Draft Teacher Background

REL ATARUNIT THREE

Mod One: People and Religion

Teaching and Learning Suggestions (3 weeks)

How social factors impact on how people interact with religion

  • Handout copies of all relevant unit documents (unit outline, assessment outline, school assessment policy, etc.)
  • Introduce the first syllabus dot-point: how social factors impact on how people interact with religion
  • Deconstruct the syllabus dot-point by:
  • Identifying key words
  • Exploring how the words relatesto each other
  • The relationship between the dot-point and the sub-organiser and content organiser
  • Make connections with prior learning
  • Locate and review examples of how people interact with religion
  • Identify and describe those social factors that influence how people interact with religion
  • Explore and explain how social factors have an impact on how people interact with religion

Differing ways in which religion is viewed in society

  • Introduce the syllabus dot-point: differing ways in which religion is viewed in society
  • Deconstruct the syllabus dot-point by:
  • Identifying key words
  • Exploring how the words relates to each other
  • The relationship between the dot-point and the sub-organiser and content organiser
  • Make connections with prior learning
  • Overview the role religion plays in society
  • Explore examples that illustrate different views about religion and its place in society
  • Identify and describe the key features of some of these views
  • Examine source documents that describe the place of religion in society, both past and present
  • Consider some of the changes that have occurred in the way religion is viewed in Australia
  • Identify some factors that shape the way different religious traditions are viewed in Australian society

Mod One: People and Religion

Teacher Background

Syllabus content

how social factors impact on how people interact with religion

Focus Questions

  • What factors influence how people interact with religion?
  • How do social factors impact on how people interact with religion?

Suggested Outline of Learning

  • The focus of the unit, the syllabus and course documents
  • Define key terms in the syllabus dot point
  • Review examples of how people interact with religion
  • Identify social factors that influence these interactions
  • Explore how social factors have an impact on how people interact with religion

How people interact with religion

Each religion offers a way of life that seeks to provide people with meaning and purpose in life. How each person responds to what is offered by religion varies and is influenced by how they encounter and interact with religion in general, as well as with particular religions. Further, how people respond to and interact with religion varies throughout life.

This process is dynamic and complex. A variety of factors influence how a person throughout their life interacts with religion. Such factors include the context of a person’s life, the experiences each person has in life and the world in which they live.

For some, religion does not register as anything important, with little known or understood about religion or particular religions. Some may be immersed in a culture or way of life rich in religion without ever having consciously reflected upon the merits of the deeper meanings offered by a religion.

For others, there may be a much more conscious approach of either accepting or rejecting religion. A person’s awareness of religion, interest in or reaction to religion may change throughout their life. How a person responds to religion will be influenced by the circumstance of their life, how they encounter religion and religious matters, and the context of the world in which they are living.

Social factors

The world in which a person lives creates a range of social factors that have the potential to either support, hinder or obstruct how a person and religion interact. Some examples include:

  • A culture that focuses on material possessions and/or consumption of goods
  • Historical issues and events that inform and colour how people view religion
  • The presence of social disadvantage or hardship such as poverty, poor health conditions or even war
  • Social attitudes and philosophies that promote, marginalise or reject religion and/or religious matters; these can include, for example, some forms of secularism, militant atheism, and Christian humanism
  • Political ideologies and administrations; for instance in a theocracy or in a communist society
  • People that inspire, motivate or direct how people should act and even think in relation to a religion (the leadership of such people, individually or collectively, could be conscious or unconscious).

Such factors create a climate in which ideas and/or actions have the potential to colour or influence how people and religion interact. In contemporary Australian society there are many social factors that impact on how people interact with religion in general as well as with particular religions.

Surveying, describing and analysing these factors requires the use of good analytical skills and make use of a variety of source documents that identify, illustrate and comment on the social factors that impact on how people interact with religion.

Syllabus content

  • differing ways in which religion is viewed in society

Focus Questions

•What are some different ways religion can be viewed in society?

•What are some examples of ways religion is viewed in Australian society?

•How has the view of religion in Australian society changed over time?

•What accounts for the changes in the way religion is viewed in Australian society?

•Are different religions viewed differently in Australian society?

