Religion and Belief Systems in Australia post-1945 Study Notes

Contemporary

Aboriginal Spiritualties
discuss how Aboriginal Dreaming – The spiritual aspect of Aboriginal religion that encapsulates both the
spirituality is determined spiritual and physical dimensions, giving meaning to all aspects of life.
by the Dreaming Kinship
– kinship  The fabric of Aboriginal society
– ceremonial life  A highly sophisticated network of relationships that:
– obligations to -Govern interactions between clans
the land and -Creates belonging and responsibilities within the tribe
people  Elder Bob Randall refers to kinship as “the completeness of the oness”
 Restrictive rules and obligations also exist for each kinship relationship, forming
part of Aboriginal law
 Governs dancing, ceremonies, hunting parties and raising children which are all
crucial to the dreaming
 Totems unify clans under the same ancestral beings which fosters a
metaphysical connection of dreaming kinship
 Creates a connection with the land, ancestor spirits and ultimately the dreaming
 Through kinship, Aboriginals inherit ceremonial rights & responsibilities
Ceremonial Life
Roles of ceremonial life:
1. Rites of Passage
 To inform of one’s new status
 E.g. initiation
2. Passing on social information
 Passing on and maintaining beliefs and practices through generations which
is connected to kinship
3. Facilitating personal connections
 Cultural meetings and totemic group trades pass on information, trade goods
and support friendships
4. Facilitating spiritual connections
 Through ceremonies, it maintains the link between the real and spiritual world
 Ceremonial life is the link between the people, the land and identity
 Aboriginals see the dreaming as existing in the past, present and future and the
ceremonies represent the present aspect
 Ceremonies acknowledge a creation event
 Ceremonies show the metaphysical presence of the dreaming world in the real
world e.g. in death ceremonies, a person’s spirit reintegrates into the world of the
dreaming and merges with their totemic being
Obligations to Land & People
 Aboriginal spirituality and the land are inextricably connected
 The land is the physical medium through which the dreaming is lived out
 The land is the resting place for ancestral beings
 The rituals on the land are connected to sacred sites where dreaming events
occur
 The land is the meeting point where tribes derive their identity from, where
they get their totems from and dictates their relationships with each other
 Every land-based action is spiritual to Aboriginals e.g hunting is provided by
the land
discuss the continuing Separation from the land
effect of dispossession on  The forced dispossession of Aboriginal people from the land meant access to
Aboriginal spiritualties in sacred sites was denied
relation to:  Separation from their Dreaming lands and sacred sities meant they had lost their
– separation spirituality
from the land  Totemic identity is lost e.g. a coastal salt water clan that is moved to an inland
– separation fresh water clan loses their coastal totemic identity
from kinship  Ceremonies could not be held as places of initiation, birth and marriage are lost
groups  No teaching because there is no passing down of spoken stories from tribal
– the Stolen elders and they must teach on their own ‘country’
Generations Separation from kinship groups
 An inevitable breakdown of the kinship system as tribes and individuals were
isolated from their ancestral territory
 Forced to forfeit their places of totemic identity lead to losing their extended
spiritual family
 Without these bonds, Aboriginals lost both their individual and collective sense of
self
 500 plus languages began to die out
 The breakdown in the authority of the elders rapidly hastened the separation of
kinship groups, their knowledge of the land and law had lost its meaning and
use, disintegrating societies
 Without access to their Dreaming kin one of the main purposes within their life,
to fulfil their spiritual obligations, was gone
The Stolen Generations
 The Government policy of forcibly removing Aboriginal children from their parents
to attempt to assimilate them into European society
 Devastating long term effects to kinship ties and attachment to land
 Impacted maintenance of traditional beliefs
 30% of Aboriginals have no spirituality today and only 1% have a traditional
spirituality
 Land becomes ‘terranullius’- land belonging to no one
outline the importance of  Land Rights Movement – A religious- political movement that seeks to secure the
the following for the Land inherit rights of Aboriginal people to their land and to ensure that their religious
Rights movement: spiritual and cultural integrity is preserved.
