Religion and Belief Systems in Australia; post-1945 Flashcards
1
Q
Discuss how Aboriginal spirituality is determined by the Dreaming
Kinship
A
- Kinship- Integral to spirituality
- Refers to network of relationships that hold a clan together
- Relationships establish and reinforce the rules of behaviour within a community
- Land is an important aspect of kinship- land is often referred to as “my mother”
- Kinship ties identify a system of belonging and responsibility in a clan
2
Q
Ceremonial Life
A
- Ancestors taught human descendants how to live life and keep life going → Through secret ceremonies.
- Performing ceremonies- Dreaming and its life giving powers lives in through humans and animals
- Rituals renew and conserve life. Each person expected to understand and conform to sacred traditions
- Art: Way of communicating the Dreaming through symbols, paintings, representations.
- Stories: Describe law, lifestyle, customs, culture. Always messages to teach ethics.
- Totems: Represent individuals as they existed in Dreaming→ Carry ceremonial responsibilities
3
Q
Obligations to land and people
A
- Connection to land; Responsibility to care and nurture land
- Dreaming links person to land and objects within the land
- Dreaming tells rights and responsibilities people have with respect to land
- People share the same spiritual essence as the land
- Land is physical medium through which the Dreaming is lived and communicated.
4
Q
Discuss the continuing effect of dispossession on Aboriginal spiritualities in relation to:
Separation from the land
A
- 1770- Captain Cook arrived- declared ‘Terra Nullius’→ Regarded Aus as not belonging to anyone
- Claimed Aus and Aboriginal laws had no legal status.
Entitlement to land was denied - Aboriginal people removed from land (source of spirituality)
- Aboriginal people suffered malnutrition, disease, unable to find work and relied on govt.
- 1830’s- Protectorates established; had reserves- operated under control of white manager
- White manager had power to expel people, hand out food, clothing and treat Aboriginal people like children
- Traditional way of life destroyed- no hunting and gathering
- Dignity taken away. Loss of land; Lives had no meaning
- Water and food sources lost; Had to hunt settlers stock and trespass to get water- Led to violent confrontations
- Displacement; Loss of cultural knowledge
- Separation from land removes sense of belonging to life
- Dreaming concept; Belief in return to spirit world after death- Removal from land withdraws person’s place in Dreaming and in the place of their spirit after death.
5
Q
Separation from kinship groups
A
- British view; Their civilisation is superior and would teach Aboriginals
- Missions: Children lived in dormitories, isolated from families.
- Some tried to undermine culture by branding traditional beliefs as evil- stamping out ceremonies, rituals and languages.
- Different language groups grouped together- sent away from their land
- Loss of kinship-impacted on spirituality
- Scale of separation consequences for whole community- distrust of govt, police and officials
6
Q
What happened in the Stolen Generations?
A
- 1915-1970; Children removed from families by enforcement of govt policies
- Chief protector; Legal guardian of aboriginal children- he sent children to missions, schools, institutions
- Boys exploited as cheap labour on reserves. Girls often fell pregnant. 1/5 were physically abused
- 1950’s & 60’s- taken without parents consent or knowledge
- Children told parents had died or didn’t want them
- Moved from place to place. Discriminated and bullied
- Suffered physical abuse- didn’t feel as if they belonged
- Lost connection to dreaming
- Removing children was official govt policy until 1969
7
Q
Effect of stolen generations
A
- Impossible to know how many children taken- poor record keeping, loss of records, impossible to trace connections
- Effects today of removed from families; more likely to come topolice attention, low self-esteem, depression, vulnerable to sexual, physical abuse, taught to reject culture, unable to retain links to land
- Most raised in church or state institutions, some fostered or adopted by white parents
- In new homes suffered physical, sexual abuse, suffered poor food and living conditions, received little education,banned from speaking native language
- Main reason for policy was to assimilate Aboriginal children into ‘white Australia’
- Lack of parental model, many had difficulty in bringing up their own children
8
Q
Outline the importance of the following for the Land Rights movement:
Native Title
A
- Native Title: Recognition in Aus law- some Indigenous people continue to hold rights to lands and waters- comes from traditional laws and customs.
