Minority faiths rise but fringes sing same psalms

SYDNEY's inner- and medium-ring suburbs have become a patchwork of religious enclaves, with minority religions making up to 40 per cent of the population in some areas.

But the city's outer regions, made up mainly of aspirational white-collar workers and blue-collar tradesmen, remain bastions of mainstream Christian faiths.

The data, compiled by the Bureau of Statistics, suggests that developments of schools and cemeteries on cheaper sites on Sydney's white-bread fringes will continue to fuel protests while they run ahead of religious settlement patterns. read more