•What accounts for the different ways different religions are viewed in Australian society?

Suggested Outline of Learning

  • Define key terms in the syllabus dot point

•Overview the role religion plays in society

•Different views about religion and its place in society

•The key features of some of these views

•Sources that describe the place of religion in society, both past and present

•Factors that shape the way different religious traditions are viewed in Australian society

Religion in society

Different religious traditions interact with specific cultures in complex and dynamic ways. These interactions influence how religion is perceived and understood within society, particularly around matters of concern to religion.

Religion in Australian society

In a multicultural and multi-faith society, such as Australia, there is a rich diversity of religious traditions. This diversity of religious traditions reflects many aspects of religion and society throughout the world.

Australia itself is a diverse society which includes a number of religious traditions. About two-thirds of Australians claim affiliation with a religion and about 10% of these regularly practise their faith.

At the same time Australia can be characterised as a generally secular society. The Australian constitution indicates that government should not interfere with religion and vice-versa although there are a number of ways they interact. Regular religious practice has declined in the last half century, religious days and holidays are mostly not observed as they once were and religion is usually not prominent in public affairs.

Nevertheless, religion is a very visible part of Australian society. Religious buildings, such as churches, schools and hospitals are features of the Australian built landscape. Some people wear distinctively religious symbols and clothing in public.

Religion also participates in society through the activities of religious agencies and the day-to-day influence of individuals who follow religious teachings. Religious leaders and members of particular religions also participate in public debates and discussions about issues in society. In the field of education about one-third of Australian children attend Catholic or independent schools, the majority of which are religious based.

Different views about religion in society

When investigating a social or natural phenomenon, categorisation is a useful exercise. The following categories can be used when inquiring into how religion is viewed in society:

Religion as a belief system

Assumes that ultimate reality exists and religions have a basis for their beliefs. Aspects of this category include:

  • religions meet the spiritual needs of people
  • religions answer questions of meaning and purpose in life
  • religious transformation brings about fundamental change in people

Religion as a human invention

Assumes religions have no basis for their beliefs but are creations entirely of human origin. Aspects of this category include:

  • religion is used to manipulate people
  • religion is used to subjugate people
  • religion is a human construct to give comfort in times of distress

Religion as a functional agency

Assumes that religions, whether of human origin or not, are a universal phenomenon and therefore must serve a useful purpose. Aspects of this category include:

  • religions are organised systems that promote the stability of society
  • religions are good for health and wellbeing
  • religious ideals fulfil the need for a stable frame of reference

Religion as a political entity

Assumes that religions, whether of human origin or not, represent groups of people with common interests. Aspects of this category include:

  • religions are influential
  • religions have values
  • religions have traditions

Other sets of categories can be used. For instance: religion as an authority; religion as a guardian of society’s morals; religion as a custodian of culture, tradition or ethnicity; etc.

Ways religion is viewed in Australian society

Religion is a part of Australian society. For some, it is an active, transformative agent for the individual and for society. For others, it is a quaint but harmless leftover from a bygone era. For yet others, it is a malevolent, reactionary force that needs to be excluded from society or at least curtailed.

Census figures from a century ago indicate that Australia had almost an entirely Christian population with very few belonging to other faith traditions and very few indicating they had no religious belief. However, this did not mean it was a harmonious society. Sectarianism gave rise to sharp divisions between Christian denominations, particularly between Catholics and Anglicans.

Note: Like other statistics, census figures require close scrutiny. Before 1971 Australians who were more than 50% Aboriginal were not counted in the census. Also from 1971 the instruction 'If no religion, write none' was introduced to the census. Both these changes would affect census statistics on religion.

A survey taken today would still see the majority of Australians claiming to be Christian but there has been a significant increase in those who belong to non-Christian religions and very large increases in those who claim no religious affiliation. There has also been a decrease in regular church attendance by those claiming to be Christian. Coincidently, those who claim to be Christian usually have a more inclusive approach than a century ago, both to other denominations and to other religions generally. In regard to religion, Australian society could now be described as ‘pluralist’.

