslim constituting 1.32% of the total population making it the third largest religion in the country.{{cite web|url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/2018-Census-totals-by-topic/Download-data/2018-census-totals-by-topic-national-highlights.xlsx|title=2018 Census totals by topic – national highlights|at=Table 26|format=XLSX|access-date=24 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413185957/https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/2018-Census-totals-by-topic/Download-data/2018-census-totals-by-topic-national-highlights.xlsx|archive-date=13 April 2020|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Buddhism in New Zealand}}

Image:Fo Guang Shan Temple Auckland.jpg]]

Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in New Zealand, at 1.13% of the population. In 2007 the Fo Guang Shan Temple was opened in Auckland for the promotion of Humanistic Buddhism. It is the largest Buddhist temple in New Zealand.

Most of the Buddhists in New Zealand are migrants from Asia with the number of other New Zealand Buddhists ranging from 15,000 to 20,000.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10452598 |title=The Buddha Boom - Lifestyle News |access-date=17 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214033221/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10452598 |archive-date=14 December 2019 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/diverse-religions/page-3 |title=Buddhists |access-date=17 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017102131/https://teara.govt.nz/en/diverse-religions/page-3 |archive-date=17 October 2019 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|History of the Jews in New Zealand}}

The history of Jewish people in New Zealand begins in the 1830s with the earliest known settler Joel Samuel Polack.{{cite encyclopedia | editor-last = Landman | editor-first = Isaak | last = Werner | first = Alfred | title = New Zealand | encyclopedia = The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia | volume = 08 | pages = 205 | publisher = Varda Books | url = http://www.publishersrow.com/Preview/index.asp?shid=1&pid=1&bid=2867&fid=undefined&pg=217&o=1247834105093&bmnta=NEW+ZEALAND | access-date = 10 October 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110715132113/http://www.publishersrow.com/Preview/index.asp?shid=1&pid=1&bid=2867&fid=undefined&pg=217&o=1247834105093&bmnta=NEW+ZEALAND | archive-date = 15 July 2011 | url-status = live }} Prominent New Zealand Jews in history include 19th-century Premier Julius Vogel and at least five Auckland mayors, including Dove-Myer Robinson, and a chief justice (Sir Michael Myers). Former Prime Minister John Key is of part Ashkenazi Jewish descent, although he did not practice Judaism.

The first recorded communal Jewish service in New Zealand was held on 7 January 1843 in Wellington, although individual Jews were amongst earlier explorers and settlers.{{Cite news|url=http://wjcc.nz/about-us/|title=About us|date=4 November 2014|work=Wellington Jewish Community Centre|access-date=8 July 2017|language=en-NZ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006041012/http://wjcc.nz/about-us/|archive-date=6 October 2019|url-status=dead}}

The Jewish population in New Zealand increased from 6,636 in the 2001 census to 6,867 in the 2013 census.Stephen Kevin, Jews in New Zealand, Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture (Vol. 1), p. 538American Jewish Year Book 2012: The Annual Record of the North American Jewish Communities (eds. Arnold Dashefsky & Ira M. Sheskin), p. 266. However it decreased to 5,274 in the 2018 census, possibly because of security concerns by Jews over the "digital-first" online census format introduced that year.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

The majority of New Zealand Jews reside in Auckland and Wellington, although there is also a significant Jewish community in Dunedin which is believed to have the world's southernmost permanent synagogue.{{cite book | last = Levine | first = Stephen I. | title = The New Zealand Jewish community | publisher=Lexington Books | year = 1999 | pages = 30 | isbn = 978-0-7391-0003-5}} In 2018 census, 0.11% of the population identified as Jewish/Judaism.6,636