– Native Title  Native Title is a term given by the High Court of Australia to indigenous property
– Mabo rights as recognised by the court.
– Wik  The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is a permanent protest occupation where residing
activists claim to represent the political rights of Aboriginal Australians. It was first
established in 1972 and is made up of signs and tents on the lawn opposite Old
Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian capital.
Mabo (1992) - Movement
 High Court decided Eddie Mabo and the Merian people continued to have
traditional right to possess and live on most of the lands of Mer
 This ruling was unprecedented as there had previously been no recognition of
traditional land rights at all
 The High Court’s ruling included a rejection of terra nullius (no man’s land)
 The court ruled that Native Title exists where indigenous people have maintained
continuous traditional connection with the land and if government acts haven’t
distinguished that title
 This was important as the deep spiritual connection between Aboriginals and
their land was finally recognised in Australian courts
Native Title Act (1993) – Legal Framework
 This piece of legislation said that Native Title is the traditional rights and interests
of Aboriginal people
  It gave rights to indigenous people to areas of land and water belonging to their
ancestral tribes and recognises the validity of territorial laws already existing prior
to European settlement
 Overturned legitimacy of terranullius
 However, it also stated that Native Title can’t prevail over freehold title which
means that homes, farms, and commercial properties still maintained priority
over Aboriginals
Wik (1996) – Movement
 The Wik people argued that pastoral leases granted over their area of claim
didn’t extinguish their Native Title rights
 Native Title rights could co-exist in the land under claim by the Wik people,
however in any conflict that pastoralists rights would prevail
Native Title Amendment Act (1998)
 Abolished the right of Native Title claimants to negotiate with the government for
land that the government wished to acquire
 Negotiation was replaced with the right to be consulted only
analyse the importance of  The Dreaming is fundamental as it makes land rights and Native Title possible
the Dreaming for the Land  The existence of Dreaming sites and knowledge forms the basis of land claims
Rights movement under land rights laws
 Demonstration of an ongoing spiritual affiliation with the land is the required proof
of entitlement
 Stories, songs, dances and sacred objects relating to the dreaming constitute the
‘evidence’
 Land Rights provided a means of returning to land, find their spirit and reconnect
with the Dreaming in a tangible way
 Resolving land rights has enabled aspects of spirituality- sacred sites, art,
totems, etc
Religious expression in
Australia – 1945 to the
present
outline changing patterns Religious growth:
of religious adherence  Religious growth is mainly seen outside of Christianity, especially in religions
from 1945 to the present where high rates of immigration boost populations.
using census data  Islam grew from 0.3% in 1976 to 2.6% in 2016
 Hinduism grew from 0.1% in 1986 to 1.9% in 2016
Religious decline:
 Religious decline has mostly affected Christianity, with reduced numbers across
all denominations. Judaism and Buddhism have declined slightly.
 Christianity significantly declined from 61.1% in 2011 to 52% in 2016
 Catholicism, the largest denomination in Australia, declined from 25.3% in 2011
to 22.6% in 2016
Non-religious:
 No religion has been increasingly rising in popularity from 22.3% in 2011 to
30.1% in 2016 due to decline of traditional religions and the growth of more non-
religious schools of thought e.g. humanism
account for the present Why Australia’s religious landscape is changing:
religious landscape in  Immigration
Australia in relation to: - Islam has grown since the 1973 because of the abolition of the White
– Christianity as Australia Policy, allowing immigrants from the Middle East
the major  Denominational switching
religious - Switching is common from denominations, such as Catholicism and
tradition Anglicanism, to less strict denominations, such as the Uniting church and
– immigration Pentecostal, which are the fastest growing denominations
 – denominational  Rise of New Age religions
switching - The growth of new age philosophies give people more flexibility and choice
– rise of New - Are more accepting and inclusive
Age religions - Broader belief systems e.g. Orthodox
– secularism  Secularism (no religion)
- Australia is still non secular (61.1% religious in 2011) but secularism is
growing
- Scientific explanations and humanism are growing as there is an increase in
contemporary, rational thinking and a scientific view
- People are unhappy with the patriarchal male dominance in the Church, e.g.
