Download or read book Religion and Change in Australia written by Adam Possamai and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-03-30 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely book offers a panoramic overview of the enduring significance of religion in modern Australian society. Applying sociological perspectives and contemporary theories of religion in society, it challenges conventional assumptions around the extent of secularisation in Australia and instead argues that religious institutions, groups, and individuals have proved remarkably adaptable to social change and continue to play a major role in Australian life. In doing so, it explores how religion intersects with a wide range of other contemporary issues, including politics, race, migration, gender, and new media. Religion and Change in Australia explores Australia’s unique history regarding religion. Christianity was originally imported as a tool of social control to keep convicts, settlers, and Australian Aboriginal peoples in check. This had a profound impact on the social memory of the nation, and lingering resentment towards the "excessive" presence of religion continues to be felt today. Freedom of religion was enshrined in Section 116 of the Australian Constitution in 1901. Nevertheless, the White Australia Policy effectively prevented adherents of non-Christian faiths from migrating to Australia and the nation remained overwhelmingly Christian. However, after WWII, Australia, in common with other western societies, appears to have become increasingly secularised, as religious observance declined dramatically. However, Religion and Change in Australia employs a range of social theories to challenge this securalist view and argues that Australia is a post-secular society. The 2016 census revealed that over half of the population still identify as Christian. In politics, the socially conservative religious right has come to exert considerable influence on the ruling Liberal-National Coalition, particularly under John Howard and Scott Morrison. New technologies, such as the Internet and social media, have provided new avenues for religious expression and proselytisation whilst so-called "megachurches" have been built to cater to their increasing congregations. The adoption of multiculturalism and increased immigration from Asia has led to a religiously pluralist society, though this has often been controversial. In particular, the position of Islam in Australia has been the subject of fierce debate, and Islamophobic attitudes remain common. Atheism, non-belief, and alternative spiritualities have also become increasingly widespread, especially amongst the young. Religion and Change in Australia analyses these developments to offer new perspectives on religion and its continued relevance within Australian society. This book is therefore a vital resource for students, academics, and general readers seeking to understand contemporary debates surrounding religion and secularisation in Australia.
Download or read book Media Perceptions of Religious Changes in Australia written by Enqi Weng and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-12-05 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the contradiction between the news coverage given to issues of religion, particularly since 2001 in relation to issues such as terrorism, politics, security and gender, and the fact of its apparent decline according to Census data. Based on media research in Australia, and offering comparisons with the UK, the author demonstrates that media discussions overlook the diversity that exists within religions, particularly the country’s main religion, Christianity, and presents religion according to specific interpretations shaped by race, class and gender, which in turn result in very limited understandings of religion itself. Drawing on understandings of the sacred as a non-negotiable value present in religious and secular form, Media Perceptions of Religious Changes in Australia calls for a broader sociological perspective on religion and will appeal to scholars of sociology and media studies with interests in religion and public life.
Download or read book Post God Nation written by Roy Williams and published by HarperCollins Australia. This book was released on 2015-05-01 with total page 526 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why religion fell off the radar in Australia - and how it can get back on At the time of Federation 98% of Australians identified themselves as Christians. Now only 8% say they regularly go to Church. What's changed? How did Australia become a post-Christian nation and what part did the Churches play in their own decline? Author Roy Williams (God, Actually, In God they trust?) has long been an impassioned defender of Christianity. Here, he tackles the decline of the church head on, acknowledging that in many cases, inflexibility, negativity and a refusal to listen have led to a tarnished image. But he also argues that Australia had a long and often misunderstood Christian heritage. And without it, he says, we will become a society with no moral centre, a community where rampant materialism is the only rule. Offering a bold roadmap for the Church to change, Williams challenges atheists, agnostics and true believers to a genuinely open debate about the force of faith.
Download or read book Church and State Changing Government Policies Towards Religion in Australia written by John Stradbroke Gregory and published by North Melbourne, Vic. : Cassell Australia. This book was released on 1973 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book State and Religion written by Renae Barker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-09-03 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With its increasingly secular and religiously diverse population Australia faces many challenges in determining how the state and religion should interact. Australia is not unique in facing these challenges. States worldwide, including common law countries with shared legal and religious heritages, have also been faced with the question of how the state and religion should relate to one another. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and the United States have all had to grapple with how to manage the state-religion relationship in the present day. This book provides a comprehensive historical review of the interaction of the state and religion in Australia. It brings together multiple examples of areas in which the state and religion interact, and reviews these examples across Australia’s history from settlement through to present day. The book sets this story within a wider theoretical context via an examination of theories of state-religion relationships as well as a comparison with other similar common law jurisdictions. The book demonstrates how the solutions arrived at in Australia is uniquely Australian owing to Australia’s unique legal system, religious demographics and history. However this is just one possible outcome among many that have been tried in common law liberal democracies.
