I am all for Christians becoming influential members of society. Christians should serve well in schools, hospitals, business, the arts, universities, local councils, parliaments and public service. There is nothing inherently unspiritual about public influence. If Christians believe Jesus is Lord, then that should shape how we think about justice, truth, mercy, work, neighbour-love and the common good.

But I also do not want to live in a theocracy.

That distinction matters. Christians should be free to speak, vote, serve, argue, persuade and contribute to public life. But people should be persuaded to become Christians, not legislated into Christian identity. Faith that is forced by law is not the same thing as trust in Christ. A society may be shaped by Christian memory, Christian institutions and Christian moral instincts, but that does not mean every citizen is, or should be treated as, a Christian.

This is where the question becomes difficult. Australia, like many Western societies, has been deeply influenced by Christianity. Our calendar still carries Christian public holidays. Our moral language still assumes ideas about human dignity, charity, fairness and the value of the vulnerable. Many hospitals, schools, welfare agencies and charities have Christian origins. Even people who reject Christianity often inherit ethical assumptions that were nurtured in a Christian moral world.

And yet, it is also obvious that the culture has shifted.

Remembering a More Christian-Shaped Public Rhythm

When I was a kid, I remember a different public rhythm. Nothing much was open on Saturday afternoon. Sundays were quieter. Christmas Day and Good Friday felt set apart in a way that even non-churchgoing people recognised. You could feel the year pause.

That is much less true now. Weekends are increasingly treated as normal trading days. Sport, shopping, entertainment and work continue to spread into times that once carried stronger religious or family significance. Christmas and Good Friday still remain public holidays, but each year it feels like more events, services and expectations creep into them.

This is not just nostalgia. Something has changed in the moral and social imagination. The older pattern assumed that society needed shared pauses, and some of those pauses were shaped by Christian time. Sunday rest, Good Friday, Easter and Christmas were not merely private religious observances. They shaped the way the whole community ordered time.

But that kind of shared rhythm becomes harder to maintain in a pluralistic and consumer-driven society. Not everyone is Christian. Many people work irregular hours. Some businesses depend on weekend trade. Some families need access to services. Some people see public religious restrictions as outdated, inconvenient or unfair.

The question is not simply, “How do we get back to the past?” The better question is, “What kind of society are we becoming, and what role should Christians play in it?”

Is Australia a Christian Nation?

When people say Australia is a “Christian nation,” they may mean several different things.

They might mean Australia has a Christian history. That is clearly true in significant ways. British colonisation brought Christian institutions, assumptions and practices into public life. Churches shaped education, welfare, public ceremonies and moral language. The weekly rhythm of work and rest, the public holiday calendar, marriage customs and many charity traditions have been influenced by Christianity.

They might mean Christianity has been the largest religion in Australia. That has also been true historically, although it is changing. In the 2021 Census, Christianity remained the largest religious affiliation at 43.9 percent, while 38.9 percent of Australians reported no religion. That tells us Christianity remains significant, but Australia is no longer culturally Christian in the simple majority-assumption way it once was.

They might mean Australia’s laws and moral instincts have been influenced by Christianity. That is also true, although not only Christianity. Western legal and political traditions are complex. They include Christian theology, Roman law, Greek philosophy, Enlightenment thought, British common law, liberal democracy, labour movements, Indigenous presence and migrant communities. Christianity is a major influence, but it is not the only influence.

But if “Christian nation” means that Australia officially belongs to Christianity, or that citizenship should be tied to Christian belief, or that the government should impose Christian faith, then no. That is not what Australia is, and it is not what I want it to become.

Australia’s Constitution does not establish a national church. Section 116 prevents the Commonwealth from making a law establishing any religion, imposing religious observance, prohibiting the free exercise of religion or requiring a religious test for Commonwealth office. That does not mean Australia is anti-religion. It means the Commonwealth is not meant to turn one religion into the official religion of the state.

That seems wise to me.

Christian Influence Is Not the Same as Theocracy

Christians sometimes react to cultural change with fear. We see Sunday trading, changes around public holidays, declining church attendance, hostility toward Christian moral claims and growing religious illiteracy, then we panic. We may feel that if Christianity is not privileged by law, it will disappear from public life.

But Christianity’s public witness has never depended only on legal privilege. At its best, the church bears witness through worship, holiness, service, truth-telling, courage, compassion and persuasion. Laws matter, but laws cannot create faith. They can restrain behaviour. They can protect freedom. They can promote justice. But they cannot make someone love God.

That is why I am uneasy when Christians talk as though the goal is to “take back” the nation. If that means Christians should serve faithfully, argue persuasively, act courageously and love their neighbours publicly, then yes. But if it means forcing Christian identity onto people through political power, then no.

The gospel is not advanced by pretending people are Christian when they are not. Nor is the church strengthened by outsourcing discipleship to the state.

The New Testament calls Christians to witness, not domination. Jesus sends his disciples to make disciples, teaching and baptising, not to coerce the nations into outward conformity. Paul reasons, persuades, suffers, plants churches and calls believers to live honourably among outsiders. Peter calls Christians to give a reason for their hope with gentleness and respect. None of that is passive. It is deeply public. But it is not theocracy.

The Loss of Shared Sacred Time

Still, I do not think Christians should shrug at the loss of shared sacred time. Something is lost when every day becomes a shopping day, every holiday becomes an entertainment opportunity and every shared pause becomes negotiable.

