Module 5A - Influence of Religion Flashcards
Place of Religion in Australian Society. (25 cards)
What is the place of religion in Australian Society?
A diverse range of faiths and beliefs coexisting and no official religion, due to the diverse migrant population
What is the most common religion in Australian society?
Christianity remains the most common religion but there is a growing number of Australians who identify with no religion.
Are the people of Australian society religious and how do they express this religiosity?
While many Australians identify as religious, formal religious practice is in decline with fewer people attending religious practice.
Is religion viewed positively or negatively in society?
It is illegal to discriminate against any individual or group on the basis of their religion or religious belief
Are political leaders religious?
Political leaders rarely choose to wear their religious faith on their sleeves in a pretentious way.
When did Christianity come to Australian?
With the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788
Briefly outline the Established Christian tradition
Anglican and Presbyterian
Administrators including Governors and military identified with Established Churches.
Recognised faith of the majority of colonists, convict and free settlers, military/merchant class in Aus colonial history
Anglican growth after appointment of Australia’s first bishop, William Broughton in 1836.
Briefly outline the Evangelicals Christian tradition
Included Methodists, Congregationalists and Baptists
Hugely successful in colonial Australia, converting convicts and Aboriginals.
Opposed state religion and stressed importance of conversion and godliness through personal virtue and good works.
Empowered the individual, organising lay preachers to teach the gospel.
Briefly outline the Catholics Christian tradition
Mostly Catholics who came to Australia pre-1850
Working class Irish convicts
Hostility towards Catholics in colonial Aus - barred from most public office
1820 - British authorities approve the sending of two Catholic chaplains.
Briefly outline the Catholic Relief Act of 1829
AKA the Catholic Emancipation Act
- British law that removed significant restrictions on Roman Catholics in the UK, allowing them to sit in parliament and hold most public offices.
What is sectarianism?
Discrimination towards those of a different sect or denomination.
Why is sectarianism a prominent feature of the early colonies?
Australia was a sectarian society divided between Catholics on one hand and Protestants on the other.
Discuss the need for a ‘free, compulsory and secular’ education act in the late 1800s.
1 by 1, from the 1850s to the 1890s, the colonies introduced the ‘free, compulsory and secular’ education acts.
Abolished state financial assistance to schools that weren’t government controlled.
Using religious differences, Henry Packs pushed for schools to reform to alleviate ‘jealousies and uncharitable feelings among different sections of society.’
Identify the causes for the rapid growth of Catholics throughout the 1900s.
1929 - James Scullen becomes 1st Catholic PM
1930s - Australian born priests, outnumber Irish born priests
1950s - Rapid growth due to migrants from Italy, Malta, and Poland after WWII.
1970s - The CC expands with an influx of refugees from Vietnam , 30% of which are Catholic
What is the importance of Section 116 of the Australian Constitution to the place of religion in Australian society?
Highlights importance of religious freedom. It emphasises need for Australia to remain multicultural country by being accepting of diverse range of faiths/beliefs that coexist in Aus society.
What does this quote mean?: “..the free exercise of any religion.” - Section 116 of the Australian Constitution
Underscores freedom and equality and outlines the significance of political unbiased by refusing the implementation of a “religious test required as a qualification for any office or public trust.”
How significant is the influence of religion on the religious role in Australian society?
Religion, particularly Christianity, played a central, foundational role in shaping the Australian society.
- provides society with opportunity to develop experience of God through prayer, communal celebration and moral code of conduct
- supports people to live religious way of life
How significant is the influence of religion on the social role in Australian society?
Major Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter were integral to the social calendar and community activities.
- Provision of Hospitals: St John of God
- Schools: LSC, Australian Islamic College, Carmel School
- Welfare Services: Vinnies, Anglicare, Salvos
How significant is the influence of religion on the cultural role in Australian society?
Religion can shape the culture of a society through music, sport, art, drama, or architecture that reflects upon or uses elements drawn from a religion
- religious beliefs influenced public perceptions of gender roles, marriage, and family life
How significant is the influence of religion on the political role in Australian society?
Religious leaders in Australia will actively participate in political debates
- to promote or defend religious beliefs/practices, the rights of people who belong to the religion or others in society.
Who was Daniel Mannix born?
Daniel Mannix was born in Cork, Ireland on the 4 March 1864 to Timothy Mannix and his wife Ellen, née Cagney.
What was Daniel Mannix’s family like?
His parents were thoroughly devout and ambitious Catholics, traits which were passed down to Daniel and his siblings who went on to study medicine, farming and law.
What was Daniel’s jobs in Ireland and Aus?
As president of the prestigious Maynooth in Ireland, he was responsible for elevating the standard for the Church’s future priests. When he moved to Australia at age 50, he was a Roman Catholic Archbishop considered one of Australia’s most controversial and influential religious figures during the 20th century.
What is Daniel known form’
Mannix was well known for his involvement in the campaigns opposing the 1916 and 1917 conscription referendums in Australia.
He advocated for Catholic Irishmen and spoke out against the White Australia policy 25 years before it was eventually disbanded.