- Exists when rights and interests are possessed under traditional laws currently observed and acknowledged
- Those Indigenous people have a connection with the area
- The rights and interests are recognised by the common law of Australia
- Laws and customs must have been acknowledged in mostly uninterrupted way from time of settlement to now
- Native title recognises validity of Aboriginal territorial laws existing prior to European settlement
- Native Title Act (1993)- Overturned terra nullius and gave official recognition to Indigenous way of life
9
Q
What was Mabo decision?
A
- Eddie Mabo (Mer Islander) believed Australian laws on land ownership were wrong,fought to change them
- Challenged the Australian legal system, fought for rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples as traditional owners of their land
- Mer Islanders decided they would be the ones to challenge legal principle of Terra Nullius in High Court
- Mabo case ran for 10 years
- 3 June 1992- High Court decided that terra nullius should not have been applied to Australia.
10
Q
Effects of Mabo decision
A
- High Court did not decide whether or not native title could still exist on land that had been leased to pastoralists on a long-term basis but which they din’t actually own
- Provided limited opportunities for small numbers of indigenous peoples to claim ongoing existence of native title
- Important as land was given back to Mabo’s people, aboriginals able to claim their land more easily, concept of Terra Nullius was overthrown, recognises rights of Aborigines to compensation, self determination, practice of their religion and protection of their cultural identity
11
Q
Wik
A
- 1996- Wik people of Cape York in QLD- brought case to High Court arguing their right of Native Title on pastoral land
- Ruled in their favour; decided Native Title rights and rights of pastoral lease holders could exist simultaneously
- Great victory- even though the rights of the pastoralists on would generally prevail over the rights of the Indigenous
- Impact: Quickly met with an outcry
- John Howard compromised- Dramatically favoured the rights of the pastoralists and was seen as an act of racism
- Nonetheless it was incorporated into Native Title Amendment Act in 1998- the bill increases the state and territory govt powers over Native Title claims while reducing the rights of Aborigines to negotiate directly with pastoral leaseholders
12
Q
Analyse the importance of the Dreaming for the Land Rights movement
Describe the key events in the land rights movement.
A
- Movement in Australia seeking to challenge the idea of terra Nullius and identify Aboriginal people’s connection and ownership of the land.
- 1981- Eddie Mabo believed Australian laws on terra Nullius were wrong and fought to change them.
- 1992- High Court recognised Aboriginal people may still hold native title and provided limited opportunities for people to claim ongoing existence of native title.
- 1993- Native Title Act: Bill overturned legitimacy of terra nullius and thus gave official recognition to the Indigenous way of life, particularly its spiritual connection with land prior to European settlement
- 1996- Wik people argued their right of Native Title on local pastoral land. Ruled in their favour and decised that Native Title rights and the rights of pastoral leaseholders could exist simultaneously
13
Q
Explain why the issue of land rights is important to Indigenous peoples.
A
- Recognises that Aboriginal people are the traditional custodians of the land
- Aboriginal people are able to claim land more easily
- Concept of Terra Nullius is overthrown
- Recognises rights to compensation
- Allowed to practice cultural identity and religion
14
Q
Outline changing patterns of religious adherence from 1945 to the present using census data
A
- In 1901- 96.1% of population was Christian but in 2011- 61.1% of population was Christian
- In 1901- 0.4% of population was no religion, but in 2011- 37.1% of pop was no religion
- In 1996-2006, Buddhism had growth rate of 109.6%
- In 1996-2006, Hinduism had growth rate of 120.2%
- In 1996- 1.1% of pop were Islamic, but in 2011- 2.2% were Islamic, with growth rate of 70%
15
Q
Christianity as major religious tradition
A
- Although Aus becoming multi-faith society; main religious affiliation is still strongly Christian
- Anglican and Roman Catholic Church; still hold dominant roles
- Anglican church still maintains ties to Britain; but ties have weakened considerably
- Australian Catholic community has changed considerably from its Anglo- Celtic origins
- Pre WW2- 17.5% of Aus population, post WW2 rose to 20.7% → Europe contributed many nationalities under Catholic banner (Croatians, Germans, Italians, Spaniards and Maltese)
- Between 1975-1984; Migration of Indo- Chinese refugees and migrants brought sizeable Asian contingent into the Catholic Church
- Over 30 ethnic groups constitute the Catholic Church in Aus today
- Newly formed Uniting Church (1977); made up of Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists→ Unity made them largest of reformist tradition of Protestantism in Aus
- Pentecostal Churches have shown significant growth→ Popular with youth as use contemporary music, large stadium events, avoidance of formalised liturgy
