Media Perceptions of Religious Changes in Australia

Media Perceptions of Religious Changes in Australia
Author: Enqi Weng
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2019-12-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0429574746

This volume explores the contradiction between the news coverage given to issues of religion, particularly since 2001 in relation to issues such as terrorism, politics, security and gender, and the fact of its apparent decline according to Census data. Based on media research in Australia, and offering comparisons with the UK, the author demonstrates that media discussions overlook the diversity that exists within religions, particularly the country’s main religion, Christianity, and presents religion according to specific interpretations shaped by race, class and gender, which in turn result in very limited understandings of religion itself. Drawing on understandings of the sacred as a non-negotiable value present in religious and secular form, Media Perceptions of Religious Changes in Australia calls for a broader sociological perspective on religion and will appeal to scholars of sociology and media studies with interests in religion and public life.

Religious Diversity in Australia

Religious Diversity in Australia
Author: Douglas Ezzy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2024-03-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1350334456

This book documents the structure of religious diversity in Australia and examines this diversity in the context of the law, migration, education, policing, the media and interfaith communities. Focusing on Melbourne and Tasmania, it articulates the benefits and opportunities of diversity, alongside the challenges that confront religious and ethnic minorities, including discrimination and structural inequalities generated by Christian and other forms of privilege. It articulates constructive strategies that are deployed, including encouraging forms of belonging, structured ways of negotiating disagreement and respectful engagement with difference. While scholars across the West are increasingly attuned to the problems and promises of growing religious diversity in a global age, in-depth empirical research on the consequences of that diversity in Australia is lacking. This book provides a rich, well-researched, and timely intervention.

The Encyclopedia of Religion in Australia

The Encyclopedia of Religion in Australia
Author: James Jupp
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 822
Release: 2009-09-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780521864077

Australia is a country rich in religious diversity. While constitutionally-speaking Australia is a secular society, waves of immigration over its short history have had a large impact on its religious and cultural make-up. The Encyclopedia of Religion in Australia is the first major work of reference to describe the beliefs, practices and organisation of religion in Australia. It examines religion in several different ways: historical development, belief systems and controversies, as well as the social role each faith plays in modern Australian society. This comprehensive volume includes entries on indigenous spirituality, Scientology, hillsong, and atheism, and features all of the major religions. Richly illustrated, it includes a section dedicated to current debates and issues in modern-day Australia, such as the place of religion in politics, fundamentalism, religious education and social cohesion.

Religion and Change in Australia

Religion and Change in Australia
Author: Adam Possamai
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2022-03-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000529614

This timely book offers a panoramic overview of the enduring significance of religion in modern Australian society. Applying sociological perspectives and contemporary theories of religion in society, it challenges conventional assumptions around the extent of secularisation in Australia and instead argues that religious institutions, groups, and individuals have proved remarkably adaptable to social change and continue to play a major role in Australian life. In doing so, it explores how religion intersects with a wide range of other contemporary issues, including politics, race, migration, gender, and new media. Religion and Change in Australia explores Australia’s unique history regarding religion. Christianity was originally imported as a tool of social control to keep convicts, settlers, and Australian Aboriginal peoples in check. This had a profound impact on the social memory of the nation, and lingering resentment towards the "excessive" presence of religion continues to be felt today. Freedom of religion was enshrined in Section 116 of the Australian Constitution in 1901. Nevertheless, the White Australia Policy effectively prevented adherents of non-Christian faiths from migrating to Australia and the nation remained overwhelmingly Christian. However, after WWII, Australia, in common with other western societies, appears to have become increasingly secularised, as religious observance declined dramatically. However, Religion and Change in Australia employs a range of social theories to challenge this securalist view and argues that Australia is a post-secular society. The 2016 census revealed that over half of the population still identify as Christian. In politics, the socially conservative religious right has come to exert considerable influence on the ruling Liberal-National Coalition, particularly under John Howard and Scott Morrison. New technologies, such as the Internet and social media, have provided new avenues for religious expression and proselytisation whilst so-called "megachurches" have been built to cater to their increasing congregations. The adoption of multiculturalism and increased immigration from Asia has led to a religiously pluralist society, though this has often been controversial. In particular, the position of Islam in Australia has been the subject of fierce debate, and Islamophobic attitudes remain common. Atheism, non-belief, and alternative spiritualities have also become increasingly widespread, especially amongst the young. Religion and Change in Australia analyses these developments to offer new perspectives on religion and its continued relevance within Australian society. This book is therefore a vital resource for students, academics, and general readers seeking to understand contemporary debates surrounding religion and secularisation in Australia.

