How Does Religion Affect Australian Society

Searching back to its beginnings, religion has a profound impact on cultural identity through the presence of deep and ancient roots that connect a people to their glorious, memorable and often idealized histories. By equating a given religion with the success of a society often times national pride and religious pride become intertwined. Though this manifests itself differently in each country, throughout all four surveyed this attribute seemed to be present.

Christianity has been the primary religion post 1945 to today. The British who first came to Australia and inhabited it were mainly Christians. They formed a strong Christian base in Australia before the country decided to let more immigrants Australia. This base of Christians was split up into the 3 different types of Christianity. Each of the 3 groups coming from their own unique origins; Anglican which were the British colonist, Catholic made up of Irish/Italian settlers and Orthodox who were the Greek settlers. In the census of 1947, out of the 7.5 million people in Australia, 88 per cent of the population, not including the Aboriginals, said they were Christian. The other 12 per cent was mainly made up from people who didn’t respond to the question.

The religious education system in Australian Catholic Schools has endured many significant changes since the Second Vatican Council.

In the period 1947-2006, the Australian population grew from about 7.6 million to about 20 million. During this time there was an overall decline in the percentage of people identifying with a religion (frost course notes, 2010).

The present religious landscape in Australia is one that has changed significantly from 1945 up until now. Christianity is still currently the most popular religious tradition in Australia, however has seen a steady decrease in numbers due peoples interests in other religions and a non religious focused society. Due to immigration Australia has seen significant increases in followers of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Because of Australia’s consumeristic society, denominational switching has become more common, especially in the Protestant denomination. New Age religions have become increasingly popular recently due to peoples search for individual fulfilment, in the form of happiness, health and meaning in life. Secularism in Australia is now a belief that forefronts society due to scientific discovery and individualism.

There is an ‘us and them’ mentality in terms of Australian relations with Muslims living in Australia. There seems to be several reasons for this. The Australian society doesn’t seem to cater nor care for the traditions and religion of Muslim people living in Australia, there is a high volume of discrimination and racism targeting Muslims. Western Sydney and Charles Sturt university recently conducting a survey regarding the issue of the marginalisation of Muslim

Christianity is the major religious tradition today and has been since around 1945. Many of the British who first came to Australia, either as convicts or free settlers were Christians. They formed the huge base for Christianity to rise to the top religion in Australia before they began to let more immigrants enter. In the 1947 census, 88% of the population (not including Aboriginals because they were not considered in the census) stated they were Christian. The remaining 12% was mostly people who didn’t respond to the question. Today not much has changed the percentage of Christians has slightly decreased because of a rise in new religions. In the census of 2011 it is seen that out of 21.5 million people just under half, 42% classed themselves as Christian and around 8% said they were of a different religion. The number of people who said they had no religion was hugely increased at around 25%per cent. Today, even with the growing amount of Islam Buddhism and Hinduism, Christianity still remains the major religious tradition.

The practises, beliefs and values of Christianity and Islam have an impact on Australia society; however, the media exploits the perceived tension between the two groups which has led to discrimination and violence. Over many years the way of which an individual lives their life has been shown to be affected by the religion of which they follow. This affects the way of life throughout the community surrounding these people, as well as having an impact on the social issues throughout this particular community. Christianity has a huge impact throughout Australia, this includes through schools, dress codes, the way of which people live in their day to day lives. Christianity has always been a highly popular religion throughout Australia as

Ever since the 1970s Australia has welcomed people from all cultures and prides itself of being a multicultural nation. It is now one of the most culturally diverse countries on the planet with almost half of all Australians either born overseas or have at least one parent who was. The basic norms that make a multicultural society like Australia's possible are human rights. They are the standards that guide interactions between people which encourage mutual respect and equality. However there are groups and individuals in Australia who deviate away from these norms and do not treat those from other cultures with the respect and dignity they are entitled to.

The Aborigines have a complex belief in creation, spirits and culture that gives a definite distinctiveness from any other religion in the world. Thousands of years ago, Australian Aboriginal people were living in accordance with their dreamtime beliefs- today, a majority of the Aboriginal community profess allegiance to Christianity,

In the public speech made by Pauline Hanson in Australia to the Australian Parliament, she explains how Islam cannot be part of Australia’s society, which is secular and cohesive. Islam is about being obedient to the tradition and a secular society is about abandoning tradition and moving onto progress. Hanson explains that the reason for the incompatibility is because of Islam’s way of controlling every aspect of the lives of Muslims, in which it will be influenced onto their society. And she argues that Australia has a separation between religion and politics, which is not acceptable in the law of Shari’a. She concludes that the Muslims are negatively affecting Australia by their religious laws, such as the Shari’a and the Halal certification

Australia is a settler nation which is now made up of many ethnic groups who share similar cultural traditions, common language, shared history and a shared identity (ABS, 2016). These groups contribute to what is referred to multiculturalism. Australia has a higher proportion of people born overseas than the US, Canada and the UK, with 49% of Australia’s population (or a parent) being born overseas (Census of Population and Housing, 2016). Compared to other Western nations, Australia has one of the most diverse immigration populations (Collins, 2013, p. 145). The meaning of multiculturalism in Australia has changed significantly over time. Today, Australia is a culturally and ethnically diverse country and therefore is a multicultural society. In terms of public policy, multiculturalism can be defined as policies and practices implemented by the Australian government that aim to manage cultural diversity to benefit the whole of society (Department of Social Services, 2014). Although Australia is a multicultural society, there are criticisms of public policy surrounding multiculturalism.

Australia has always been a multicultural country, the first immigrants that came to Australia were the British in 1788. During this phase of European settlement various policies were created to address cultural diversity. One of the most infamous policies was that of assimilation that forced Australian Aboriginal people and migrants to give up their own culture and heritage and assimilate to colonial Australian culture. Eventually this policy was revised to Multiculturalism. That as a policy in Australia refers to handling the ramifications of diversity, bearing in mind that all Australians have the right to a cultural identity, all citizens must be able to express their cultural inheritance. Whether Multiculturalism is advantageous for Australia or not is a very controversial topic. There is a side that argues that multiculturalism could threaten the lifestyle of many Australians. On the other hand, research demonstrates that from an Australian perspective it has been mostly advantageous. This essay will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of multiculturalism in Australia, with regard to economical, historical and social perspectives.

Sargent M, Nilan P, Winter G, The New Sociology For Australians, 4th ed, Longman, Sydney, 1997.

Religion, as defined by the High Court of Australia, is ‘a complex of beliefs and practices which point to a set of values and an understanding of the meaning of existence’ (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005) and can be studied either substantively or functionally (Berger 1974:126). Substantive studies of religion fall predominantly in the realm of theology and are more concerned with defining religious beliefs; their historical accuracy; and the existence of supernatural entities (Holmes, Hughes & Julian 2007:425). Sociology however, concerns itself primarily with the relationship between religion and society, examining religion as a social construction (Van Krieken et al. 2010:350-1) and concerned only with the substance of