Essay Practise Questions How has one important person, event or issue influenced the history of a religion in Australia. In reference to the event/person you have studied describe how it affected catholicism in Australia? How has Sectarianism shaped catholicism today?…
Document Based Essay Question: Religious Tolerance Though there was a major split between the Catholic and Orthodox Church in the 11th century, there was another split between Catholics and Protestants. A Protestant is any Christian that is neither Catholic nor Orthodox. This splitting occurred when a reformer known as Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses in 1517. However, religious tolerance remained a controversial topic.…
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter to you all, as I have been overjoyed at the passage of Thomas Jefferson’s “Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom” in Virginia. The time has come for our respective churches to relieve themselves from the unholy throws of government and to return our praise to God alone. Virginia has joined the few states who have disestablished a state religion, and in doing so, joins the few who have prospered both economically and socially. The only responsible course of action would be to adopt this same measure of disestablishment for the entire country. In the past, not only have the tyrannical rulers used their power to corrupt the Bible and their governments, but they have also misused it to create…
James Madison’s “Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments,” which appeared half of a decade after Jefferson’s “Bill for establishing Religious Freedom,” is an expressive piece defending what he believes is necessary for religious freedom. This article was drafted as a protestation against “[a] bill establishing a provision for Teachers of the Christian Religion,” the goal of which Madison argues is a misuse of governmental power. This remonstrance by Madison is dated June 20, 1785, placing it nearly ten years after the declaration of Independence and a couple of years before the US Constitution. This means that the document was written after the American Revolution, but preceded the United States Constitution - unlike Jefferson’s “Letter to the Danbury Baptists,” which was written some time later.…
New spiritual movements have always had a place in the social landscape, however, due to the growing the pursuit of individualism- an offshoot of secularism, it has caused a major increase in the population of people who choose ‘no religion.’ New age religions were part of the rapid growing faiths in the 2001 census in Australia, increasing by 140 percent in the 5 years since 1996 (Woodhead, 2016). New age religion forms an overall spiritual movement with no single unifying doctrine. Regardless, they share similar beliefs and practices which are often attached to other more formalised religious beliefs. It is said that the actual number of Australian citizens who possess some kind of new age adherence is considerably higher than the percentage…
Though many people of the Australian population view Australia Day as a day off to relax, January 26th has always been divisive, with the remainder of the population seeing January 26th as Invasion Day in lieu of a day of celebration. The article ‘Australia Day nationalism walks in the footsteps of ugly precedents’ by Robin Tennant-Wood was written for The Conversation on the 14th of January, 2014 and has one main idea: the meaning of Australia Day has strayed and does not do justice in celebrating the multiculturalism in Australia. When one thinks of Australia Day, images of people wearing the Australian flag come to mind. This is a part of nationalism and though it is good to be proud to be Australian, often, there are undertones of racism.…
Freedom of Religion has been a topic of great debate in America, beginning with the settlers seeking religious freedom. Away from the British governments grasp in the New World the colonists were free to worship as they chose. In 1720 there was a decline in spirituality and the religious community was beginning to grow in diversity. Fifty years later, in 1770 the First Great Awakening occurred, opening discussion between the different religious sects. Religion reawakened and freedom of religion became more important as a natural right.…
President Ronald Reagan’s anti-liberal stance sparked a “conservative realignment” led by the “religious Right.” (pg. 1173-1174) More religious conservatives advanced their political agenda based off of faith and religion, taking over radio and television stations, organizing anti-liberal “mega churches,” and operating entire schools and universities. (pg. 1174)…
Religion could be found in every corner of the world. It dictates what we eat, how we look, what we do or don’t do, and the morals we believe. For a lot of us religion is a big part of our lives and this could be seen in our government. Since the birth of the United States, religion has played a big part in our society, lawmaking, and culture. The U.S is a Christian based country and its morals have dictated a lot of laws.…
The federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 is an example of something that had a good intended purpose but ended up doing more harm than good. Since 1993 many states have passed construed versions of the Religious Freedom Act that often serves as a form of legal discrimination. The intended purpose of the RFRA was to protect individual’s religious freedom. However, the act now allows discrimination in the name of freedom by allowing people to deny services to others based on religious beliefs.…
Religious freedom did not exist in British North American colonies prior to the eighteenth century. The puritans accepted fellow puritans, but anyone else was unwelcome. Religious freedom is the right to choose any religion without interference amongst anyone. Although the Puritans were escaping their own religious persecution, they were not making it easy on others. The idea of colonists accepting other people of different beliefs into their community was uncommon in the eighteenth century.…
Interfaith dialogue refers to the complaisant, beneficial and progressive interaction at both the individual and institutional levels between people of different religious beliefs. The aim of the interfaith dialogue initiatives in multi-faith Australia is to develop a greater mutual understanding between different religious traditions, and so far it has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the broader religious landscape in Australia. As stated in the purpose of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), “To provide opportunity for the national bodies of each faith to come together to build understanding and harmony in the Australian context” (NCCA, 2016). Interfaith dialogue is becoming increasingly important because of the…
I strongly believe that the Ecumenical Movements and Interfaith Dialogue are important in Australian society. As a result of World War II, Australia today has such a unique history that has formed the diversity of its peoples, their cultures and lifestyles. World War II also caused many; cultural, social, political and global movements which were all designed to generate unity and peace amongst dividing dominations and religious groups in Australia. These movements were all used to re-establish order and produce reconciliation in Australia but it did face some challenges. The World Council of Churches (W.C.C) and the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) are ecumenical movements that aim to unify the Protestant churches of the world and ultimately…
Denominational rights have been and is a major issue facing Canadians. In Ontario, there have been struggles about accepting denominational rights. During the 2007 provincial election, Ontarians were faced with the question of denomination rights within education. John Tory, the leader of the Conservative party introduced an election platform which advocated for the extension of the public funding of all faith-based schools and this has caused a major debate within the province. Canada is a diverse country with such rights and freedoms like religion, it is only fair that educational funding should not be beneficial to Catholic schools alone, but extended to other religions, supporting the notion of equality rights, religious freedoms and freedom…
The Essential Right For All People Of All Religions “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”- The First Amendment To U.S Constitution. One of the first thing that was mentioned in the First Amendment to U.S Constitution is freedom of religion. Freedom of religion was established in 1791 and has made a big impact on many lives. Freedom of religion not only gives each person the right to practice their own beliefs but also prohibits the government from showing favor toward one specific religion, and binds all different individuals together as an united nation.…