This pattern is not unique to Australia but is occurring throughout the Western world. A study conducted by Roof 1994 in the United States in the late 1980 s found that baby boomers in particular had dropped out of establishment religion. Two-thirds of his sample left during their teens or early twenties and, although 25 percent of them later returned, the remainder were either exploring other forms of religious expression or had no involvement in religion
A cross-national study of religion in ten Western nations including Australia and the United States concluded that ‘religious establishment-whether legal or cultural-have substantially weakened if not collapsed’ (Roof,Carroll &Roozen 1995 , p.244) This is reflected in formal membership of churches and synagogues and in church attendance, as well as in beliefs and moral practices. The number claiming to have religion has also grown. This is true even in countries such as Greece where membership of the Greek