What is the role of language in ethnic churches? This new and much needed account of the Australian experience examines the issues faced by sixteen congregations, together representing different periods of Australia’s migration history, as well as different languages, cultural backgrounds and Christian denominations. Drawing on the rich data provided by the study, the concept of “language–religion ideology” is developed to describe the nature of the relationship between language and religion which is exhibited by a denomination, with far-reaching implications for multilingual and multicultural societies.