How Does Christianity Affect Australia

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.

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.

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

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

To further this argument, research conducted by Dr Kevin Dunn (Christopher & Deresky 2008) exemplified how ‘marginalised’ the minority of Australian Muslims and people of Middle Eastern origin are in the Australian society. Australians are thought to be of the opinion that people with these cultural and religious backgrounds are the least likely to be able to fit into the culture of Australians (Christopher & Deresky, 2008).

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 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.

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.

Christianity and Islam are wide spread religions which impact the lives of believers spiritually. Both religions have had substantial impact on the course of history and have formed the basis of many countries laws and are highly recognized by governments. Though Christianity is more widely known, they both pose the same challenges to each other. Considering the similarities and differences of Christianity and Islam, it can be said they are both very different.

As of today, the world’s two largest religions Christianity and Islam share an estimated 3.6 billion members, more than half of the world’s population. On the surface, they appear to have almost nothing in common, however, as one goes beyond the surface and examines the other factors such as the rituals, beliefs, ethics, founders, and convictions, the two religions share many similarities. However, in order to truly see and understand these similarities and differences, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam.

Many religions have impacted the thoughts and beliefs of millions around the world. Two of these religions are Islam and Christianity, both of which are similar, yet, incredibly different. Christianity, which had come long before Islam, is known to be the root of Islam which makes sense since the two religions share much in common. They are both Abrahamic and monotheistic religions which means they share the belief in only one true existing God and are rooted to have many similarities. Their differences, however, are what make them two distinctive religions, which is why they are recognized and classified for being so. Similarities and differences arise in many topics and situations, but differences take over and divide them into

At the first glance, Islam and Christianity appear to have nothing in common, however; as you go beyond the surface, they appear to have many similarities such as their beliefs of God, their beliefs of life after death, their holy scriptures, and their prayers. These religions, although are two entirely different beliefs, share a similar origin. Like many other religions, they both claim to be the one and only true way to God. In order to truly see and understand their similarities, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam. Throughout the course of this essay, I will compare the many facets that show the alikeness between these two growing religions.

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