Review Of Abraham Joshua Heschel's 'No Religion Is An Island'

Religious Arbitration in Australia and Canada Introduction There is currently a debate of whether Australia should introduce legislation allowing religious groups, including Muslims, Jews and others, to surrender themselves to the religious arbitration in areas of personal law, similar to the model that was in force in Ontario, Canada, from 1991 to 2005. Canada ultimately denied formal recognition of the religious arbitration but still accepted its existence only within the informal processes if the parties of the disputes are willing to use religious arbitration. The paper is to undertake a comparative examination of the model, as it existed in Ontario and the current position in Australia and examine the pros and cons for an

The message of peace is a fundamental universal concern which is relevant throughout our world today. Peace is not merely the ‘absence of war’, but a state of mind in which a sense of tranquillity comes from actively working towards right relationships with individuals and God. To understand the way in which Muslims and Christians view peace it is imperative to understand the source of the teachings for each religion. The principles teachings of peace for Both Christianity and Islam are primarily found in the sacred texts of both religious traditions. Christianity looks to the bible and specifically the New Testament for teachings about peace, whereas Islam focuses’ on the Qur’an and Hadith to guide their beliefs of peace. These sacred

Many individuals have their own set of theories, experiences and viewpoints on religion, this however has been critical on how individuals vision their own set of concept on religion and spirituality. Kamran Mofid Founder, Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (2008), argues that Australia is one of the multi-faith, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural nations in the world. This array of cultures conveys countless diversity and disparities including religious beliefs. Thus, a study was conducted in a profane Australian society to examine in what way religion and spirituality is ostensible in Australia

Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core and author of Acts of Faith, exemplifies the idea of religious pluralism, the acknowledgement of diverse religious groups and their ideologies, and portrays how America can apply this concept to its society in order to possess a better sense of equality as a whole. Patel expresses this belief through his yearning for religious identity. His own personal experiences have shaped his pluralistic position towards religion and life. America would be able to achieve a well functioned society if its citizens would be more open minded and educate themselves on the opinions and beliefs of others.

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.

In Australia, the Muslim culture is seen as a marginalised group in our society, but for what reasons? Its becoming increasingly difficult and complex with the rise in Islamaphobia and anti-Islamic sentiments that filter through the Australian society and media for Muslims in Australia. There is an ‘us and them’ mentality

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.

I have extended this idea into my article through asking a rhetorical question utilised in Rhead's poem. "Why do you think you're better if your culture is not the same?", demonstrating that there are people who consider their culture to be more authoritative of another, as conveyed in the article; Australians believe they uphold controlling supremacy over Muslim Australians. In correlation, the statement, "If one learns to understand and respect all points of view, then peace on Earth must surely come. It's up to you. And you. And you", was employed within the conclusion of the article, to highlight the importance of commencing improvements to behaviour and attitude standards, to impartially treat all religions and become an anti-discrimination

On February 24, 2017, Dr. Shaun Casey was the Global Religious Studies keynote speaker at Bridgewater State University. Dr. Casey’s focus was to bring greater understanding of world religions

Religious beliefs are an important aspect of many people’s lives. Results of the latest national census have revealed the religiously diverse nation that Australia has become (ABS 2017). The religious makeup of Australia has gradually changed over the past 50 years with Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and Buddhism all increasingly common

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

Eventually tensions eased following the events of World War II, “especially after the Japanese threat to the nation [...] united Australians who were previously divided by denominational and ethnic boundaries.” (Reid, n.d) Further endeavours sparked by Vatican II enhanced ecumenical cooperation between the two denominations which would ultimately lead to the harmonious attitudes that all Catholics and Protestants promote today.

However, there is another side to religion, one that is quite contrary to idea of unification and acceptance. When looking through the scope of history, we can also see religion as an exclusionary tool, often used to differentiate groups of people on an innate level. As many of these idealogies attempt to assert

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