Alternative Spiritualities in Australia
in Laurence Cox (ed.), Alternative spiritualities, the New Age and new religious movements in Ireland, Irish Research Network on Alternative Religions and Spiritualities, Limerick, 2009, CD-ROM, ISBN 13 978-0-9563267-0-6. (Unrefereed)
The five-yearly census data since 1996 has revealed that the fastest-growing religions in Australia are Buddhism,... more
The five-yearly census data since 1996 has revealed that the fastest-growing religions in Australia are Buddhism, Islam and Paganism. The 2006 census data broadly identified Australia as 30.6% not religious (combining categories such as Atheism, Humanism and No Religion and Religion Not Stated/Not Adequately Defined), 63.8% Christian, and 5.6% religions other than Christianity. Australia is a generally secular nation with no established church, in which approximately 14% of the population attends religious services regularly (defined as at least once per fortnight). When ‘religions other than Christianity’ are removed from this equation, the percentage of Christians regularly attending is 9% of the population (21.8 million in 2009). This paper examines Australia’s secular and multicultural nature and seeks to place Paganism in the religious mix.
This draws attention back to Australia’s convict foundation, as one cause of the comparative secularity of Australia (as opposed to America) is the fact that the United States were settled by religious refugees where Australia was settled by convicts hostile to religion and authority. That one third of those convicts were Irish is a possible factor in the attraction of Celtic types of Paganism and alternative spirituality in Australia in the twenty-first century. This paper has three sections: first, the place of Catholicism and the Irish in eighteenth and nineteenth century Australia is examined; second, the growth of alternative spiritualities in the West and Australia in particular is considered; and third, the data from the 1001 and 2006 Australian Censuses on alternative spiritualities, and Paganism in particular, is discussed.
Religious, Spiritual, Secular: Some American Responses to September 11
With Justine Digance in Australian Religion Studies Review, Vol. 16, No. 2, Spring 2003, pp. 153-171.
This paper examines particular examples of therapeutic and meaning-making responses to the events of September 11 from... more
This paper examines particular examples of therapeutic and meaning-making responses to the events of September 11 from non-traditional religions and secular bodies, with comparative material from mainstream religions, in the United States of America. The intention is to demonstrate two things: that America’s religious plurality and cultural diversity gave rise to alternative discourses of meaning concerning September 11; and that these non-traditional religious interpretations and pr actices occupy a medial position in a continuum of life-shaping belieef systems that ranges from traditional religion to secularised, therapeutic values. In the USA, and particularly in New York, the attack on the World Trade Centre provoked a 'time of national trauma' (Stevens, 2002). Spiritual assistance, chiefly concerning two issues - creating meaning from the events, and finding solace or comfort for shock and grief - was sought by many people. In the quest for meaning, non-traditional religions such as the EarthLink
Mission (ELM) provided challenging and different interpretations of the events, reinforcing the argument that when studying religion as 'an ordinary form o f human practice ' the scholar encounters 'socio-rhetorical technique[s] used to create, contest and re-create credible worlds' (McCutcheon, 2003: 168). In addition to interpreting the meaning of the events, religious, spiritual and secular organizations provided spiritual and therapeutic comfort to those who were affected by September 11. Such 'therapy' has become an accepted element in contemporary Western society (Rieff, 1966). From the non-traditional religious viewpoint, the Church of Scientology's Volunteer Minister Programme provided hands-on assistance at Ground Zero, counselling the police, firemen, and others engaged in clearing the site. The general and 'secularised' nature of the contribution of these Volunteer Ministers invites comparison both with corporate strategies to provide comfort to workers and to engage .in psychological risk management (Nighswonger, 2001), and the efforts of mainstream religions (especially the monotheisms; Christianity, Judaism and Islam) to comfort and sustain the faithful. There is thus a spectrum of responses to America's 'time of national trauma', from traditionally religious through non-traditionally religious or spiritual, to secular, and this spectrum reflects the greater selectivity and diversity o f belief systems drawn upon by contemporary Americans. Also significant is that the non-traditional religions examined are both holistic in outlook and emphasise reconciliation of apparent opposition through very long time cycles; whereas the traditional monotheisms are firmly located in history, and hold dualistic views of appositional concepts (such as good and evil).
Hearing the Call of Islam
by Adli Jacobs
Published in 'Cultures of Resistance', Spring 2009, Volume 01/Issue 02
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Download (.pdf)'Cultivating' A Generation Through Education: The Case of the Gülen Movement
by Aydın Özipek
MA Thesis
This thesis examines and discusses the strategic manoeuvring of the Gülen Movement, which is an influential... more This thesis examines and discusses the strategic manoeuvring of the Gülen Movement, which is an influential religio-social movement in Turkey, in its power struggle with its rival groups and ideologies including the secular elite; through an analysis of internal and external dynamics behind its increasing prominence. I argue that Gülen Movement is a “movement of synthesis” which combines several values, each of which serves as a kind of capital. Through the analysis of several publications of the movement and semi-structured interviews conducted with eight university students, I conclude that the primary objective of the Gülen Movement is to increase its share of power. More specifically, this thesis examines the important characteristics of the education system in Turkey, and its functions for the Gülen Movement in its power struggle. I claim that the Gülen Movement, through its educational activities, creates a reciprocal deal where both parties profit. While the Gülen Movement enlarges its scope, spreads its message and proceeds to “cultivate” its counter-elite, it provides its followers with the ability to climb in the social strata and wholly participate in the society; not only by providing them with the material resources they need, but also rendering them as individuals who are conforming to the contemporary set of values and lifestyles.