religious expression in Australia - 1945 to the present

Question 1

2021 most common religions

Answer 1

• christianity (43.9%)
• no religion (38.9%)
• islam (3.2%)

Question 2

yezidi

Answer 2

highest growing religion from 2016 to 2021

Question 3

christianity in australia

Answer 3

• Christianity was the controlling factor in the underlying community ethics, provision of government services and development of laws.
• After 1945, there was a complete transformation in Australia’s immigration policy, but Christian adherents still remained dominant (88%).

Question 4

1967 immigration (first migration agreement with….)

Answer 4

First migration agreement with a non-European country: Turkey – increased Muslim adherents.

Question 5

white australia policy

Answer 5

WAP – abandoned in 1973 – new policy of multiculturalism.

Question 6

vietnam war immigration

Answer 6

(ended in 1975) – tens of thousands of refugees fleeing from Indochina. - Australia accepted about 120,000, many whom arrived by boat. Buddhists, Catholics + Protestants.

Question 7

2008/9 immigration

Answer 7

Large abundance of refugees from Iraq (Iraq war?). Majority of these refugees can from:
- Middle East/South-west Asia (mainly Muslim/some Christian)
- Africa (Muslim/Christian)
- Asia and the Pacific (Hindu/Buddhist)

Question 8

reasoning for denominational switching

Answer 8

Accountability to one church has diminished

growing anonymity and individualisation in our lives.

• Right to choose what is best for the individual

Question 9

who is most likely to switch denominations

Answer 9

• People with active “strong” Christian faith

people under 40

Question 10

monism

Answer 10

the belief that there is a single force or being which lies behind all creation

Question 11

new age religions

Answer 11

• Connect with nature, or this life-force, in a spiritual way.
• Belief in the potential of the human being
• Self-improvement + self-fulfilment
• The number of people in the broad category of New Age increased by 70% between 1996 and 2016.
• Difference between new age religions and traditional religions = individual rather than communal pursuit.
• New Age Practices: Meditation, Astrology, Divination, Crystals, Channelling

Question 12

monotheism

Answer 12

all that exists is derived from a single source of divine energy

Question 13

pantheism

Answer 13

all that exists is God; God is to be found within the self and the universe

Question 14

reincarnation

Answer 14

after death we are reborn and live another life as a different human in a cycle of repetition

Question 15

karma

Answer 15

the good and bad deeds we do throughout our lives accumulate so that we are either rewarded or punished

Question 16

secularism

Answer 16

Secularism is the belief that religion should be separate from the state.

Question 17

2016 census : secularism

Answer 17

• 3.7 million (18.7%) answered ‘no religion’,
• 2.2 million (11.2%) did not respond to religion question

Question 18

reasons for secularism

Answer 18

• Perception of church as boring/unfulfilling / Disagreeing with the church’s beliefs
• Not having a need to go to church / Not having strong beliefs
• No societal obligation to follow a religion / Increased concept of individuality and
  personal ideas ‘The Spirit of Generation Y’ (released in 2016, 3 year study)
• Found that only 48% of those born 1976 – 1990 believed in the existence of a god
• 20% did not believe and 32% were uncertain.

Question 19

NCAA (national councils of churches Australia)

Answer 19

1994 – official with the inclusion of the Catholic Church) is an umbrella ecumenical organisation bringing many of Australia’s Christian churches together in dialogue and practical cooperation.

• NCCA consists of 17 member churches, six of them orthodox churches. It is linked to the World Council of Churches as well as the various state ecumenical councils.
• Considerable impact on ecumenism in Australia, and
• provides opportunities for Christian churches to work and share together in a wide range of theological and practical ways to
• express and promote their common faith and to address social and political issues together.

Question 20

NSW ecumenical council

Answer 20

a fellowship of 17 churches. Its aims are to maintain the ‘unity of spirit’, to share a commitment to the Christian gospel and to proclaim it in unity, and to serve the world in ways implied by the gospel.

• Ecumenism – the aim of promoting unity among Christian churches.
• It aims to further Christian unity by enabling member churches to address causes of division, and to pray and worship together
• It promotes theological resources to explore unity and understanding among churches.

Question 21

interfaith dialogue definition

Answer 21

the move to greater cooperation and harmony between people of different religious traditions.

Question 22

purpose of interfaith dialogue

Answer 22

• Interfaith dialogue provides opportunity for people of different faiths to understand each other’s beliefs and cooperate in areas where there is common ground.
• E.g.: Councils of Christians and Jews have been operating in NSW and Victoria since the 1980s
• Interfaith dialogue has enabled religions to work together in times of hardship:
  • After the Port Arthur Shooting Tragedy in 1996, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims held services and performed rites as part of the healing process.
• The growing importance of interfaith dialogue is evident from the increasing role that the government is doing in promoting it

Question 23

purpose of interfaith dialogue

Answer 23

• Interfaith dialogue provides opportunity for people of different faiths to understand each other’s beliefs and cooperate in areas where there is common ground.
• E.g.: Councils of Christians and Jews have been operating in NSW and Victoria since the 1980s
• Interfaith dialogue has enabled religions to work together in times of hardship:
  • After the Port Arthur Shooting Tragedy in 1996, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims held services and performed rites as part of the healing process.
• The growing importance of interfaith dialogue is evident from the increasing role that the government is doing in promoting it

Question 24

reconciliation definition

Answer 24

the restoration of friendly relations and striving to make one view/action compatible with another.

Question 25

pope john paul 1986

Answer 25

spoke to Aboriginal people in Alice Springs. He urged them to teach their traditions to their children