{{Main|Bahá'í Faith in New Zealand}}

The first Baháʼí in the Antipodes was Englishwoman Dorothea Spinney who arrived in Auckland from New York in 1912.{{cite encyclopedia | title = Stevenson, Margaret Beveridge 1865–1941 Baha'i| last = Elsmore | first = Bronwyn | encyclopedia = Dictionary of New Zealand Biography | volume = Online | publisher=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage | url =http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/DNZB/alt_essayBody.asp?essayID=4S46 | date = 22 June 2007 | access-date =19 September 2009}} About 1913 there were two converts—Robert Felkin who had met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in London in 1911 and moved to New Zealand in 1912 and is considered a Baháʼí by 1914There isn't a definite date Felkin is considered a Baha'i except before 1914 -[http://bahai-library.com/zamir/indexes/aroindexetc.html Arohanui] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526163459/http://www.bahai-library.com/zamir/indexes/aroindexetc.html |date=26 May 2011 }}, Introduction by Collis Featherstone. and Margaret Stevenson who first heard of the religion in 1911 and by her own testimony was a Bahá'í in 1913.{{cite web | title = New Zealand community – The first New Zealand Bahá'í | work = New Zealand Community | publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New Zealand | url = http://www.bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_first.html | access-date = 19 September 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090217081432/http://bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_first.html | archive-date = 17 February 2009 }} The first Baháʼí Spiritual Assembly In New Zealand was elected in 1926{{cite book | last = Effendi | first = Shoghi | author-link = Shoghi Effendi | author2 = J. E. Esslemont | title = Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand | publisher = Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Suva, Fiji Islands | year = 1982 | location = Suva, Fiji Islands | pages = Appendix,?? | url = http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/ARO/aro-83.html.iso8859-1#gr1 | access-date = 30 September 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120309154338/http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/ARO/aro-83.html.iso8859-1#gr1 | archive-date = 9 March 2012 | url-status = live }} and their first independent National Spiritual Assembly in 1957.{{cite web | title = New Zealand community – Historical timeline | work = New Zealand Community | publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New Zealand | url = http://www.bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_timeline.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071023184025/http://www.bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_timeline.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 23 October 2007 | access-date = 19 September 2009 }} By 1963 there were four Assemblies.{{cite web| url = http://bahai-library.com/handscause_statistics_1953-63&chapter=1| title = The Bahá'í Faith: 1844–1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953–1963| author = Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land| pages = 11, 104–5| access-date = 18 July 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131023055741/http://bahai-library.com/handscause_statistics_1953-63%26chapter%3D1| archive-date = 23 October 2013| url-status = live}} In the 2006 census 0.07% of respondents, or 2,772 people, identified themselves as Baháʼí.[http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2006CensusHomePage/QuickStats/quickstats-about-a-subject/culture-and-identity.aspx Table 28, 2006 Census Data – QuickStats About Culture and Identity – Tables] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011125425/http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2006CensusHomePage/QuickStats/quickstats-about-a-subject/culture-and-identity.aspx |date=11 October 2017 }}. In the 2018 census 0.05% of respondents, or 2,925 people, reported an affiliation to the Baháʼí Faith. There are some 45 local assemblies and smaller registered groups.{{cite web | title=About Us | work=The Bahá'í Community of the Kapiti Coast District of New Zealand | publisher=Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kapiti | url=http://www.kapitibahai.org.nz/collateral/Kapiti_Welcome.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016043211/http://www.kapitibahai.org.nz/collateral/Kapiti_Welcome.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=16 October 2008 | access-date=30 September 2009 }}

{{Main|Māori religion#Traditional Māori religion|Māori mythology}}

Traditional Māori religion—that is, the pre-European belief system of Māori people—was little modified in its essentials from that of their Eastern Polynesian homeland, conceiving of everything, including natural elements and all living things, as connected by common descent through whakapapa or genealogy. Accordingly, all things were thought of as possessing a life force, or mauri.{{cite encyclopedia |author-link=Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal |last1=Royal |first1=Te Ahukaramū Charles |title=Te Ao Mārama – the natural world - Mana, tapu and mauri |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/te-ao-marama-the-natural-world/page-5 |encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=20 July 2020 |date=24 September 2007}} Very few Māori still adhere to traditional Māori beliefs—3,699 respondents to the 2018 census identified themselves as adhering to "Māori religions, beliefs and philosophies".

{{Main|Sikhism in New Zealand}}

Sikhs have been in New Zealand for more than a century, with the first arriving in Hamilton in the 1880s. There are now about 40,908 Sikhs in New Zealand, constituting 0.88% of the country's population. Sikhism is the fastest growing religion in New Zealand with the Sikh population in New Zealand having quadrupled since 2006 Sikhs have a strong presence in Auckland, and especially in South Auckland and Manukau, with the National Party's former Member of Parliament for Manukau Kanwal Singh Bakshi being a Sikh.

