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16 Ave Maria L. Rev. 36 (2018)
The Twenty-First Century Catholic Lawyer

handle is hein.journals/avemar16 and id is 42 raw text is: 












THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CATHOLIC LAWYER


                                 Michael   Quinlanf


             [Flaith, if good  deeds do  not go with  it, is quite dead.


                                 INTRODUCTION


     Although   the proportion  continues  to decline,2 the majority  of Australians
still identify as Christians just as they  have  since the first census was  taken.3
Catholics  are now  the  largest single religious denomination' and Australia is
one  of  the  most  religiously  diverse   countries  in the  world.' There are
increasing  numbers of Australians who describe themselves as having no
religion.'  Although   the evidence   is sparse on  this question,  in the past, the
religious profile of lawyers  closely followed  the religious profile of the general
population.'   If this remains so, it is likely that the decline in church attendance





SProfessor Michael Quinlan BA LLB, LLM (UNSW), PLTC (CL), MA (THEOLST) (with High Dist)
(UNDA)  Dean, School of Law, Sydney, The University of Notre Dame Australia.
     1. James 2:14-17 (New Jerusalem Bible). Unless expressly stated, references to the Bible are to
this translation.
     2. 2016  Census Data Reveals No  Religion Is Rising Fast, AUSTL. BUREAU STATS.,
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyReleaseDate/7E65A14454055 1D7CA2581
48000E2B85?OpenDocument  (June 27, 2017) [hereinafter 2016 Census]. Between 2001 and 2011, the
proportion of the Australian population identifying with a Christian faith tradition fell from 68% in 2001 to
61% in 2011 to 52% in 2016. Id.; Reflecting a Nation: Stories from the 2011 Census, 2012-13, AUSTL.
BUREAU  STATS., http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookup/2071.Omain+features9O2O12-2013 (last
updated Oct. 19, 2017) [hereinafter Reflecting on a Nation].
     3. Reflecting on a Nation, supra note 2.
     4. Id. Catholics, as a percentage of the Australian population, declined from 25.3% in 2011 to 22.6%
in 2016. 2016 Census, supra note 2.
     5. Adam Possamai et al., Muslim Students'Religious and Cultural Experiences in the Micro-publics
of University Campuses in NSW, Australia, 47 AUSTL. GEOGRAPHER 311, 312 (2016). In particular, there
has been a significant increase in those identifying with non-Christian faiths, from around 7.2% of the total
population in 2011 (up from 4.9% in 2001) to 8.2% of the total population in 2016. Reflecting on a Nation,
supra note 2; 2016 Census, supra note 2.
     6. Growing from 15% of the population in 2001 to 22% in 2011 to 30.l1% in 2016. Reflecting on a
Nation, supra note 2; 2016 Census, supra note 2.
     7. David Weisbrot, The Australian Legal Profession: From Provincial Family Firms to
Multinationals, in LAWYERS IN SOCIETY: THE COMMON LAW WORLD 271, 305 tbl. 6.6 (Richard L. Abel &
Philip S.C. Lewis eds., Beard Books 2005) (1988).


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