Post-1945 Australia Flashcards
What does Kinship involve?
Overall it establishes the relationships/responsibilities to the Land and People
Clans define someone’s role and familial position
Connection to the land defines totems, and caretaker role
Behaviour sets up skin groupings and acceptable adult behaviour
What are the 3 main aspects of Aboriginal Spiritualitis?
Kinship
Obligations to the land and people
Aboriginal Ceremonial Life
What does Aboriginal Ceremonial Life involve?
It reaffirms the living’s place in unity with nature.
It includes periodic ceremonies to appease spirits and ensure continuity of food sources e.g. Hunting rituals
Or rites of passage which Mark the stages in an individual’s life
What are involved in the Indigenous obligations to the land and people?
These are essentially the ethics determined by the Dreaming which manifest in Aboriginal Law
Marriage Laws- skin groupings/punishments
Keeping the land alive
What are the 6 government policies that dispossessed Aboriginals and separated them from their culture?
- Dispossession- legally separated people from their land
- Missions- Christian Churches removed culture, gave handouts,
- Protection/segregation- forcibly taken away/under govt control
- Assimilation- same rights but children were ‘brainwashed’
- Self-determination- working with them, not for them
- Stolen Generations- (1915-1970), children taken away and brainwashed in institutions, adopted, often abused
What have been the effects of the Stolen Generation and Dispossession on Aboriginal people today?
The Stolen Generations were separated from their family/land and were often abused- they now suffer from many psychological issues and lost a great deal of their culture/oral traditions/ceremonies
Dispossession has denied connection to the land/dreaming, broke up kinship groups, destroyed ceremonial life
What are the major dates in the Land Rights movement?
1992- Mabo Desicion, introduced Native Title, abolished Terra Nullius
1993- Native Title Act becomes Federal Law
1996- Wik Desicion, Native Title may co-exist with pastoral leases, each case must be tried
1998- Native Title Amendment Act encourages more negotiation, more flexibility, states legislate their own regimes
What is the significance of the Dreaming in the Land Rights movement?
Land Rights allowed access to sacred sites/ancestral lands
Connection to Dreaming places aided Legal proceedings
Dreaming sense of ownership =/= white sense of ownership, helped solve problems/compromise
Secrecy of the Dreaming made it difficult to prove connection to the land
What generally does the census data say about the religious landscape in post-1945 Australia?
- More Catholic, Orthodox, but less Protestant
- More non-Christian religious adherents
- More “No Religion”
- More Pentecostals
- Lower youth attendance- except in Pentecostal
- Lower Mainstream Church attendance
What has happened to Christianity as a major religious tradition in post-1945 Australia?
There has been an overall decline
The white colonisation and White Australia Policy have kept it the most prominent religious tradition
Although “No Religion” has risen according to the census data, possibly due to less youth attendance and deaths with older attendants
How has post-war migration affected Australia’s religious landscape?
Australia’s abolishment of the White Australia policy encouraged a boom of immigrants from Europe, the Middle East and Asia
Multiculturalism has greatly increased foreign immigrants from Anglican and Orthodox traditions as well as others including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism
How has denominational switching affected the post-war Australian religious landscape?
This involves the rise/fall of Christian denominations
People who switch focus on self-fulfilment rather than denominational loyalty- many join the Pentecostals as they’re more light hearted/lively
People often become dissatisfied due to the services being boring, the views being too conservative, or low attendance
How has Secularism affected the post-war Australian religious landscape?
Secularism is when religion is separated from state functions or in fact is taken over by them.
“No Religion” has increase pain the census- due to either their simply low attendance or lack of belief, often caused by boring Church processes, clashing beliefs, other commitments, or technical issues
How have ‘New Age’ spiritualities impacted the post-war Australian Religious Landscape?
New Age spiritualities focus on self-fulfilment. They’re often mystical, non-conventional and personalised.
People have converted due to postmodern disillusionment, social change, questioning institutions, or for further spiritual insight
E.g. Crystal Healing, Fung Shui, Wicca
What is the Ecumenical Movement and why has it occurred?
This movement encourages the promotion of unity amongst the Christian denominations. This has occurred due to:
- An appreciation of social harmony
- A rejection of universal truths/conservative elitism
- Growing secularism encouraging collaboration