There were thirteen gurdwaras (the Sikh place of worship) in New Zealand in 2010. The largest, Kalgidhar Sahib, is situated in Auckland at Takanini.{{cite web|title=New Zealand Gurdwaras |work=New Zealand Sikhs |publisher=Harpreet Singh |url=http://www.sikhs.co.nz/Gudwara/index.shtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080927130330/http://www.sikhs.co.nz/Gudwara/index.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 September 2008 }}

{{Culture of New Zealand}}

Although New Zealand is a largely secular country, religion finds a place in many cultural traditions. Major Christian events, such as Christmas and Easter, are official public holidays and are celebrated by religious and non-religious alike, as in many countries around the world. The country's national anthem, God Defend New Zealand, mentions God in both its name and its lyrics. There has been occasional controversy over the degree of separation of church and state, for example the practice of prayer and religious instruction at school assemblies.{{Cite web|url=http://www.maxim.org.nz/index.cfm/policy___research/article?id=844|title=Maxim Institute: Prayer in Schools|access-date=17 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110130240/http://www.maxim.org.nz/index.cfm/policy___research/article?id=844|archive-date=10 November 2007|url-status=dead}}

The architectural landscape of New Zealand attests to the historical importance of Christianity in New Zealand with church buildings prominent in cities, towns and the countryside.{{cite encyclopedia

|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/society/7

|title=Society – Religion and the churches

|author=John Wilson

|publisher=Ministry of Culture and Heritage

|date=3 March 2009

|encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

|access-date=3 June 2010

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216141233/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/society/7

|archive-date=16 December 2009

|url-status=live

}} Notable Cathedrals include the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland, ChristChurch Cathedral, Christchurch and Saint Paul's Cathedral, Wellington and the Catholic St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Hamilton, Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Palmerston North, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington, Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch, St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin. The iconic Futuna Chapel was built as a Wellington retreat centre for the Catholic Marist order in 1961. The design by Māori architect John Scott, fuses Modernist and indigenous design principles.

Christian and Māori choral traditions have been blended in New Zealand to produce a distinct contribution to Christian music, including the popular hymns Whakaria Mai and Tama Ngakau Marie.{{cite web |url=http://folksong.org.nz/whakaaria/index.html |title=Whakaria Mai |publisher=Folksong.org.nz |access-date=3 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524020607/http://folksong.org.nz/whakaaria/index.html |archive-date=24 May 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.28maoribattalion.org.nz/audio/the-battalion-sings-tama-ngakau-marie |title=The Battalion Sings 'Tama Ngakau Marie' |publisher=Ministry of Culture and Heritage |date=3 March 2009 |work=28th Maori Battalion |access-date=3 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522111823/http://www.28maoribattalion.org.nz/audio/the-battalion-sings-tama-ngakau-marie |archive-date=22 May 2010 |url-status=live }} From 1992 to 2014 New Zealand hosted one of the largest Christian music festivals in the Southern Hemisphere, the Parachute Music Festival.

While Religion has occasionally played a role, sometimes controversially, in the politics of New Zealand,{{cite book| last = Rex Ahdar & John Stenhouse | title = God and Government | publisher=University of Otago Press | year = 2000 | location = Dunedin | pages = 9 }} most New Zealanders consider politicians' religious beliefs to be a private matter.Brian Colless and Peter Donovan, 'Editor's Introduction', in Brian Colless and Peter Donovan, eds, Religion in New Zealand Society, 2nd edition, Palmerston North: Dunmore Press, 1985, p.10

New Zealand has no state religion or established church.{{cite book|last1=O'Halloran|first1=Kerry|title=Religion, Charity and Human Rights|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107020481|page=431|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MzeNAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA431|language=en}} However, the following anomalies exist:

• New Zealand's head of state or monarch must declare that they are a Protestant Christian and will uphold the Protestant succession according to the declaration required by the Accession Declaration Act 1910.{{Cite web | url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/imperial/1910/0029/latest/DLM12656.html | title=Accession Declaration Act 1910 No 29 (as at 03 September 2007), Imperial Act Schedule – New Zealand Legislation | access-date=15 March 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915023053/http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/imperial/1910/0029/latest/DLM12656.html | archive-date=15 September 2017 | url-status=live }}
• Section 3 of the Act of Settlement 1700 requires that the king or queen of New Zealand must be a Protestant.{{Cite web | url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/imperial/1700/0002/latest/DLM11131.html?src=qs | title=Act of Settlement 1700 No 2 (as at 26 March 2015), Imperial Act Contents – New Zealand Legislation | access-date=15 March 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914220033/http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/imperial/1700/0002/latest/DLM11131.html?src=qs | archive-date=14 September 2017 | url-status=live }}
• The title of the King of New Zealand includes the statement "by the Grace of God" and the title Defender of the Faith.{{Cite web | url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1974/0001/latest/DLM411821.html | title=Royal Titles Act 1974 No 1 (as at 09 December 1976), Public Act 2 Royal style and titles – New Zealand Legislation | access-date=15 March 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516024129/http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1974/0001/latest/DLM411821.html | archive-date=16 May 2017 | url-status=live }}

