Religion and Belief Systems in Australia Post 1945 Expanded PDF

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Religion and Belief Systems in Australia post-1945

The focus of this study is religious expression in Australia’s multicultural and Multi-faith society since 1945. The study includes an appreciation of Aboriginal spiritualties and their contribution to an understanding of religious beliefs and religious expression in Australia today. Outcomes A student: 

H1 explains aspects of religion and belief systems

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H2 describes and analyses the influence of religion and belief systems on individuals and society

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H3 examines the influence and expression of religion and belief systems in Australia

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H4 describes and analyses how aspects of religious traditions are expressed by their adherents

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H5 evaluates the influence of religious traditions in the life of adherents

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H6 organises, analyses and synthesises relevant information about religion from a variety of sources, considering usefulness, validity and bias

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H8 applies appropriate terminology and concepts related to religion and belief systems

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H9 coherently and effectively communicates complex information, ideas and issues using appropriate written, oral and graphic forms.

Religion and Belief Systems in Australia Post-1945 Contemporary Aboriginal Spiritualties: Aboriginal spirituality as determined by the Dreaming: Discuss how Aboriginal spirituality is determined by the Dreaming:

Dreaming:  Not monolithic  Transcends time  Refers to the ways the ancestors spirits came from the landshaped, formed and returned back to the land  Informal/ is informed by Kinship, ceremonial life, obligations to the land and people  passed on orally by elders  Belief system which encompasses a holistic approach to their spiritual and social world  Interconnectedness of the belief system  Land is central to this belief system  Manifests itself through art, ceremonies, sacred objects  Dreaming(s)= CENTRAL  Explains how the earth and all came into being  Story of creation varies  Refers to how Aboriginals explain the beginning of life  E.G. * The Rainbow Serpent*  Dreaming lies at the heart of Aboriginal spirituality and hence is fundamental to all Aboriginal cultures and societies  Term used to label all knowledge and understanding in Aboriginal societies  Is inextricably linked to the land  Is communicated through art, song, dance, story, ritual and kinship systems

Reflected upon and shared through artwork.

Seen in the obligations to care for the land of their ancestors

A guide to what foods can be eaten and where food comes from

The stories of the totems of the community and the individual

Expressed in rituals

The Dreaming is…

Stories of the Aboriginal peoples explaining who they are + their r/ships with others and the land

Spoken in Expressed in languages of Kinship: each Aboriginal  Means being related biologically because of your birth, or right community through marriages, or by having the same features, relationships with others in characteristics or origins the Aboriginal  Includes rights and obligations and duties that must becommunity fulfilled  Dreaming formed the way of life, kin ships groups and The link to the customs The sacred Ancestor  Kinship system can consist of groups of 300-500 people Expressed in the spaces Spirits of the Actedleading out in the  Includes rules about respectto a rich personal socialand important to community obligations b/w social lifeAboriginal organisation of different members  Personscommunities have the awareness that she/he belongs a greater theto community of the community (marriage) whole  All living things share the same soul and spirit as peoplekinship with the environment  Skin names show their kinship  Elders who know the baby’s family tree will give the skin name- prevents incest from occurring  Skin name may be an animal, kept throughout life and is very important  Shows a persons r/ships and who they will marry  Straight skin marriages are considered the best type of marriages  Marriages with a forbidden partner would be a wrong skin marriage Totem:  People can be connected through kin and totem relationships  Aboriginal people belong to totems according to where they were conceived or born (totems represent the relations within kinship groups  Permanent r/ship with others in the same totem/clan  They may also belong to a moiety  Moiety - a subdivision of half an Aboriginal group for the organisation of privileges and duties  Decided in the Dreaming  May only marry someone from an opposite moiety or other subsection- everyone is related to everyone in their section  There are also kinship responsibilities that must be observed or the person will be punished

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Religious life is arranged through definite spiritual groups. Each with a natural animal or plant species as its name symbol or totem Each group is derived in spirit from a particular spirit ancestor who is symbolically represented by the natural species as the groups totem or dreaming

Ceremonial Life:  Initiation ceremonies are performed to introduce and celebrate adolescents as adult members of the community  Ages of person being initiated varies between language groups- usually ages between 10 and 16  Only those who can prove themselves worthy of responsibility of adulthood mentally and physically are initiated  Often called ones right to passage- from childhood to adulthood  Includes tests of worthiness and courage  Ordeals may include: tooth evulsion, circumcision, nose piercing, sleep deprivation, and/or cutting of ceremonial markings on skin  Members of the language group would mourn the death of a child and celebrate the birth of a new adult  A young man gains in status by participating in further tests and ceremonies during years  Females are capable of their roles of food gatherer, sexual partner, bearer of children and carer of the elderly as soon as she hits puberty- the initiation ceremony for women include acts of body-cleansing, body painting Burial:  Death is a time when a persons soul is released from the physical body to re-join the unseen world  Death signifies a return of the spirit to the Dreaming and eternal life-stream Re-joins its scared totem site, while it awaits reincarnation  Deceased’s name becomes taboo  All customs involve acts of ritual mourning, the singing of sacred dirges, and complex ceremonies assist the spirit to return to its sacred place  The deceased body may be left in a rock fissure, cave or hollow of a tree; may be left exposed, desiccated with smoke, cremated in a fire, buried in a woven branch coffin

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After the funeral- family/group will move away from the area for some time

Key Terms Kinship- the relationship that exists between people who are biologically related to each other, and the system of rights and responsibilities attached to that relationship. Moiety- a subdivision of half an Aboriginal group for the organisation of privileges and duties. Skin name- an important part of an Aboriginal persons identity which is kept for life and which affects relationships. Totem- A bird, fish, plan or landform that is the symbol of a specific spirit ancestor in a particular area of land.

Obligations to the land and people:  There is no concept of ‘owning’ land- ownership of the land means one has responsibility to care and nurture it  Ownership of the land is based upon the division and distribution of ritual responsibility for land  Land and all the forms of life in it are regarded as a sacred trust, to be preserved and passed on in a timeless cycle of mutual dependence  Land is the repository of the secret/sacred- the activities of the Dreaming Beings, also source of food/water  The Ancestor Spirits inhabit the land- apart of the communities association with the area  Ritual estate- the area of land for which they have responsibility ‘my country’ – contains sites of spiritual significance/ ‘sacred sites’ interconnectedness b/w obligation to the land and the people  Within each ritual estate – one site is left by the Ancestral Beings  The spirits of each site are thought to live there- they await the summoning of their human guardians to emerge and so ensure the supply of food  Responsibility of the Elders to perform the rites each yr  All this relates to the Kinship systems Issues for Aboriginal spiritualties in relation to:

Discuss the continuing effect of dispossession on Aboriginal spiritualties in relation to: The effect of Dispossession:  When you have your possessions removed  Meant that the stories associated w/ Ancestor spirits would no longer be told at original location- monumental loss  Dreaming tracks follow the paths of the Spirit Ancestors as they created the landscape- provided physical connection to Dreaming; loss of land= loss of connection  European settlement 1788 -competing interests for the land of the Aboriginals  50 years after settlement- ‘protection’ became the official policy- the ‘race’ was not dying so it had to be protected  Missions and reserves/settlements were set up to ‘protect’ the indigenous people  Protection = segregation and isolation from European communities  Large parts of land were taken for pastoral purposes  Christian missionaries could evangelise/ ‘civilise’- protecting the indigenous people from negative influences of European society  1911- reserve system was in place in Aus.- Indigenous Australians were controlled/supervised by state run Aboriginal Protection or Welfare Boards from the 1900’s  Totems became meaningless Separation from the land:  Decided where indigenous could live, who to visit, who they may marry/ have r/ships with, where and how children could be raised  They determined which jobs they could have and withheld their wages indefinitely  Governed what property they could own and how they disposed of it.  Deprived the Aboriginals of their country, independence, culture and spiritual world.  Some mission’s near/ on traditional lands had policies that destroyed Aboriginal culture- ceremonies could not be held and kin from ‘outside’ could not visit.  Difficult to maintain community stories when local significant landmarks and sacred sites are not accessible

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Sacred sites also places of clan/ gender specific teaching/ritual- loss of sacred sites denies access to significant aspects of Ab.Sp

Separation from Kinship groups:  Big ceremonial gatherings and movement of kin were forbidden  Movement of Aboriginals was controlled- sometimes very harshly  Relocation of the Ab. To foreign lands destroyed families, cultural ties. Sometimes led to animosity b/w traditional groups.  Large groups of Aboriginal peoples living in mission were different to traditionally formed ones for ceremonial occasions as- groupings were permanent, composition was a result of non-aboriginal considerations and they were not able to move around geographically, they were isolated  Without enough people to sustain a complex religious and cultural practice, Aboriginal identity and self esteem was hard to maintain  Customary law and authority and close relationships with the land were undermined by powerful European settlers  1937- the Cth Gov. and the states decided that not ‘full-blood’ Aboriginals should be absorbed into the wider populationpolicy known as ‘assimilation’- aim was to solve the ‘Aboriginal Problem’ by ensuring they would lose their identity and culture in the wider community The Stolen Generation:  Ended up in removal of thousands of aboriginal children  Sent to ‘training homes’- trained as domestic servants or farm labourers or fostered to non-Aboriginal families- Known as ‘the Stolen Generation’  Late 1950s-families were encouraged to leave the reserves and ‘make it’ in European communities. Were not allowed visits to family members still on the reserve.  Assimilation policies meant there was a shift in focus from protecting to assimilating mixed race children into European society  1972- Growing Aboriginal activism meant abandonment of policy of assimilation- it was replaced with a policy of self determination “Aboriginal communities deciding the pace and nature of their own future within a diverse Australia”

The Stolen Generation (cont.):  Forced separation of children from Aboriginals mothers and European fathers happened all over Australia from late 1800s  Taken to be brought up ‘white’ and taught to reject Aboriginality  Government policy from 1950s-1970s  During: 100000 children were separated  Was done in 3 ways:  Children put into Gov. / church run institutions  Adopting children into white families  Fostering children into white families  Hopes that they would adopt European culture and behaviourassimilate  Ultimate goal: Absorb ‘half-casts’ into European society, ‘full blooded’ Aboriginals would die out quickly  Victims lost their identity, culture, language and spirituality, self esteem  Aboriginals and rights organisations were active from the midlate 1980s- advocated national inquiry into removing policies and practices  The National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families was launched August 1995  85% of people interviewed in W.A. who had been removed as children had spent at least part of their childhood in care of a mission  Legacy of separation extends to the breaking up of communities and a spirit of solidarity as well  Many missionaries gained from the contact- there grew an appreciation of the deeply spiritual foundations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural traditions The missions:  Provided some protection from the violence of the European community  Included cultural oppression- language and ceremony  Some missions followed government policy- practiced separating children from families  Controlled children to make Christian in ways and beliefs  Aboriginals were forced to congregate, ironically preserving forms of cultural and community identity- against assimilation

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Most missionaries tried to change the ways they expressed their spiritual relationships with land through story and ceremony

The Land Rights Movement: Outline the importance of the following for the Land Rights movement:    

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Late 60’s- policy changed from ‘assimialtion’ to ‘intergration 1972- ‘self determination’ became the dominant policy in indigenous affairs Quest for justice began – groundwork for the Land Rights struggle Movement is a religio-political one which seeks to secure land rights for Aboriginal people in order for their religious, spiritual and cultural heritage to be secure Relatively recent (1950’s), struggle for land rights dates to colonial days- never gave up land voluntarily- arguments that the struggle began when they were dispossessed Land rights are critical in relation to Ab. Spirituality because the Dreaming is inextricably connected with the land

Native Title:  Beginnings of land rights movement is generally credited to the Wave Hill Mob- went on strike for better conditions on a Northern Territory cattle station at Wave Hill  After protracted dispute- Whitlam Federal government passed the first land rights legislation in 1975  Benefits a very small % of Aboriginal people  Refers to communal/ individual rights/interests of Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders in relation to land or waters  The Native Title Act 1993 recognised existence of Aboriginal native title in Aus. federal law and the NT right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples  Validated the existence of non-indigenous interest in land: freehold leases, mining leases.  Accepted that indigenous peoples who had continuing interests in the land had rights to the land- if both indig. And non-indig. People had interests in land- Act provided forum for dealing with this. The Native Title Amendment Act 1998:  Amended the Native Title Act it make it more ‘workable’

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Howard Gov. introduced ‘Ten Point Plan’ – put Wik ruling into place One of the proposlas- a curtailment of the rights of indigenous peoples to negotiate. Act empowers the states and territories to legislate their own native title regimes.

Mabo:  ‘The High Court of Australia upheld a claim that Australia was NOT ‘Terra Nullius’, the Meriam islands had been continuously inhabited’  1992- Mabo V. Queensland – indigenous people won a case in law regarding their ownership of land.  Initiated by 5 plaintiffs, Eddie Mabo from the Murray River Islands in Torres Strait – the Meriam people  Over threw ‘Terra Nullius’  Found that native title existed in 1788- extinguished over freehold land Wik:  Concerned land subject to pastoral lease- High Court of Aus. Said Native Title rights could exist side-by-side w/ rights of pastoralists- BUT when pastoralists and Ab. Rights conflicted, Past. Rights would prevail.  The Wik people- claimed native title over some traditional lands on the Cape York Peninsula/QLD  Determined that native title could co-exist with other rights on land held under a pastoral lease.  Court ruled as the condition of pastoral leases vary- each must be judged on its own merits  Judgement did not determine whether or not native title exits, it did allow the Wik and Thayorre peoples to continue their claim in the Federal Court  Claimed that leasehold title may not automatically extinguish Native Title Manage Land Claims:  All of the above show fundamental change in the way Australian law views the relationship of Aboriginal peoples to the land and dispel the idea that Australia was ever terra nullius  Major problem- focuses on traditional people and ‘rights’ are limited to very small % of Indigenous peoples and even

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smaller segment of that group that can show a direct and continuous connection with a parcel of vacant crown land. Address the issues of those who fall outside this small groupcouncil for Aboriginal Reconciliation – set up in 1991 to investigate the desirability of an ‘instrument of reconciliation’

Religious Expression in Australia-1945 to the Present The religious landscape from 1945- the present in relation to:  Australian Census- provides thumbnail of those who identify with religious traditions and Christian denominations  Nation Church Life Survey- identifies those who ‘go to church’ Changing patterns of religious adherence Outline changing patterns of religious adherence from 1945 to the present using census data:  From the 2006 census data:  Decline in total number of people identifying Catholic, Anglican and uniting Church since WW2  Increase in identification with the Orthodox Christian traditions  Increase in traditions other than Christianity  Answering ones religion is not compulsory on the Census  Some of those who choose not to identify their religion/ ‘No religion’ on the census can see themselves as ‘spiritual’  Steep climb in the numbers of ‘no religion’ in the Census due to option to choose ‘no religion’ explicitly  Today = more acceptable to describe one as ‘no religion’  Census reveals very little about beliefs or church attendanceit just reveals the religious institution Aus. Chooses to identify on Census form National Church Life Survey:  Provides important data about Australians and their religion  Conducted surveys since 1991  Only poll church attenders/ those closely associated with churches

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2006- revealed churches have greater attendance over 50, less under 40 1996 – no differences b/w age groups

The current religious landscape Account for the present religious landscape in Australia in relation to: Christianity as the major religious tradition  1947- Aus. Society was predominantly Christian. At that time 87.3% of Aus. Were normally Christian  2001- figure became 68%- Anglicanism was the dominant denomination, 39% of all Austral...