Editing Culture of New Zealand (section)

==Religion==
{{Main|Religion in New Zealand}}
[[File:00 1505 Dunedin (New Zealand) - Knox Church.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Knox Church, Dunedin|Knox Church]], a [[Presbyterian church]], in [[Dunedin]]. The city was founded by Scottish Presbyterian settlers.]]

Pre-colonial [[Religion of Māori people|native Māori religion]] was [[animistic]].<ref name="Brock">{{cite book | editor-last = Brock | editor-first = Peggy | title = Indigenous Peoples and Religious Change | publisher=Brill Academic Publishers |chapter=Broken Tongues and Foreign Hearts|last=Wagstrom|first=Thor| location = Boston | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-90-04-13899-5 |pages=71 and 73}}</ref> One of its major features was [[Tapu (Polynesian culture)|tapu]] (sacred and/or forbidden), which was used to maintain the status of chiefs and [[tohunga]] (priests) and also for purposes such as conserving resources. Some of the earliest European settlers in New Zealand were [[Christianity|Christian]] [[missionaries]], mostly from the [[Church of England]] but also from [[Protestant]] denominations and the [[Catholic Church]]. From the 1830s onwards, large numbers of Māori converted.<ref name="Brock"/> Throughout the 19th century a number of movements emerged which blended traditional Māori beliefs with Christianity. These included [[Pai Mārire]], [[Ringatū]], and in the early-20th century, [[Rātana]]. They typically centred on a prophet-leader. These churches continue to attract a substantial following; according to the 2013 census, 50,565 people are Rātana believers, and another 16,419 are Ringatū. 1,689 people stated that they followed Māori religion.<ref name="religion1" />

[[File:2013 NZ census people affiliated with Christian religions.gif|thumb|Percentages of people reporting affiliation with Christianity at the 2001, 2006 and 2013 censuses; there has been a steady decrease over twelve years.]]

Pākehā have become steadily less religious over the course of the 20th century. In the 1920s there was still a reasonably high level of [[sectarianism]] and anti-Catholic prejudice, but this has since died down and the major churches generally co-operate with each other. The churches and religious lobby groups have little political influence where Pākehā are concerned. The vast majority of religious Pākehā are Christian, but a small number follow non-Christian religions, particularly [[Buddhism]].{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} The Scottish ([[Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand|Presbyterian]]) English ([[Anglican Church of New Zealand|Anglican]]) division can still be seen in the religious distribution of some cities and suburbs. It has also been evidenced that New Zealand's lack of religion correlates with income and income correlates with urban location; in Auckland, for example, the richest suburbs are the least religious.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11447270|title=God and money: Interactive map shows rich suburbs have most atheists|last=Tan|first=Harkanwal Singh and Lincoln|date=13 May 2015|work= [[The New Zealand Herald]]|access-date=12 January 2019|language=en-NZ|issn=1170-0777}}</ref> A wider range of immigrant groups in recent decades has contributed to the growth of minority religions.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Morris|first=Paul|title=Diverse religions|encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |date=May 2011|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/diverse-religions|access-date=12 January 2018}}</ref>

According to the [[2013 New Zealand census|2013 census]], the number of people who affiliated with a Christian denomination (including Māori Christian) decreased to 1,906,398 (48.9% of all people who stated their religious affiliation), down from 2,082,942 (55.6%) in 2006.<ref name="religion1">{{cite web|title=2013 Census QuickStats about culture and identity|url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-culture-identity/religion.aspx|website=www.stats.govt.nz|publisher=[[Statistics New Zealand]]}}</ref> Affiliation to non-Christian religions has increased since the 2006 census. {{As of|2013|alt=In 2013}}, the number of [[Hindu]]s numbered 88,919, Buddhists 58,404, [[Muslim]]s 46,149, and [[Sikh]]s 19,191. The number and proportion of people indicating they had no religion increased between 2006 and 2013.<ref name="religion1" /> In 2013, 1,635,345 New Zealanders (41.9%) reported they had no religion.<ref name="religion1" />