priests can only be males
- Decrease in church attendance for all denominations (in the last four
decades it has declined by 48%) because people are disengaged and
unfulfilled
- Christianity has strict dogma and doctrine which people don’t like anymore
e.g. in masses people don’t want to be told what to do
- Ethical issues of homosexuality, abortion and contraception still remain as
traditional views in the Catholic church, however denominations such as the
Uniting Church are becoming more accepting
- The church is not becoming more accepting and people want more flexibility
and choice
- Individual spirituality systems are growing
- Less relevance of religion in society as people have busy lives and don’t
have time for religion anymore
describe the impact of  Ecumenism is the movement among Christian Churches promoting unity.
Christian ecumenical  Inter-faith dialogue is the co-operation and harmonious relationships between
movements in Australia different religious faiths.
– The National  In Australia, Christian denominations have formed bodies fostering the spirit of
Council of unity:
Churches  The National Council of Churches
– NSW - Speaks on behalf of all Christian churches in matters of public debate
Ecumenical - They speak with one voice on social and ethical issues, such as refugees,
Council abortion, euthanasia and climate change

evaluate the importance  In Australia, inter-faith relationships are important by virtue of the existence of
of interfaith dialogue in the five world religions and more
multifaith Australia  Being tolerant and understanding of the respective religions are important for the
well-being of Australian society
 For example, NCC and Australian Federation of Islamic Councils issued joint
statements as a result of tensions
 Knowledge of others = harmony
 Parliament of the World’s Religions Conference in 2009 in Melbourne
- Facilitating co-operation between Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist & Hindu
- Explored religious conflict, creating community & cross-cultural networks,
addressing issues of religious violence, crafting new responses to religious
extremism
 Prayer services were provided across Australia by the NCCA in response to the
Christchurch mosque massacre
- Interfaith service at Gosford waterfront to promote empathy & positive relations
between Christianity & Islam as a response to an issue of human rights
 ISRA (Islamic Scientific Research Academy Australia) holds annual Iftar dinners
in Sydney & Melbourne for teachers, social leaders & students during Ramadan
- inviting adherents from all faiths to eat & talk w/ Muslims promotes
commonality, mutual respect & tolerance between faiths
examine the relationship  Reconciliation is a process which changes the relationship between individuals
between Aboriginal or groups for the better.
spiritualties and religious  Improves the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
traditions in the process of  All religious traditions seek to move towards reconciliation in their relationships
Reconciliation with Indigenous Australians.
 Jews were instrumental in leading the crusade against the White Australia Policy
with an adherent stating Jews must not “deny nor stand by nor stand silent in the
face of the pain of the Stolen Generations. It is incumbent on us to acknowledge
the wrong, to apologize for the damage caused”.
 An example of Judaism’s support of reconciliation is when the Jewish Board of
Deputies used social media to denounce the One Nation party's call to DNA test
Aboriginal peoples seeking welfare support. They said that the policy amounts to
racial profiling" and they call on the parties to "reject this policy".
 Christian denominations joined to issue a statement called ‘Towards
Reconciliation in Australian Society- Reconciliation and Aboriginal Australians’
which argued for the settlement of differences between Aboriginals and non-
Aboriginals
 the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk in 2000 where thousands of adherents from all
major Australian traditions to call for reconciliation
 The Week of Prayer for Reconciliation provides an interfaith week of prayer,
thought and reflection on the relationship between Indigenous and non-
Indigenous Australians that includes Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism.
 Christian churches incorporate Aboriginal spiritualties within the church, e.g.
using symbolism, art, and dam