Judaism : The Religion Of The Jewish People

Australia is a very culturally diverse country, meaning that it consists of many cultures and ethnicities from around the world. This diversity is mostly due to immigration,

Religion has had an extensive influence on Australian society in regards to cultural diversity. With the implementation of a government policy in the 1970s introducing multiculturalism, this has seen a vast increase in the acceptance of diverse cultures into Australia. This not only created a coherent society but also allowed people to experience different religious beliefs and the cultural practises which stem from this. As identified in the 2011 Census, Christianity is one of the most practised religions in Australia where 61% of the population were affiliated with Christianity according to Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2012. This is followed by 22.3%

Judaism is the religion and culture of the Jewish people. The word “Judaism” derives from the Greek Ioudaismos, a term first used in the Intertestamental Period by Greek-speaking Jews to distinguish their religion from Hellenism. The unifying principles of Judaism are an identity by covenant with God as His “chosen

Judaism originated close to four thousand years ago in the region of Canaan. It’s heritage traces back to God giving his commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Judaism is based off of the Torah-the Jewish holy book. The Star of David, also known as Shield of David, represents Judaism. In Judaism, women are separate but equal; they believe that women are equal to men, as it states in the Torah, but women aren’t allowed to do the same jobs as men. As for the demographics of Judaism, 13.3 million people in the world are Jewish and the majority of them live in Diaspora. Yom Kippur is the most sacred day of Judaism; in this holiday, Jews fast, pray and repent for 25 hours. Along with Yom Kippur; Chanukkah and the start of Passover are also important in the Jewish holidays. Judaism is similar to Christianity and Islam as they only believe in one God, and Jesus’ crucifixion. Judaism and Islam are strictly monotheistic. Unlike Christianity and Islam, Judaism believes that God has divine revelation and forgiveness. They call their God Yahwen.

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.

Judaism has great significance in our religions and history today. It’s interesting how each little thing can have such an important role in a whole religion. In conclusion, Jewish beliefs, customs, holidays, symbols, history, and the holocaust all play a crucial role in making Jews who they are

According to source 2 Christianity remained the dominant religion in Australia, although non-Christian religions continued to grow at a much faster rate. Since 1996, Christianity grew from around 12.6 million to 12.7 million, but compared to the other religions and the total population this number fell from 71% to 64%. Within Christianity, Anglicans dropped from 22% of the population to 18.7%, and therefore resulted in a decrease growth of -4.7 within the time period of 10 years. “Over the same period of time non-Christian religions increased from around 0.6 million to 1.1 million people, and collectively accounted for 5.6% of the total population in 2006” (king, 2010, p.221).

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. By 1947, Christianity had long been established in Australia due to European settlers who brought their traditional Churches. In 1947 it was recorded that 88% of Australians considered themselves Christians. Moving forward to 2013 Christianity is still the most dominant religion in Australia however it’s followers have decreased significantly to 61% recorded in 2011. This is mainly due to peoples dissatisfaction with traditional religious

In the 2011 Religious Affiliation in Australia census data, ‘Catholic’ recorded the highest percentage of adherents, at 25.3%.

The first obstacle to Catholicism spreading came with the Passing of the so called, White Australia Act, 1903 which prohibited those with of non-white colour from successfully settling in Australia. After World War II, there then came a relaxing of the immigration prohibitions, the

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 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,

Catholicism in Australia first began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788; the fleet mainly consisting of Irish convicts, with only a tenth of these convicts being Catholics, as well as a few Royal Marines.

Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world. Jewish people have suffered persecution through the holocaust, they were left with nothing. No leader or land to call their own as everything was taken from them.

It is estimated that around 3.8 billion people in the world follow a religion that has either branched off of or has been significantly influenced by Judaism. Judaism is an ancient religion from the Middle East based off of the Hebrew Torah that teaches devotion to an all-powerful monotheistic God and the reality of an afterlife. Although only accounting for a tiny percent of the world’s religious followers, Judaism has had a greater impact on the world than any other religion in the history of mankind. The foundations of Judaism teach truths held by the world’s most prominent religions.