http://www.brisinst.org.au/resources/leet_martin_politics_religion.htm
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http://tinyurl.com/eyp3r
Politics and Religion in Australia
Author: Dr Martin Leet
Date: 25 August 2005
Out in the cold or
in with the old?
The announcement by the Vatican that the next Catholic World Youth Day
will be held in Sydney in 2008 comes as religion once again dominates
world headlines and politicians search for 'best practice' credentials
- in both their own ranks and those of others. Martin Leet looks at
the re-emergence of religion in Australian public life.
In the 19th century, and for most of the 20th, a majority of social
analysts predicted that religion would disappear from modern
societies. Towards the end of the 20th century, and at the beginning
of the 21st, many have revised their forecast. Religion remains in the
headlines throughout the world.
While Australia is typically regarded as one of the most secular
nations on earth, there is evidence of a revival of religion in our
public life. It is true that the traditional churches have always been
strong advocates on questions of policy. Public figures within the
secular domain, however, have usually been reticent about bringing
private faith into their public lives. Now, it seems, they are more
prepared to put religion in the foreground of debate.
We see, then, prominent federal Coalition members talk openly about
their Christianity and mobilise theological resources to support
policy positions. Figures within the Labor Party are starting to do
likewise, partly as a response to what Kevin Rudd claims is an attempt
by the Liberal Party to make God a 'wholly owned subsidiary' of
conservative politics (AAP 7/11/04). The arrival of Family First Party
senator, Steven Fielding, in last year's federal election seems to
reflect the growing influence of non-institutional churches.
The distinction between the secular and the religious also appears to
be changing in Australian business culture. A recent piece in The
Australian Financial Review Magazine (29/7/05) documented the
religious beliefs of a few of Australia's well-known businessmen. It
talked, for example, to John Ralph, deputy chairman of Telstra and
former boss of mining company CRA, who is a member of the 'Knights of
the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem'; Peter Irvine, managing director of
Gloria Jean's, who is a parishioner at the Hillsong church in Sydney;
Roger Corbett, chief executive of Woolworths, who is a devout
Anglican; Lindsay Fox, a committed Catholic; and Crazy John's John
Ilhan, a Muslim. It is not that corporate leaders have suddenly become
religious, but that the religious among them have become more open
about what they believe.
Contrary to expectations, religion has also not disappeared from
broader society. In the 2001 census, 68% of Australians declared
themselves Christians while only 15.5% said they had no religion.
Attendance at the 'Big Three' Christian churches has been in long-term
decline but people still seem to 'believe', at least when they are
asked.
If religion has not moved out, did the social analysts get it wrong?
The short answer is: yes and no. Consider the two major developments
upon which they based their predictions. Firstly, a scientific
worldview developed from around the 17th century and challenged the
religious explanation of existence. Science became dominant. It
accepts only rational and empirical accounts of why things happen.
Religious revelations lost their privileged status. Secondly, the rise
of the welfare state displaced many of the social functions that were
once the prerogative of the church. Priests and parishes became less
important as government took over health and education needs and
safety nets helped break the fall of those without work or family.
These developments have meant that religion is no longer an organising
principle of politics and society. There is a clear distinction
between church and state, so that in the context of the last two or
three centuries, religion has declined dramatically. However, the
analysts overshot the mark when they thought that science and improved
welfare would mean religion was no longer needed.
People cannot do without an interpretation of life, one that provides
their daily existence with some meaning and purpose. In modern times,
Christian hopes in European societies mutated into the dream of a
heavenly future on earth. Expectations arose that progress in science,
technology and political administration would dissolve many of the
insecurities that led people to believe in an afterlife. Poverty would
be overcome, most diseases would be cured, and governments would
become benevolent and act in the general interest of humanity.
These hopes have been shattered. There has been much progress in many
areas but the risks of life remain as ever before. It is not only that
death, sickness and guilt can never be overcome completely. Our
increased power over nature has created a new range of risks as it has
overcome others. Science and technology magnify the power of variable
human passions, while the welfare state produces, as well as
addresses, dependence and inequality. Terrorism and international
conflict have grown rather than subsided, while there is little sign
of governments laying down their weapons for the sake of peace.
The persistence of religion, and the renewed attention it is receiving
in the public domain, reflects the breakdown of secular hopes. People
are still looking for a credible interpretation of life and the
universe. In many ways, religion has turned into 'spirituality' as
people have left The Church and taken up another set of beliefs and
practices in their private, personal lives.
While people keep looking for meaning, then, religion will always
remain a force, including a potential political force. Now, in many
parts of the world, extremists are exploiting the search for meaning
in an effort to make their particular faith a religion of state. It is
unlikely that our leaders, with their more open religiosity and
recognition of religious diversity in Australian society, will take us
down such a violent path.
Australia's leaders might, however, reflect on the persisting
religiosity of secular dreams. As the welfare state has broken down,
extraordinary faith has been placed in the market to deliver a
remarkable and prosperous future. Neoliberalism has become the
religion of state over recent decades. It requires a never-ending
agenda of reform that produces a hectic lifestyle and constant
disruption. Just as governments should not impose a single religion on
a diverse and pluralistic population, they might consider rethinking
their relentless pursuit of an ambitious project of reform that is
supposed to lead to a utopian future. In the rat race of their daily
lives, many more citizens might need to call upon a religious faith to
provide some psychic protection against the market project.
--
Remove YOUR_SHOES before replying
apatriot #1, atheist #1417,
Chief EAC prophet
Jason Gastrich is praying for me on 8 January 2009
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Sunday: A day given over by Americans to wishing that they themselves
were dead and in Heaven, and that their neighbors were dead and in
Hell.
-Mencken
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