Religion In Australia Essay

Having the privilege to serve in the military has allowed this writer the opportunity to be exposed to the pluralistic society in a way which has exposed him to the beauty of the diversity enjoyed in American culture. One aspect of said diversity is the interaction which has taken place amongst the Christian and various world religions who also wear the same uniform in defense of America. It was the pleasure of the writer to attend a local synagogue in which his Jewish brothers and sisters welcomed him with open arms. The local congregation of Jewish believers went out of their way in order to ensure their newest visitor understood the flow of service and the significance of the ritual which took place on the first Shabbat or Sabbath of the month. The following essay will serve to detail the worship experience as well as how it and other beliefs of Judaism compare/contrast with the Christian faith.

Religion is a pivotal aspect in society to date with a diverse array of religions known to be practised in Australia, creating opportunities to embrace individuality though also sparking social divisions. French sociologist, Emile Durkheim described religion as “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden -- beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community”(Jones, 2011). So how does religion influence Australian society? With a vast incline in religions practised in Australia, it is extremely feasible to presume that it does affect Australia significantly. It is through cultural diversity, morality and ethics and laws in which the true relevance of religion in Australian society can be identified.

Popular culture is culture found in a large, heterogeneous society, that shares certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristic. Popular culture can consist of: a popular song, performer,movie or tv show, comic trip, “super hero”, etc.

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.

Ecumenism, in the sense of Australian Christianity, is the religious initiative towards unity within the Christian church. It is the promotion of co-operation and improved understanding between distinct religious groups or denominations within Christianity and other religions.

Australia’s three most common non-Christian religious affiliations were Buddhism (2.1% of the population), Islam (1.7%) and Hinduism (0.7%). Of these groups, Hinduism experienced the fastest

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.

The first Catholics to come along to Australia, were amongst the first convicts to step foot on the shores of Port Jackson in Sydney. These Catholics were Irish in origin, and brought Catholicism to Australia, although Anglican Ministers were trying to stop the spread of Catholicism in Great Britain and her colonies. Most of the Irish who came here came here because of the British persecution of Irish Nationalists.

Christianity has contributed to social welfare in Australia in many different ways. Social welfare is the wellbeing of an entire society, it focuses on the health, happiness, safety and security of the society. Christianity has contributed to the social welfare of the Australian community to help assist the needy and the disadvantaged, as this is a central part of the Christian ethos.

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

Lyon, a postmodernist, supports the idea that traditional religion is giving way to a variety of new religious beliefs and practices because we are living in a postmodern society. In this society globalisation, the increased importance of the media and communications and the growth of consumerism all create a new era of diversity and choice in all aspects of life. Lyon demonstrates how these have affected religion. We are now exposed to a wider range of religious ideas than ever before and these have become ‘disembedded’ from their original local contexts so we can now adapt ideas and beliefs to suit our own purposes. Much new religious belief is simply a watered down version of Eastern religions, adapted to suit Western tastes. Practice of worship is also different because it is no longer necessary to attend a local church. Instead the ‘electronic church’ on the internet and televangelism allow us to stay at home. However, if it is difficult to get convincing statistics of how many people attend church and what effect this has on them, it is even more difficult to research the numbers involved in and the influence of this new form of worship.

Sociologists argue that in Britain, there has been an overall steady decline in the importance of religion since the 19th century, which has led some sociologists to suggest there was a ‘golden age’ of religiosity. Many sociologists have proposed explanations for the secularisation thesis, for example Weber, Berger and Bruce. However Postmodernists criticise the secularisation theory as they believe that religion hasn’t declined it has just become modernised. Other theories, such as religious market theory and existential security theory, also go against the view that Britain is becoming a secular society as they believe religion takes form in

Caritas Australia shares the same mission as the Catholic Church. Their aim is to attend to the poor and publicize charity and justice throughout the world. They work through the principles and practice of the community's development, encouraging people to help themselves out of poverty, hunger and injustice. Caritas Australia works to bring freedom and aid to those whose lives have been destroyed by natural disasters or conflict.

Christianity began with Jesus who was born in Bethlehem, Nazareth. Throughout his life, he emphasizes brotherhood in his teachings denouncing violence and selfishness. However, Jesus teachings were not accepted by the Jews as he was not considered to be a messiah, even though they were derived from Jewish traditions. He was arrested and trialed which resulted in crucifixion, a historical method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden beam and left to hang for several days until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. After 3 days he rose from the dead and spent 40 days on Earth before ascending to Heaven establishing the foundations for the Christian Church.

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