One of the two topics we're advised to steer clear of as guests at a dinner party is religion, so powerful it can incite division, and derision, amongst even the closest of friends. We can safely assume that politics remains as dangerous a conversation topic as ever in 2006, but what about the place of religion in modern society?

In the absence of any popular awareness or reverence for intellectual and artistic public figures, celebrities have emerged as the spiritual gurus of the 21st century and can be used a barometers of popular feeling.

The pop world's resident agent provocateur and a committed follower of Kabbalah, Madonna (a mystical branch of Judaism) for over six years doesn't believe Western society has become any more tolerant of an individual's religious beliefs. In a recent interview, she said that having a spiritual life was the riskiest thing she'd ever done. "That freaks people out way more than [me] taking my clothes off and having pictures of myself taken and put into a book. It would be less controversial if I joined the Nazi party."

Sydney University Religious Studies academic Dr Carole Cusack says Madonna's suggestion that religion is now more taboo than both sex and politics has little to do with the place of religion in modern society and more to do with maintaining her status as a public figure who continues to push boundaries.

"Everyone likes the idea of doing something very risky, ie. 'I'm still cutting edge because I do things people don't like.' But actually, people are not at all surprised by people dabbling in unusual religions, especially celebrities."

Madonna is one of a coterie of celebrities whose religious inclinations have drawn controversy. Scientologist Tom Cruise is the other most famous contemporary example.

Both are followers of relatively new religious movements, which Dr Cusack says "are driven by other factors than the factors that drove historical religions. They're driven by consumerism and the notion of the secret."

But the social suspicion dealt to Madonna and Cruise is not just reserved for newer religions. In January this year, American author Naomi Wolf announced she'd had a vision of Jesus. The revelation was used as evidence by critics she'd lost all credibility.

"Journalists tend to be more insulting the odder your religion is," says Dr Cusack, "but the tabloid media is accustomed to treating anyone who is religious as if they are deranged."

But what about religion closer to home and away from the limelight? 2006 is a census year in Australia. Impending census data is an exciting prospect for academics like Dr Cusack. "The census only happens every five years so you can expect shifts. A shift of half a per cent in the census would be huge."

With only 9 per cent of the population regularly attending church, Australia is one of the most secular countries in the western world. And while Australian society, particularly its journalists and tabloid media, are notorious for displaying a deeply suspicious attitude towards anyone who is outwardly religious, the hype surrounding the rise of Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity in mainstream Australia, would suggest we're in a very different kind of decade to the cool-to-be-atheist 90s.

Dr Cusack is quietly expecting the number of Australians who declare they are of 'No Religion' to drop from 11 per cent in the data collected from this year's census. According to Dr Cusack the drop is not the result of growing spirituality in Australia, instead, it's the result of an ageing population. She argues that it hasn't really been fashionable to be an atheist since the 1970s. "The majority of atheists in Australia aren't young, they're old and they die."

Evangelical and Pentecostal branches of Christianity such as Hillsong and Assemblies of God - which gave rise to Family First in South Australia - are growing at a faster rate but their growth collectively does not compensate for the growth away from mainstream churches. Additionally, their retention rates are low. The average time a person stays in a Pentecostal Church is between 18 months and 3 years.

"It's normally a phase associated with youth and when people take a reality check on life, it doesn't work any more," says Dr Cusack.

The hype surrounding the growth of these forms of Christianity is largely spin. The fastest growing religions in Australia are Neo-Paganism, Buddhism and Islam. "The last three censuses indicate that Buddhism and Neo-Paganism are converting people and Islam is out-breeding everybody," says Dr Cusack.

Religious Director of Imam Husain Islamic Centre in Earlwood, Sheikh Mansour Leghaei, says, "We always lose some and gain some. But in general, I think most of our members are the youth and their numbers are increasing."

The number of mosques in Sydney are increasing. "In 1994 there was only a few Islamic Centres (for Shi'a Muslims) in Sydney. Now there are about 10 centres in different suburbs and the number of participants is always increasing. Statistically the number of participants in our centre has tripled since 2000," says Sheikh Leghaei.

He puts increased attendance at the centre down to people's need for a spiritual oasis to treat their tension and stress. "Families are realising the urge for providing spirituality for their children. Also, there is more Islamic awareness among the youth."

The President of Sydney University Evangelical Union (EU) Ryan Smartt, says he thinks the main reasons students approach him to join EU are because they're "concerned with questions about the world and identity and they find answers in religion."

He has noticed the popularity of EU increase over the past 10 years. "EU has been around for 75 years. In the 1940s and 50s it was stacks bigger but there has been a bit of a resurgence and we've currently got around 600 members," he says. "Most people come to us from their local church or youth group but there are significant numbers of people who approach us with no religious background."

Smartt has been a university student for five years and believes there is a "growing tolerance" for the organisation both on and off campus. "Some people just don't like us and I'm not sure that will ever change but I think the University administration, in particular, appreciate what we do."

Whatever the census results, any genuine religious revival in Australia looks unlikely. Changes in the place of religion in society are so incremental it will take decades of census results to notice any significant alteration in the national character.