Download or read book Religious Change and Indigenous Peoples written by Helena Onnudottir and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring religious and spiritual changes which have been taking place among Indigenous populations in Australia and New Zealand, this book focuses on important changes in religious affiliation in census data over the last 15 years. Drawing on both local social and political debates, while contextualising the discussion in wider global debates about changing religious identities, especially the growth of Islam, the authors present a critical analysis of the persistent images and discourses on Aboriginal religions and spirituality. This book takes a comparative approach to other Indigenous and minority groups to explore contemporary changes in religious affiliation which have raised questions about resistance to modernity, challenges to the nation state and/or rejection of Christianity or Islam. Helena Onnudottir, Adam Posssamai and Bryan Turner offer a critical analysis to on-going public, political and sociological debates about religious conversion (especially to Islam) and changing religious affiliations (including an increase in the number of people who claim 'no religion') among Indigenous populations. This book also offers a major contribution to the growing debate about conversion to Islam among Australian Aborigines, Maoris and Pacific peoples.
Download or read book Beyond Belief written by Hugh Mackay and published by Macmillan Publishers Aus.. This book was released on 2016-04-26 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do people actually mean when they say 'God'? Around two-thirds of us say we believe in God or some 'higher power', but fewer than one in ten Australians attend church weekly. In Beyond Belief, Hugh Mackay presents this discrepancy as one of the great unexamined topics of our time. He argues that while our attachment to a traditional idea of God may be waning, our desire for a life of meaning remains as strong as ever. Mackay interviews dozens of Australians representing many different points on the spectrum of faith, including some who are part of the emerging 'spiritual but not religious' movement. He exposes the deep vein of ambivalence about religion that runs through our society: we may not actively worship, but we still like to see local churches operating in our midst, and we use 'our' church to marry, christen our babies, educate our children and commemorate our dead. He points out some uncomfortable truths, such as our tendency to call on God only in a crisis, and unpacks our human need for 'answers', even when science can't find them. He endorses the Christian ideal of the good life - a life lived for others - but acknowledges that there are many pathways to that same goal, not all of them religious. Written with all the insight and compassion we have come to expect of our leading chronicler of Australian life, Beyond Belief is an engrossing exploration of the ways we find spiritual fulfilment in an avowedly secular age.
Download or read book Religious Diversity in Asia written by Jørn Borup and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthology explores religious diversity in Asia seen through the lenses of history, identity, state, ritual and geography. The chapters furthermore address theoretical and methodological reflections using Asia as a laboratory for broader comparative research of 'religious diversity'.
Download or read book Reason Religion and the Australian Polity written by Stephen A. Chavura and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did the concept of the secular state emerge and evolve in Australia and how has it impacted on its institutions? This is the most comprehensive study to date on the relationship between religion and the state in Australian history, focusing on the meaning of political secularity in a society that was from the beginning marked by a high degree of religious plurality. This book tracks the rise and fall of the established Church of England, the transition to plural establishments, the struggle for a public Christian-secular education system, and the eventual separation of church and state throughout the colonies. The study is unique in that it does not restrict its concern with religion to the churches but also examines how religious concepts and ideals infused apparently secular political and social thought and movements making the case that much Australian thought and institution building has had a sacral-secular quality. Social welfare reform, nationalism, and emerging conceptions of citizenship and civilization were heavily influenced by religious ideals, rendering problematic traditional linear narratives of secularisation as the decline of religion. Finally the book considers present day pluralist Australia and new understandings of state secularity in light of massive social changes over recent generations.
Download or read book Colonial Religion written by Bruce Kaye and published by ATF Press. This book was released on 2020-04-01 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains a series of essays based on previously published articles but all revised and updated. One on the founding of the university of Sydney has been totally re-written. They deal with the cultural and political tsunami that swept over the British empire and especially the colonies in Australia in the middle of the nineteenth century. The effects on those changes continue to this day for both church and state. The recent debates on marriage and religious freedom have about them the marks of these nineteenth century changes. Not all is simple continuity. State aid for independent schools initiated by Robert Menzies but carried to enormous lengths by his successors to this day actually turned the nineteenth century resolution totally on its head. The issues in these essays turn of the collapse of the English Christendom version of church state relations. The implications of that long running change are still central to the stuttering re-thinking by Anglicans of what it means to be a church in Australia in the twenty first century. That struggle has its analogues in the broader culture and nation as it tries to find a way to be Australia.
Download or read book Australian Soul written by Gary Bouma and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-03-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Australian Soul challenges the idea that religious and spiritual life in Australia is in decline. This fascinating book describes the character of religious and spiritual life in Australia today, and argues that, far from petering out, religion and spirituality are thriving. Gary Bouma, the leading expert on the state of religious life in Australia, provides the most up-to-date facts and figures and compares the 'tone' of Australian religious practices with those of other countries. Australians might be less vocal and more reticent about their religion than Americans are, but their religious and spiritual beliefs are no less potent. Australian Soul describes and analyses our religious and spiritual life in detail as well as providing a series of case studies that illustrate the range of practices and beliefs in Australia today. Australian Soul predicts a vital future for religion and spirituality.
