Editing Bendigo (section)

=== Religion ===
In the 19th century, Catholicism was the predominant Christian tradition in Bendigo. Catholic priest and pioneer [[George Henry Backhaus]] established a site in 1852 for the first Masses at Golden Square and, by the end of the year, he was camping at the site of Bendigo's first church, St Kilian's Church, completed in 1858. A wealthy man, Backhaus left his estate for the benefit of the church which, in 1897, enabled the construction of [[Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo|Sacred Heart Cathedral]]. Completed in 1977, it is the largest church building in provincial Australia. As of 2016, Catholicism is still practised by 22% of the population. In the 2016 census, 36.2% reported having "no religion".<ref name="census" />

The Sandhurst Methodist Circuit (1854) serviced five Wesleyan churches which had been built in previous years. There were several church schools, but they were attended by one-fifteenth of Bendigo's school children.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

The Chinese, who in the mid-19th century constituted 20% of Bendigo's population, built the heritage-listed Bendigo Joss House Temple dedicated to [[Guan Yu|Kwan Tai or Lord Guan]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-18/chinese-temple-brings-fortune-family-worshippers-say/9454664|title=One of Australia's oldest Chinese temples brings fortune and family, worshippers say|publisher=abc.net.au/|date=2018-02-18|access-date=2020-11-22}}</ref> where they practised [[Chinese folk religion|syncretic]] beliefs involving [[Ancestor veneration in China|ancestor worship]] and the three main religions of China: [[Buddhism]], [[Taoism]] and [[Confucianism]].<ref>{{Citation | author1=National Trust of Australia (Vic.) | author2=National Trust of Australia (Victoria) | title=Bendigo and the Chinese Joss House | date=1972 | publisher=National Trust of Australia (Victoria) | isbn=978-0-909710-04-0}}</ref> Bendigo is also home to the largest [[stūpa]] in the Western world, the [[Great Stupa of Universal Compassion]], which houses the [[Jade Buddha for Universal Peace]], the world's largest gem-quality [[jade]] [[Buddharupa|Buddha]] statue. {{as of|2016}}, Buddhism was followed by 1.4% of Bendigo people,<ref name =profile>{{Cite web|title=Religion {{!}} City of Greater Bendigo {{!}} Community profile|url=https://profile.id.com.au/bendigo/religion?WebID=100|access-date=2020-06-29|website=profile.id.com.au}}</ref> and [[Islam]] by about 0.5%.<ref name =profile/> In 2019,<ref name=romensky/> despite [[Bendigo mosque protests|protests]] by several far-right and [[Islamophobia|anti-Islam]] organisations,<ref name="Hatch">{{cite news|last1=Patrick|first1=Hatch|title=Q Society spreading anti-mosque message in Bendigo|work=The Age|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/q-society-spreading-antimosque-message-in-bendigo-20140622-zshj4.html|access-date=27 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | website=ABC News | title=Bendigo's anti-mosque protest: United Patriots Front nationalist group behind demonstration|first=Madeleine |last=Morris | date=12 October 2015 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-12/who-was-behind-bendigos-anti-mosque-protests/6848468 | access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> construction began on Bendigo's first mosque and Islamic community centre.<ref name=romensky>{{cite web | last=Romensky | first=Larissa | title=Bendigo mosque construction begins as Premier Daniel Andrews turns first sod| website=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=26 July 2019 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-26/bendigo-mosque-sod-turned-after-years-of-controversy/11347164 | access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Kernebone | first=Elspeth | title=Bendigo mosque works begin as first sod turned at site of Islamic Community Centre | website=Bendigo Advertiser | date=26 July 2019 | url=https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/6295558/a-day-of-joy-as-mosque-construction-begins/ | access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref>