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Religion in Australia
Christianity in Australia
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Most of those on the First Fleet were at least nominally Anglican. The
colonies were viewed as the place of moral scum.
All convicts were obliged to attend Church of England services, viewed by
many as part of their punishment. The first British arrivals were divided with
the Protestant majority of Church of England, Church of Scotland,
Nonconformists convicts and settlers on the one hand and the Irish Roman
Catholics on the other. Suspicion between the two groups led to different
social organisations being established along religious lines.
The first chaplain was Reverend Richard Johnson who conducted the first
Church of England service on 3 February 1788 in Sydney Cove.
Irish Roman Catholics made up 1/3 of the convict population but the Catholics
were largely ignored. Freed convict Father James Dixon celebrated Mass on
the 15 May 1803. However Catholic services were banned after the Irish
convicts uprising in 1804 at Castle Hill.
In 1809 the Portland Head Society for the Promoting of Christian Knowledge,
led by a layman, James Mein, built the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church on the
Hawkesbury River. In 1824 the first Presbyterian communion service was
held in this church and it is the oldest church still in use in Australia.
In 1810 a group called the Australian Independents (Congregationalists) met
and held services. They built a chapel in 1833.
Methodists meetings began in 1812 and Rev Samuel Leigh arrived in 1815 to
conduct services.
Secret Roman Catholic services were conducted by Father Jeremiah O’Flynn
until he was deported in 1818. In 1820 the first two Roman Catholic priests
were officially appointed to Australia.
In 1818 the Church and State were recognised as separate and independent
institutions.
The first Jewish services were held in 1820 but it wasn’t until 1830 that Rabbi
Aaron Levy arrived in Australia.
1820 the first celebration of a Russian Orthodox Easter took place in Sydney.
By 1820’s Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Methodists had well established
ministries.
1834 the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, John Bede, Polding,
arrived in Sydney. His English Catholicism was different to the Irish Catholics
of the colony and there was tension between the two.
The presence of a Roman Catholic Bishop led to the Australia being raised in
status in the Anglican church to a separate See (the official seat or throne of a
Bishop). Archdeacon W.G. Broughton was appointed the first Church of
England bishop and was installed in St James’s Church in Sydney.
On 29 July 1836 Governor Bourke passed the Church Act which gave
religious equality in the colony of New South Whales and ended Anglican
monopoly. All denominations were granted equality before the law and
funding for the four main groups Anglican, Roman Catholics, Methodists and
Presbyterians. However church attendance was estimated at only 20% of the
population.
In 1851 South Australia became the first colony in the British Empire to break
the financial bond between Church and State.
1896 a Greek Orthodox priest conducted regular services and the first
Orthodox church was established in 1898 in Surry Hills Sydney as a joint
effort by people from different Orthodox backgrounds.
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In 1872 the first General Synod of Australian dioceses for the Church of
England was held. They agreed on a constitution which lasted until 1961.
In the debates leading up to Federation (1901) it was clear that religion was
seen as potentially divisive and dangerous. Some insisted that the Australian
Constitution be secular, and section 116 excludes any religion being
established as the State religion. Political support initially followed religious
lines. Roman Catholics tended to be more working class and supported the
Labour Party while Protestants tended to support the conservative parties.
Russian refugees arrived in Australia following the Russo-Japanese war
(1904-1905) and then after the Russian Revolution (1917). The first Russian
Orthodox priest arrived in 1922 and the first church built in 1926.
WWI (1914-1918) saw suspicion between the Protestant and Roman
Catholics. Most Protestant of British origin felt they had an obligation to
contribute to the war effort and were suspicious of Roman Catholics after the
Roman Catholic Bishop of Melbourne called the war a “sordid trade war”. The
war saw 2/3 of those who served wounded or killed, affecting every family,
every town and city. It is remembered as the most sacred in the Australian
secular calendar as Anzac Day.
After WWII there was a huge influx of Roman Catholics from war affected
countries. As did the numbers of people from Orthodox backgrounds. 1959
saw the Greek Orthodox diocese upgraded to a archdiocese following the
increased numbers of Greek immigrants after WWII and the Greek civil war
1946-1949. The various Orthodox groups established their own churches.
In 1981 the Church of England in Australia officially cut all legal ties with the
Church of England and adopted the name of the Anglican Church of
Australia.
Islam in Australia
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Muslims first arrived in the seventeenth century from Indonesia. They worked
as fisherman in northern Australia.
Later in the nineteenth century several thousand camel drivers from
Afghanistan, Pakistan, North India, the Middle East and Egypt came to
Australia to work in the interior on projects: Overland Telegraph Line between
Adelaide and Darwin (1872), the Ghan Railway (1929) and the
Transcontinental Railway (1957). Because of the White Australian Policy at
the time they couldn’t become Australian citizens but they did introduce Islam
and the first Mosque was built in 1882 at Maree in South Australia.
Most of the overseas-born Muslims have arrived after WWII as refugees. But
later in the 1960’s Lebanese Muslims began arriving because of the civil war
there. Later in the 1990’s refugees from Bosnia, Somalia and Ethiopia have
arrived. The population of Muslims in Australia is extremely culturally diverse
with more than 60 countries represented.
Between 1991 and 1996 the Muslim population in Australia has increased by
36%.
Buddhism in Australia
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Many Buddhist practice at a personal level and meditate or pay respect to a
Buddha image at home. Buddhism does not revolve around organised and
regular meetings. Buddhism have never actively sought converts.
Nevertheless there are a variety of Buddhist societies. The Theravadin
Buddhist Society is supported by Buddhist from many countries in the South
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and South-East Asia. Mahayana Societies serve people from countries in
East-Asia- Vietnam, Korea and Japan. The Vajrayana societies are often
based on the Tibetan Tradition.
In 1848, the first large group of Chinese to come to Australia came as part of
gold rush most of whom stayed briefly for prospecting purposes rather than
mass migration.
In 1856, a temple was established in South Melbourne by the secular Sze
Yap group. This temple was also used for Taoism, Confucianism, various
cultural deities and even astrological activities. However, no clerics from
China ever came to Australia, and the temple eventually declined and
disappeared by the end of the century.
Buddhist groups from a variety of backgrounds came to Australia at different
times for work. Different societies and groups were established but numbers
declined until they disappeared over the decades.
It wasn’t until the late 1970’s that Buddhism reached notable numbers. In the
late 1970s, Buddhism began to become more widespread, mainly due to
immigration from South East Asia following the Vietnam War, as well as the
spread to Western countries of Tibetan Buddhism, led by figures such as
Lama Yeshe, who established religious institutions with resident monks. This
was supplemented by further immigration from Asia in the proceeding
decades.
Questions
1) Why would the authorities feel it important to have religion practiced in the
colony?
2) Why was a secular Constitution favoured? List 2 events that caused suspicion
between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics. How did this division
shape Australian politics?
3) Some of the earlier Muslims were denied Australian citizenship, why?
4) What historical events changed the numbers of Buddhist in Australia?
5) Look at the table. Account for the changing percentages of religious groups in
the censuses.