Download or read book Believing in Australia written by Hilary M. Carey and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 1996-07-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Australians have been slow to appreciate the rich variety of their religious inheritance. Believing in Australia is a much-needed cultural history of Australia's many religions which goes well beyond existing studies of denominationalism. Hilary Carey traces the changes in religions practice brought by waves of migration, including European occupation and the post-war growth of Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist communities. She also examines the slow European discovery of Aboriginal religions, the vital importance of religion for women and the recent growth of Christian fundamentalism and New Age sects. Believing in Australia demonstrates the central place of religion in the Australian experience and offers an engaging introduction to Australia's religious history for believers and non-believers alike. 'A landmark book: it opens up major new themes in Australian history which demand attention.' - Edmund Campion, Catholic Institute of Sydney 'Hilary Carey deftly weaves the histories of Australia's faith communities into a coat of many colours. Essential and absorbing reading for all who believe in Australia and its future as an integrated multi-religious nation.' - Rachel Kohn, 'Religion Today', Radio National
Download or read book Christianity Conflict and Renewal in Australia and the Pacific written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-06-21 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christianity, Conflict, and Renewal in Australia and the Pacific uncovers critical dilemmas that Christians face when they desire to renegotiate longstanding spiritual practices. It highlights the key role that Christianity plays in the Australia-Pacific region as a motivating force for spiritual, political, and economic renewal.
Download or read book Muslim Communities in Australia written by Shahram Akbarzadeh and published by UNSW Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book highlights the complex human diversity presented by Australia's Muslims, as well as their distinctive contribution and the challenges they pose to a still-evolving Australian multiculturalism. Emphasising the diversity of the Islamic experience in Australia, it presents a useful antidote to the stereotypical image that still colours mainstream perspectives of Islam.
Download or read book The Changing World Religion Map written by Stanley D. Brunn and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 3858 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This extensive work explores the changing world of religions, faiths and practices. It discusses a broad range of issues and phenomena that are related to religion, including nature, ethics, secularization, gender and identity. Broadening the context, it studies the interrelation between religion and other fields, including education, business, economics and law. The book presents a vast array of examples to illustrate the changes that have taken place and have led to a new world map of religions. Beginning with an introduction of the concept of the “changing world religion map”, the book first focuses on nature, ethics and the environment. It examines humankind’s eternal search for the sacred, and discusses the emergence of “green” religion as a theme that cuts across many faiths. Next, the book turns to the theme of the pilgrimage, illustrated by many examples from all parts of the world. In its discussion of the interrelation between religion and education, it looks at the role of missionary movements. It explains the relationship between religion, business, economics and law by means of a discussion of legal and moral frameworks, and the financial and business issues of religious organizations. The next part of the book explores the many “new faces” that are part of the religious landscape and culture of the Global North (Europe, Russia, Australia and New Zealand, the U.S. and Canada) and the Global South (Latin America, Africa and Asia). It does so by looking at specific population movements, diasporas, and the impact of globalization. The volume next turns to secularization as both a phenomenon occurring in the Global religious North, and as an emerging and distinguishing feature in the metropolitan, cosmopolitan and gateway cities and regions in the Global South. The final part of the book explores the changing world of religion in regards to gender and identity issues, the political/religious nexus, and the new worlds associated with the virtual technologies and visual media.
Download or read book Aboriginal Religions in Australia written by Françoise Dussart and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last 25 years there has been an explosion of interest in the Aboriginal religions of Australia and this anthology provides a variety of recent writings, by a wide range of scholars. Australian Aboriginal Religions are probably the oldest extant religious systems. Over some 50,000 years they have coped with change and re-invented themselves in an astonishingly creative way. The Dreaming, the mythical time when the Ancestor Spirits shaped the territories of the Aborigines and laid down a moral and ritual law for their occupants, is the fundamental religious reality. It is the basis of the Aborigines's view of their land or country, kinship relationships, ritual and art. However, the Dreaming is not a static principle since it is interpreted in different ways, as in the extraordinary movement in contemporary indigenous painting, and in attempts at an accommodation with Christianity. The contributions of anthropologists, cultural historians, philosophers of religion and others are included in this anthology which not only guides readers through the literature but also ensures this still largely inaccessible material is available to a wider range of readers and non-specialist students and academics.
Download or read book Buddhism in Australia written by Cristina Rocha and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-12-07 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The number of Buddhists in Australia has grown dramatically in recent years. In 2006, Buddhists accounted for 2.1 per cent of Australia's population, almost doubling the 1996 figures, and making it the fastest growing religion in the country. This book analyses the arrival and localisation of Buddhism in Australia in the context of the globalisation of Buddhism. Australia's close geographical proximity to Asia has encouraged an intense flow of people, ideas, practices and commodities from its neighbouring countries, while at the same time allowing the development of the religion to be somewhat different to its growth in other Western countries. The book seeks to explore the Buddhist experience in Australia, looking at the similarities and particularities of this experience in relation to other Western countries. The inception of Buddhism in Australia is investigated, and a voice is provided to people on the ground who have been fundamental in making this process possible. For the first time, academic analysis and practitioners' experience are juxtaposed to show the adaptations and challenges of Buddhism in Australia from above and below. This book is a unique and valuable contribution to the study of Buddhism in the West, globalization of religion, and studies in Asian Religion.
