Many Australian political party operatives, pundits, and observers make statements about religion and its impacts on politics — particularly at the ballot box — that smack of conviction, yet lack good evidence.

Claims on both sides of the political aisle confidently attribute significant effects to voters’ religiosity, when in fact observed effects are usually caused by confounding factors such as income or non-religious social attitudes.

This report employs high-quality, university-led empirical studies of Australians’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviours to reveal a more robust picture of the relationship between religion and how Australians are likely to vote on a range of issues.