The issue is not only religious. Humans need rhythms of rest, worship, family, community and remembrance. A society that cannot pause will eventually become less humane. Even if someone is not Christian, there is wisdom in shared time away from buying, selling and producing.

Good Friday and Christmas are not just days off for Christians. They are public reminders, even if faint ones, that the story of Jesus has shaped our society. Christmas speaks of incarnation, gift, joy and hope. Good Friday speaks of suffering, sacrifice, sin, injustice and costly love. Even when the wider culture forgets the theology, the days still carry memory.

But memory fades when practice disappears.

If everything stays open, if sport and commerce fill the day, if Christian holidays become merely convenient long weekends, then the culture may retain the names while losing the meaning. That is part of the shift many Christians feel. It is not only that fewer people attend church. It is that the shared public imagination no longer knows what the Christian story is for.

Persuasion, Not Imposition

The Christian response should not be to demand that everyone behave as though they believe. That easily becomes resentment politics. Instead, we should recover the art of persuasion.

Persuasion means explaining why Christian faith is good news, not merely asserting that Australia used to be more Christian. It means showing why rest matters, why worship matters, why human dignity matters, why forgiveness matters, why sacrifice matters and why Jesus matters. It means making the Christian story intelligible again.

Persuasion also requires humility. Christians need to admit that the church has not always used influence well. Sometimes we have defended privilege more than truth. Sometimes we have confused cultural comfort with faithfulness. Sometimes we have wanted Christian morality without Christian discipleship. Sometimes we have expected non-Christians to live like Christians while failing to show them the beauty of Christ.

If we want a more Christian-shaped culture, the first question is not “How do we legislate this?” It is “Are we living a faith worth noticing?”

What Should Christians Want from Government?

Christians should not withdraw from politics. Laws affect real people. Public policy matters. Religious freedom matters. The vulnerable need protection. Workers need justice. Families need support. The unborn, the elderly, refugees, the poor, people with disability and those pushed to the margins all need advocates.

So I do want Christians in government. I want Christians serving as thoughtful, humble and courageous public leaders. I want Christians to bring their convictions into public debate, not hide them as though faith is only a private hobby.

But I also want Christians to respect the difference between public witness and religious coercion.

A Christian politician should not have to pretend their faith is irrelevant. But they should also be able to make arguments that serve the common good, not only the interests of Christians. In a plural society, Christians can argue from Scripture within the church, but in public policy we also need to make arguments our neighbours can understand, even when they do not share our faith.

That does not mean watering Christianity down. It means loving our neighbours enough to persuade rather than merely impose.

A Christian Nation, or a Mission Field?

Perhaps the phrase “Christian nation” is less useful than we think. It can hide too much ambiguity. It can mean Christian heritage, Christian majority, Christian morality, Christian establishment or Christian aspiration. Each of those is different.

Maybe Christians in Australia should think less in terms of “Are we still a Christian nation?” and more in terms of “How do we bear faithful witness in the nation we actually live in?”

Australia has Christian roots, but it is now religiously mixed, increasingly secular and culturally fragmented. That may feel like loss. In some ways, it is. But it also clarifies the task. The church can no longer assume that people understand the Bible, the gospel, sin, grace, worship, church or even the basic meaning of Christmas and Easter.

That is not the end of Christian witness. It is the context for it.

If Australia is less culturally Christian than it once was, then Christians need to become better at explaining Christianity, embodying Christianity and inviting people into Christian community. We cannot rely on the culture to do that work for us.

Where I Currently Stand

So where do I land?

I am grateful for the Christian influence that has shaped Australia and the wider West. I think our society would be poorer if it forgot the Christian story completely. I think the loss of shared rhythms such as Sunday rest, Christmas and Good Friday says something about how deeply consumerism and secularism have reshaped us.

I also think Christians should participate fully in public life. We should not be embarrassed to speak from Christian conviction. We should not accept the idea that secular viewpoints are neutral while religious viewpoints are biased. Everyone brings a vision of the good life into public debate.

But I do not want a theocracy. I do not want people treated as Christians by law when they are not Christians by faith. I do not want the church to confuse political power with gospel faithfulness.

A healthy Christian public witness should seek influence without coercion, conviction without domination and persuasion without manipulation. It should defend freedom not only for Christians, but also for others. It should call society to justice, mercy, truth and rest, while remembering that the kingdom of God is not built by nostalgia or legislation.

People should be invited into the Christian faith because they have encountered the truth, beauty and goodness of Jesus Christ.

Not because the state has left them no other option.

Sources and Further Reading

This article is written as a plain-language reflection rather than an academic paper. The following sources have shaped the discussion and are useful starting points for readers who want to go deeper.

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Religious Affiliation in Australia,” 2021 Census release.
  • Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department, “Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion or Belief.”
  • Parliament of Australia, discussion of Section 116 of the Australian Constitution.
  • Fair Work Ombudsman, “Public Holidays” and “Public Holidays Fact Sheet.”
  • Western Australian Government, “Retail Trading Hours.”
  • Western Australian Government media statement, “Sunday Trading to Start on August 26,” 2012.
  • Oliver O’Donovan, The Desire of the Nations: Rediscovering the Roots of Political Theology.
  • Jonathan Leeman, How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age.
  • James K. A. Smith, Awaiting the King: Reforming Public Theology.
  • Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society.
  • Tim Keller, How to Reach the West Again.
  • John Dickson, Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History.