At the discussions leading to the Treaty of Waitangi Governor Hobson made a statement (albeit one which had no particular legal or constitutional significance) in defence of freedom of religion—sometimes called the 'fourth' article.{{cite news |last1=Watkin |first1=Tim |title=Article four and Hobson's choice |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3198468 |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=2 March 2003}}{{cite web | url=http://www.treaty2u.govt.nz/the-treaty-up-close/the-content-of-the-treaty/index.htm | title=The Content of the Treaty | publisher=Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa | access-date=16 June 2010 | quote=The Governor says the several faiths of England, of the Wesleyans, of Rome, and also Māori custom shall be alike protected by him. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603163103/http://www.treaty2u.govt.nz/the-treaty-up-close/the-content-of-the-treaty/index.htm | archive-date=3 June 2010 | url-status=live }} In 2007, the government issued a National Statement on Religious Diversity containing in its first clause, "New Zealand has no official or established religion."{{cite encyclopedia |title=Statement on religious diversity |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/28196/statement-on-religious-diversity |encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=20 July 2020}} The statement caused controversy in some quarters, opponents citing that New Zealand's head of state, then Queen Elizabeth II, is required to be the supreme governor of the Church of England.{{cite news | url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=301&objectid=10424395 | title=Denying state religion like treason, says Brian Tamaki – New Zealand Herald 17 February 2007 | author=Collins, Simon | access-date=20 April 2007 | work=The New Zealand Herald | date=17 February 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926212944/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=301&objectid=10424395 | archive-date=26 September 2007 | url-status=live }} However, Elizabeth II did not act in that capacity as the Queen of New Zealand. A poll of 501 New Zealanders in June 2007 found that 58% of respondents did not think Christianity should be New Zealand's official religion.{{cite web|author=Research New Zealand |url=http://www.researchnz.com/pdf/Media%20Releases/RNZ%20Media%20Release%20-%20Xtiannation.pdf |title=Limited Support for Christianity as Official Religion |date=17 June 2007 |access-date=6 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709233131/http://www.researchnz.com/pdf/Media%20Releases/RNZ%20Media%20Release%20-%20Xtiannation.pdf |archive-date=9 July 2007 }}

There has been increasing recognition of Māori spirituality in political discourse and even in certain government legislation. In July 2001 MP Rodney Hide alerted parliament to a state funded hikitapu (tapu-lifting) ceremony at the opening of the foreign embassy in Bangkok. It was revealed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had a standard policy of employing Māori ritual experts for the opening of official offices around the world.{{cite book |last1=Kolig |first1=Eric |editor1-first=John |editor1-last=Stenhouse |title=The Future of Christianity: Historical, Sociological, Political and Theological Perspectives from New Zealand |year=2004 |publisher=AFT Press |location=Adelaide |pages=183–204 |chapter=Coming through the Backdoor }} The Resource Management Act 1991 recognises the role of Māori spiritual beliefs in planning and environmental management. In 2002 local Māori expressed concerns that the development of the Auckland-Waikato expressway would disturb the taniwha, or guardian spirit, of the Waikato River, leading to delays and alterations to the project.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3050421 |title=Taniwha road gets all clear |work=The New Zealand Herald. 2 January 2003 |date=8 January 2003 |access-date=15 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023073201/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3050421 |archive-date=23 October 2012 |url-status=live }}

Before March 2019, blasphemous libel was a crime in New Zealand,{{cite web |url=http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1961/0043/latest/whole.html#DLM329036 |title=Crimes Act 1961, Section 123 |publisher=New Zealand Government |access-date=27 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321093136/http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1961/0043/latest/whole.html#DLM329036 |archive-date=21 March 2009 |url-status=live }} but cases could only be prosecuted with the approval of the attorney-general, and the defence of opinion was allowed; the only prosecution, in 1922, was unsuccessful.The King v. Glover (1922) GLR 185 In 1967, Presbyterian minister Professor Lloyd Geering faced charges of heresy brought by the Presbyterian Church, but the trial became stalemated and was abandoned.{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10404907|access-date=25 April 2019|title=Keeping faith through life's trials|date=8 October 2006|work=The New Zealand Herald|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215151422/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10404907|archive-date=15 December 2019|url-status=live}}

