Australians are among the most skeptical people in the world when it comes to religion.
That's the finding from an international survey of 17,400 people in 23 countries which found most Aussies believe religion does more harm than good.
Belgians were the most likely to think the bad outweighs the good when it comes to religion (68 per cent), with almost two thirds of Australians, Germans and Spaniards sharing that sentiment, the Ipsos Global @dvisor survey released on Thursday showed.
Respondents from Japan, Russia and South Korea were the least likely to believe religion was harmful.
The survey's findings comes after the 2016 census found nearly one third of Australians claim to have no religion, compared to 22 per cent in 2011.
More are turning away from Christianity, but there's been a growth in Buddhism, Islam and Sikhism, the census data released in June showed.
However, while many Australians no longer hold a positive view of religion, this hasn't translated into a fear or dislike of people who hold different beliefs.
The Ipsos poll found more than eight in 10 Aussies feel "completely comfortable" being around people with different religious beliefs.
"In this regard, we are among the more tolerant nations globally," Ipsos Social Research Institute director David Elliott said.
"This tolerance may reflect our multicultural society or maybe driven by beliefs that negative impacts of religion are more an issue globally than locally."
Overall, the respondents to the Ipsos survey were split about how important religion is to their country's moral life.
Half agreed that religious practices were important for the moral life of their country's citizens, with four in 10 Australians agreeing.
Indians and South Africans were the most likely to agree that religion is an important moral factor, with the Swedes and Japanese most likely to disagree.
One third of respondents also believed religious folk made "better citizens", with only one in four Australians agreeing.
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