Why Is There Religious Intolerance In Australia

Australia has been a culturally diverse society since long before white settlement. The indigenous people had many different cultures, languages and customs, even members of the First Fleet came from a number of culturally significant backgrounds. Diversity in Australia took large strides 67 years ago with the beginning of the Snowy River Scheme which promoted skilled immigrants to come here and work, because as a nation just after World War II we lacked the manpower and knowledge to complete such a large and complicated project.

Post WW2, under the growing mindset that Australia must ‘populate or perish’ in order to maintain and grow the nations security, workforce and economy, 3million migrants from Italy, Greece, and other European countries immigrated to Australia, in accordance with the ‘White Australia Policy”. Majority of these immigrants were adherents of either the Catholic or Orthodox Church, therefore whilst new religions were introduced, they did not have as much of a significant impact of the religious landscape as the immigrants post 1972 did.

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 global political climate and media representation of Islam was subsequently shaped to generate fear amongst the wider Australian population (Kabir, 2007). The deliberate demonisation of all Muslims as terrorists gave individuals a free card to express discrimination ( Ack, 2016). Hanson exacerbated the fear that all Muslims are potential threats to Australian society with the firm statement that- “we are in danger of being swamped by Muslims, who bear a culture and ideology that is incompatible with our own”. This statement infers that Muslims are not fit to adjust into to the Judeo- Chrisitan society of Australia. Dooming them to either integrate or leave. When evaluating such blatant views, that are unworthy to be voiced in a parliament of a country that believes in the “freedom of religion”, one must consider the precedent set by former Australian politicians or Australia’s political system in general. Racism has always been a tradition of Australia’s governmental structure, for it is a successful way “for the ruling class to divert attention from their own crimes and the failings of the system they run” (Ack,

Australia, a land that was long bound in superstition and the lower type religions, hosted a Billy Graham crusade and it was able to draw the largest crowd ever for a world Crusade (Smart, 7). Now, none of these actions are bad, in fact there could be a good argument that these are all good things. However, the attitude that all these actions created when they were performed in such a close sequence was one of competition. It made many religious zealots want to prove that their form of religion was the only true one. This has caused much resentment and resulted in a differing approach to the missionary work. When these missionaries could not convince people with words, they resorted to actions. One example of this religious retaliation that America is still suffering from is the mindless destruction of the twin towers on September 11

Nowadays, almost refugees come to Australia are Muslim. According to the terrorism in France, Sonia Kruger, who is a media commentator argues that Muslim migration should be banned in Australia. Andrew Bolt also said Muslim migration was opening the door to terror. However, banning somebody out of the country because of their religion is not the good idea. In that case, Australia will become the second France. To argued against Kruger and Bolt, Jamila Rizvi said Australia is different from France because we have a clearly migration policy. Same as what I tell you in the beginning, Australia is a multicultural country so we should not discrimination against one

Thesis: The ability to practice Islam and feel at peace in Australia is significantly impacted upon by the action of more radical elements within the culture and the way this is treated in the media. Intro: The Islamic faith is the second fastest growing religion in the world. Knowing this fact it is clear that Islam is a major religion which would mean that it has spread through all of the world including Australia. Australians haven't taken Muslims too well because of the events that have occurred such as the Sydney siege which resulted in the death of two Australians. This caused major anti-terrorist raids in Australia most Muslims were affected by this in some way shape or form.

Both have an open society, willing to absorb the newcomers believes and grant them citizenship. Another interesting similarity between the two is the ability to humiliate, often publicly,

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.

Australia’s greatest aspects are its embracement of cultural diversity and the embracement of customs and cultural differences. But are we really an accepting country?

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.

Although many Australian’s exhibit low levels of Islamophobia, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that there is growing discrimination towards Muslims in Australia, as the rate of terror attacks increases. As a result of lack of knowledge and close-mindedness, Muslims are wrongfully feared and blamed for the acts of Islamic Extremists. As explained, many religions do not support discrimination of any form; however, many people can disregard their religious teachings as they respond to the events that are occurring in the world. This is acceptable in a sense for the world to stand as one against terrorists; although, it is irrational to blame all Muslims for the actions of a selection of people. In today’s world the population may find it difficult to make distinction between regular Muslims and extremists, as well as all others in the world. Muslims do not necessarily have to have a particular racial background, as a Caucasian Australian with an Australia background can select to be a Muslim religion and can revert to a member of ISIS if intended. In retrospect, this aspect of the discrimination can be seen as there

The article I read is titled “ Australia's Increasing Ethnic and Religious Diversity” written by Christine Inglis. Australia has been experiencing more diverse population. Around 15 percent of the world's population now speaks languages other than English. The number of Buddhists is also has increased. Australia's largest city Sydney, has been growing more diverse over the years.

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.

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).