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NCLS Research NCLS Research is a world leader in research focused on connecting churches and their communities.Our most well known five-yearly project is called the National Church Life Survey, which has had millions of participants.

In 2024 we started offering the Student Spiritual Life Survey (SSLS) for faith-based High schools. The SSLS is designed to provide an annual snapshot that explores attitudes and practices around spirituality in general, and Christianity in particular.

Student Spiritual Life Survey

Understand the spiritual beliefs, attitudes and practices of your students and the impact of your school activities on their faith. Developed by NCLS Research, this survey is based on more than 30 years of experience in world-class research into faith, church life and spirituality.

Why a Student Spiritual Life Survey?

A survey provides the opportunity to hear from all students – not just the loudest. Being anonymous, it encourages honest and real answers. The responses will provide an evidence base through an annual survey of the spiritual life of students. It will inform schools about how well students are engaging with the message of Christ and the impact of faith in their life.

14/10/2026

Women in Church Leadership

Across Australia’s major denominations, our research shows that a strong majority of everyday church attenders — both men and women — support the ordination of women as ministers, pastors or priests,.

This is just one of the many questions we’ll be exploring in the 2026 NCLS — will your church take part?

05/10/2026

Safeguarding children and vulnerable people matters.

For the past decade, the National Church Life Survey has been tracking safeguarding in Australian churches. Between 2016 and 2021, we saw encouraging improvements in policies, procedures, training and leaders’ awareness of how to raise safeguarding concerns.

The 2026 NCLS gives us the opportunity to see what has changed five years on — and, importantly, to hear from church attenders about their own awareness and experiences of safety.

Through our Child Attender Survey (ages 8–14), churches can also hear directly from children about how safe they feel, who they can turn to for support, and whether church leaders listen to their experiences and ideas.

Because creating safer churches starts with listening.

29/09/2026

The Uluru Statement from the Heart is an invitation to the Australian people from First Nations Australians. An invitation, “to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future”.

In order to walk together, you need a relationship.

How many church attenders have relationships with First Nations people?

Sign up to the 2026 NCLS and have your voice heard

26/09/2026

The Uluru Statement from the Heart invites all Australians to “walk with us … for a better future.”

But what does that look like in practice?

How connected are Australians with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples? How often do we share life, relationships and community? And where do we stand on treaty-making and truth-telling?

In the 2026 Australian Community Survey, just over half (53%) said they know First Nations people, while 16% said they regularly mix with First Nations people in their day-to-day lives.

Now, we want to hear from Australian church attenders.

As part of the 2026 National Church Life Survey, we’re asking the same questions to better understand how Australian churches are engaging with First Nations peoples.

Your voice matters. Take part in the survey and help us understand what walking together looks like in Australia today.

23/09/2026

The Census asks about Religion, but we know that spirituality can mean a lot of different things to different people

In the 2026 Australian Community Survey, we asked a sample of Australians how often they felt these 6 aspects of spirituality:

1. A deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being

2. A deep sense of wonder about the universe

3. A strong sense of gratitude or thankfulness

4. The presence of something from beyond this world

5. A deep sense of connection with humanity

6. A sense of awe at the beauty of nature

For the first time, we’re including some of these questions in the National Church Life Survey.

How will church attenders compare to the wider community?

19/09/2026

What does spirituality look like in a country where fewer people identify with a religion?

Our latest research suggests the answer may be more nuanced than the Census figures alone reveal.

Australians commonly report experiencing awe in nature and gratitude, with around 6 in 10 experiencing these at least monthly.

We’re now taking a closer look at these experiences among church attenders through the National Church Life Survey.

As religious affiliation changes, it raises an interesting question: are Australians becoming less spiritual — or simply expressing spirituality in different ways?

16/09/2026

Will we see a rise of Far-Right parties like One Nation in the voting habits of church goers?

This year a sample of the NCLS attender surveys will include the question,

"who would you vote for if an election was held today?"

The data will provide an important snapshot of the changing political landscape

14/09/2026

One Nation is surging in the polls — but will we see the same shift among Australian church attenders?

Our 2026 NCLS research will explore how political preferences are changing, and whether church attenders are following the broader Australian trend.

What will the data show?

07/09/2026

We have been tracking the views of church attenders towards voluntary assisted dying for decades.

These views were stable between 2001 and 2021.

Almost half disagreed or strongly disagreed that “People suffering from a terminal illness should be able to ask a doctor to end their life”, while around 1 in 3 strongly agreed or agreed and the remainder were neutral or unsure.

We will once again ask a sample of church attenders this question in the 2026 National Church Life Survey, but there is a key difference in our context this time around.

Now, all Australian states and territories except for the Northern Territory allow voluntary assisted dying, with laws in 5 of the 7 jurisdictions commencing between 2021 and 2025.

What will the results show in 2026?

05/09/2026

We have been tracking the views of church attenders towards voluntary assisted dying for decades.

These views were stable between 2001 and 2021. Almost half disagreed or strongly disagreed that “People suffering from a terminal illness should be able to ask a doctor to end their life”, while around 1 in 3 strongly agreed or agreed and the remainder were neutral or unsure.

We will once again ask a sample of church attenders this question in the 2026 National Church Life Survey, but there is a key difference in our context this time around.

Now, all Australian states and territories allow voluntary assisted dying, with laws in 5 of the 7 jurisdictions commencing between 2021 and 2025.

What will the results show in 2026?

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