Due to the changes in attendance it can be concluded that most Christian churches in Australia have a diminished role in meeting the spiritual needs of people. For many Australians religion is a private matter; spirituality is for personal experience. Evidence of this, other than church attendance figures, can be seen in fewer marriages and funerals being conducted by churches.

The Christian high feast days of Christmas and Easter still see churches full of worshippers. These religious holy days are still observed in the Australian calendar but for most Australians the religious aspect is secondary to the family/communal aspect and non-religious cultural observance.

At times of national crises religious leaders are often still called upon to offer words of solace or lead rituals that in some way ritualise the community’s need to express concern or grief. This religious sense within the community recognises that religious ritual can express what is beyond words to express and help give meaning to events outside the control of rational action.

Whether or not Australians attended religious services, in earlier decades religious organisations were held in high regard and were seen as upholders of morality. However, whatever trust people had in religion has been severely compromised by the recent exposure of past and current misconduct by some church officials, and in particular, with regard to the abuse of children. Churches have been further implicated in scandal by the response of some of their leaders to these matters.

On the other hand, church schools have shown significant growth in Australia. Catholic schools have long been part of the education landscape in Australia. In recent years other school systems with a religious heritage that is not Catholic have also expanded greatly. The popularity of religious schools indicates that people find certain features of these schools desirable but this does not mean that the religious element is uppermost in their thinking.

The social welfare outreach of religious organisations is an area that many Australians view as a positive aspect of religion in society. Agencies such as the Society of St Vincent de Paul, The Salvation Army, World Vision and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation are well supported by Australians in their work with the poor and disadvantaged. The religious nature of the agency may not be relevant for many people as non-religious charitable agencies such as the Smith Family Foundation also receive support from the Australian public.

Although the Australian constitution states that Government and Religions are to remain separate, there is significant interaction between the two. Religions have lobbied government on issues ranging from medical ethics to Indigenous rights. On some important issues such as abortion, refugees and marriage the influence of the religion has not held sway. On the other hand, government has refrained from taxing religious organisations and religious schools are largely supported by government funds.

Changes in Australia’s religious profile

How change in Australia’s religious profile came about is a subject for investigation. For instance, Aboriginal culture and spirituality that has existed in Australia for many thousands of years has undergone much change and, in many cases, almost disappeared. Aboriginal spirituality is strongly connected to the land.

Starting in the late Eighteenth Century, European colonisation resulted in Indigenous Australians being dislocated from their lands and led to serious disruption in their life and culture. Under the influence of missionaries from the various Christian denominations, many Aborigines converted to Christianity.

Most Australians today are of European descent, mainly from the British Isles. This explains the strong Christian presence in Australia from the time of colonisation. However, it could be argued that Australia was never a strongly Christian country. Being a transplanted religion, Australian Christianity did not develop its own identity. It never possessed the ancient Christian roots and visible symbolism of Europe or the open religious intentions of the founding of the USA.

For almost all of the first two centuries Anglicanism was the predominant denomination. The Anglican Church was (and is) the established church of England but some of the colonial authorities were anti-establishment. They had been influenced by the philosophy of the Enlightenment which emphasised reason and individualism against tradition. A new society in a distant land was fertile ground in which these ideas took root.

Immigration has continued to have an important role in the changing religious profile of Australia. Immigration from Europe was encouraged following World War II and this helped boost Catholic numbers and was the main factor in the existence of a large Greek Orthodox community, particularly in Melbourne.

Immigration from Vietnam as a result of the war there brought a number of Vietnamese Catholics and Buddhists to Australia. By 1980 the Catholic Church had become the most numerous in Australia. Since then, further immigration from non-European countries has resulted in a rapid increase in non-Christian believers. The 2011 census statistics on changes in the religious population indicate that, Hindus, though a small proportion of Australians, have shown the greatest relative increase but Buddhism and Islam have also shown significant growth.

Australia is a western, democratic and capitalist country. Following the Reformation a philosophy developed known as ‘the protestant work-ethic.’ This emphasised hard work and frugality rather than religious practice and is credited with being the force behind modern capitalism. This philosophy in turn contributed to the growth of individualism and materialism which became a feature of western societies. Australia has benefited economically from capitalism but some would argue that materialism and individualism are blamed in part for the decline in interest in organised religion in Australia.