Understanding Religion in Australian Society (AR3000T)

Content

In this unit, we will examine the relationship between Australian society and religion through socio-cultural studies, religious studies and history. Firstly, a historical and socio-cultural approach will uncover the ways that religion has shaped Australian society. Secondly, we focus on religious phenomena in Australia, including Aboriginal Spirituality; Christianity; Buddhism; Islam; Judaism; Bahá'í; Hinduism; Pentecostalism; as well as the absence of religious faith (sometimes, but erroneously, called secularism). Students will present on issues that they may encounter in practice, and how these may be negotiated. Finally, we will envision the future of religion in Australian society.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Elective unit in Religious Studies. 18 points in AH, AP, CH or CT required. No co-requisites. No prohibited combinations

Pedagogy

Lectures, tutorials, online resources

Indicative Bibliography

• Asad, Talal. 1993. “The Construction of Religion as an Anthropological Category.” In Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam, 27–54. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
• Bouma, Gary. 2006. Australian Soul: Religion and Spirituality in the Twenty-First Century. Port Melbourne, VIC: Cambridge University Press, 1–30 (ebook – available online).
• Bouma, Gary D., and Anna Halafoff. 2017. “Australia’s Changing Religious Profile— Rising Nones and Pentecostals, Declining British Protestants in Superdiversity: Views from the 2016 Census.” Journal for the Academic Study of Religion. 30(2): 129–143.
• Djiniyini, Gondarra. 1988. Father you gave us the Dreaming. Darwin: Uniting Church in Australia.
• Hudson, Wayne. 2016. Australian Religious Thought. Clayton, VIC: Monash University Publishing, 1–60.
• Micklethwait, John and Adrian Wooldridge. 2009. God is Back: How the Global Rise of Faith is Changing the World. New York: Penguin Press, 55–78.
• Nongbri, Brent. 2013. Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept. New Haven and New York: Yale University Press, 15–24 (ebook – available online).
• Pattel-Gray, Anne (2014). “Spirituality.” In Another World is Possible: Spiritualities and Religions of Global Darker Peoples, 64–74. Edited by D.N. Hopkins and M. Lewis. London and New York: Routledge.
• Saeed, Abdullah. 2003. Islam in Australia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin (ebook – available online).
• Tacey, David J. 1995. Edge of the Sacred: Transformation in Australia. Blackburn North, VIC: Harper Collins, 148–176.
• Turner, Bryan S. 2007. “Globalization, Religion and Empire in Asia.” In Religion, Globalization and Culture, edited by P. Beyer, and L.G. Beaman, 145–165. Boston: Brill, (ebook – available online).

Assessment