Preservation of Greek culture and community is extremely important to the Greeks. One study investigating the 54 most common ethnic groups in Australia found that Greek Australians had the lowest rate of intermarriage (marrying outside their ethnicity) than every other race in the first, second and third generations. Generally, intermarriage results in a loss of culture in the subsequent generation unless engagement with Greek language and education is introduced early and maintained throughout childhood. As observed among other ethnic groups, children born to mixed marriages are much less likely to marry someone of a similar background and the original culture is completely lost within just two generations. Despite Greek Australians exhibiting the lowest rate of intermarriage in the country, the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia reports that the number of Greeks marrying non-Greek spouses is increasing in recent years. Children born to mixed-marriage Greek families more often than not embrace their Hellenic heritage and the appeal of Greek culture in these instances creates an opportunity for the community to grow in number rather than diminish.