Routledge Handbook on the Governance of Religious Diversity

Routledge Handbook on the Governance of Religious Diversity
Author: Anna Triandafyllidou
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2020-12-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000260410

This book critically reviews state-religion models and the ways in which different countries manage religious diversity, illuminating different responses to the challenges encountered in accommodating both majorities and minorities. The country cases encompass eight world regions and 23 countries, offering a wealth of research material suitable to support comparative research. Each case is analysed in depth looking at historical trends, current practices, policies, legal norms and institutions. By looking into state-religion relations and governance of religious diversity in regions beyond Europe, we gain insights into predominantly Muslim countries (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia), countries with pronounced historical religious diversity (India and Lebanon) and into a predominantly migrant pluralist nation (Australia). These insights can provide a basis for re-thinking European models and learning from experiences of governing religious diversity in other socio-economic and geopolitical contexts. Key analytical and comparative reflections inform the introduction and concluding chapters. This volume offers a research and study companion to better understand the connection between state-religion relations and the governance of religious diversity in order to inform both policy and research efforts in accommodating religious diversity. Given its accessible language and further readings provided in each chapter, the volume is ideally suited for undergraduate and graduate students. It will also be a valuable resource for researchers working in the wider field of ethnic, migration, religion and citizenship studies.

Religious Diversity in Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Religious Diversity in Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Author: Gary D. Bouma
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2009-12-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9048133890

Religious diversity is now a social fact in most countries of the world. While reports of the impact of religious diversity on Europe and North America are reasonably well-known, the ways in which Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific are religiously diverse and the ways this diversity has been managed are not. This book addresses this lack of information about one of the largest and most diverse regions of the world. It describes the religious diversity of 27 nations, as large and complex as Indonesia and as small as Tuvalu, outlining the current issues and the basic policy approaches to religious diversity. Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands are portrayed as a living laboratory of various religious blends, with a wide variance of histories and many different approaches to managing religious diversity. While interesting in their own right, a study of these nations provides a wealth of case studies of diversity management – most of them stories of success and inclusion.

Freedoms, Faiths and Futures

Freedoms, Faiths and Futures
Author: Andrew Singleton
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2021-04-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1350179574

How do contemporary teenagers experience and understand religious, spiritual, gender and sexual diversity? How are their experiences mediated by where they go to school, their faith and their geographic location? Are their outlooks materialist, religious, spiritual, or do they have hybrid identities? Freedoms, Faiths and Futures: Teenage Australians on Religion, Sexuality and Diversity offers powerful insight into how teenagers make sense of the world around them. Drawing on rich data from a major national study, this book creates new ways of understanding the complexity of young people's lives and how school education covering diversity best addresses their world. This book argues that school education focused on worldviews is founded on ways of thinking about young people that do not reflect the complexities of Generation Z's everyday experiences of diversity and their interactions with each other. It argues that certain kinds of education in schools can play a significant role in developing religious literacy, tolerance and positive attitudes to diversity.

Culture, Diversity and Health in Australia

Culture, Diversity and Health in Australia
Author: Tinashe Dune
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 426
Release: 2021-05-30
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1000347214

Australia is increasingly recognised as a multicultural and diverse society. Nationally, all accrediting bodies for allied health, nursing, midwifery and medical professions require tertiary educated students to be culturally safe with regards to cultural and social diversity. This text, drawing on experts from a range of disciplines, including public health, nursing and sociology, shows how the theory and practice of cultural safety can inform effective health care practices with all kinds of diverse populations. Part 1 explores key themes and concepts, including social determinants of health and cultural models of health and health care. There is a particular focus on how different models of health, including the biomedical and Indigenous perspectives, intersect in Australia today. Part 2 looks at culturally safe health care practice focusing on principles and practice as well as policy and advocacy. The authors consider the practices that can be most effective, including meaningful communication skills and cultural responsiveness. Part 3 examines the practice issues in working with diverse populations, including Indigenous Australians, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Australians, Australians with disabilities, Australians of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity, and ageing Australians. Part 4 combines all learnings from Parts 1–3 into practical learning activities, assessments and feedback for learners engaging with this textbook. Culture, Diversity and Health in Australia is a sensitive, richly nuanced and comprehensive guide to effective health practice in Australia today and is a key reference text for either undergraduate or postgraduate students studying health care. It will also be of interest to professional health care practitioners and policy administrators.

Muslim Communities in Australia

Muslim Communities in Australia
Author: Shahram Akbarzadeh
Publisher: UNSW Press
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2001
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780868405803

This book highlights the complex human diversity presented by Australia's Muslims, as well as their distinctive contribution and the challenges they pose to a still-evolving Australian multiculturalism. Emphasising the diversity of the Islamic experience in Australia, it presents a useful antidote to the stereotypical image that still colours mainstream perspectives of Islam.