The New Zealand Parliament opens its proceedings with a prayer. In November 2017 Christian language, including reference to Christ, was removed from the prayer.{{cite web |title=Parliament prayer changes - no more Queen or Jesus |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98742522/parliament-prayer-changes--no-more-queen-or-jesus |work=Stuff |access-date=30 January 2019 |language=en |date=10 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130053749/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98742522/parliament-prayer-changes--no-more-queen-or-jesus |archive-date=30 January 2019 |url-status=live }}

Christian political parties have usually not gained significant support, a notable exception being the Christian Coalition (New Zealand) polling 4.4% in the 1996 general election. Christian parties have often been characterised by controversy and public disgrace. Many of these are now defunct, such as the Christian Democrat Party, the Christian Heritage Party which discontinued in 2006 after former leader Graham Capill was convicted as a child sex offender,{{cite news |title=Capill sentenced to nine years for child sex crimes |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10335782 |date=14 July 2005 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523165140/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10335782 |archive-date=23 May 2011 |url-status=live }} Destiny New Zealand, The Family Party and the New Zealand Pacific Party whose leader, former Labour Party MP Taito Phillip Field was convicted on bribery and corruption charges.{{cite news |title=Guilty verdicts for Taito Phillip Field |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10587391 |date=4 August 2009 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=11 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811092244/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10587391 |archive-date=11 August 2011 |url-status=live }} United Future was more successful, and although not a Christian party, had significant Christian backing.

The two main political parties, Labour and National, are not religious, although religious groups have at times played a significant role (e.g. the Rātana Movement). Politicians are often involved in public dialogue with religious groups.{{cite news| url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/parachute-music-festival/news/article.cfm?c_id=1500869&objectid=10421364| title=Even politicians are popular at huge Christian music fest| work=The New Zealand Herald| date=29 January 2007| access-date=15 June 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219183742/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/parachute-music-festival/news/article.cfm?c_id=1500869&objectid=10421364| archive-date=19 February 2011| url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10642345|title=Hindu group accused of 'hijacking' other faiths|access-date=1 October 2010|work=The New Zealand Herald|date=3 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023073123/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10642345|archive-date=23 October 2012|url-status=live}} The Exclusive Brethren gained public notoriety during the 2005 election for distributing anti-Labour pamphlets, which former National Party leader Don Brash later admitted to knowledge of.{{cite news |last=NZPA |title=Brash knew about Exclusive Brethren pamphlets |date=8 September 2005 |work=The New Zealand Herald |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10344635 |access-date=15 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724194113/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10344635 |archive-date=24 July 2011 |url-status=live }}

Former Prime Ministers Helen Clark,{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3554978|date=16 March 2004|title=Insults get personal between Clark and Brash|access-date=8 July 2007|work=The New Zealand Herald|author-link=New Zealand Herald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103025405/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3554978|archive-date=3 November 2012|url-status=live}} John Key{{cite web|url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Clark-and-Key-spar-in-final-TV-debate-before-election/tabid/209/articleID/78661/Default.aspx|author=NZPA|date=5 November 2008|title=Clark and Key spar in final TV debate before election|access-date=15 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323111413/http://www.3news.co.nz/Clark-and-Key-spar-in-final-TV-debate-before-election/tabid/209/articleID/78661/Default.aspx|archive-date=23 March 2012|url-status=dead}} and Jacinda Ardern,{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/new-zealand-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-quit-mormon-church-lgbt-rights-a8012676.html|title=New Zealand's prime minister left the Mormon church to support LGBT rights|date=21 October 2017|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2019-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507022902/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/new-zealand-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-quit-mormon-church-lgbt-rights-a8012676.html|archive-date=7 May 2019|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-zealand-s-prime-minister-unmarried-pregnant-going-maternity-leave-n866441|title=New Zealand's leader is unmarried, pregnant, going on maternity leave|publisher=NBC News|language=en|access-date=2019-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507080634/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-zealand-s-prime-minister-unmarried-pregnant-going-maternity-leave-n866441|archive-date=7 May 2019|url-status=live}} are agnostic.

File:Brian Tamaki Christchurch 2005.jpg of the Destiny Movement has spoken out against secularism.]]

{{See also|Christian politics in New Zealand}}

A number of New Zealand prime ministers have been professing Christians, including Michael Joseph Savage, Walter Nash, Keith Holyoake, Jack Marshall, Bill Rowling, Robert Muldoon, David Lange, Geoffrey Palmer, Jim Bolger and Jenny Shipley. Former Prime Minister Bill English (PM December 2016 to October 2017) is Catholic and has argued that religious groups should contribute to political discourse.{{Citation |url=http://www.challengeweekly.co.nz/story3.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304144442/http://www.challengeweekly.co.nz/story3.htm |archive-date=4 March 2008 |title=Church has vital place in our secular society |access-date=1 October 2009|publisher=Challenge Weekly 66 (6)|date=25 February 2008}}

Sir Paul Reeves, Anglican Archbishop and Primate of New Zealand from 1980 to 1985, was appointed Governor-General from 1985 to 1990.{{cite web |title=Sir Paul Reeves |url=https://gg.govt.nz/publications/sir-paul-reeves |publisher=The Governor-General of New Zealand |access-date=27 October 2018 |date=4 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026222427/https://gg.govt.nz/publications/sir-paul-reeves |archive-date=26 October 2018 |url-status=live }}

Murray Smith was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1972 to 1975 who later affiliated with the Bahá’í Faith and contributed in national and international roles within the Bahá'í Community.[https://web.archive.org/web/20081010194342/http://www.bahai.org.nz/Bahai_Institutions_and_Governance_Booklet.PDF Bahá’í Institutions and Global Governance] An address given at the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of New Zealand, on 28 April 2007. By Murray Smith{{cite news | last1 = Dewes | first1 = Haydon | last2 = Palmer | first2 = Rebecca | title = Twenty New Zealanders in Haifa | work = The Dominion Post | date = 31 July 2006 | url = http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?Itemid=2&id=466&option=com_content&task=view | access-date = 19 September 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110723022739/http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?Itemid=2&id=466&option=com_content&task=view | archive-date = 23 July 2011 | url-status = live }}{{cite news | last = Halle | first = Charlotte | title = Lots of parties, a war, some bad press and an astounding garden terrace | url = http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/815299.html | access-date = 19 September 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070129061656/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/815299.html | archive-date = 29 January 2007 | url-status = live }}

{{Portal|New Zealand|Religion}}

• Irreligion in New Zealand
• List of Christian organisations in New Zealand
• List of New Zealand religious leaders
• National Statement on Religious Diversity

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite journal |last=Beattie|first=James|author2=John Stenhouse |year=2007|title=Empire, Environment and Religion: God and the Natural World in Nineteenth-Century New Zealand |journal=Environment and History | volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=413–446 |issn=0967-3407 |doi=10.3197/096734007X243159|s2cid=84654715 |url=http://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/3309 }}
• {{cite journal |last=Calderwood|first=David|year=2008|title=Voice in the Wilderness: Historical Christian Attitudes to the Environment and the Emergence of A Rocha|journal=Environment and Nature in New Zealand|volume=3|issue=2|url=http://fennerschool-associated.anu.edu.au/environhist/newzealand/journal/2008/aug_calderwood.php}}
• {{cite book |surname=Ellwood |given=Robert S. |authorlink=Robert S. Ellwood |year=1993 |title=Islands of the Dawn: The Story of Alternative Spirituality in New Zealand |place=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=0-8248-1487-8 |url=https://dokumen.pub/islands-of-the-dawn-the-story-of-alternative-spirituality-in-new-zealand-9780824843847.html}}
• Morrison, Hugh. "Globally and Locally Positioned: New Zealand Perspectives on the Current Practice of Religious History," Journal of Religious History (2011) 35#2 pp 181–198
• Simpson, Jane. "Women, Religion and Society in New Zealand: A Literature Review," Journal of Religious History (1994) 18#2 pp 198–218.

{{Commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130309165612/http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2006CensusHomePage/QuickStats/quickstats-about-a-subject/culture-and-identity/religious-affiliation.aspx Statistics New Zealand] – religion affiliation summary.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120314022911/http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2006CensusHomePage/classification-counts-tables/about-people/religious-affiliation.aspx Statistics New Zealand] – full religious affiliation tables.

{{NZ topics}}

{{Oceania in topic|Religion in}}