GARY BOUMA
Gary Bouma is head of the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria.
He holds the
UNESCO Chair in Inter-religious and Inter-cultural Relations - Asia Pacific and is Chair of the Standing Committee on Ethics in Research Involving Humans.
He is the author of numerous works on the interaction between religion and society in Western countries including Canada, the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
His is a leading voice on the state of religious life in Australia.
His most recent book,
Australian Soul (Cambridge University Press) describes and analyses Australian trends in religious and spiritual life. Besides giving a detailed picture of the growth or decline of the various religions in Australia the book describes our peculiarly Australian approach to religion and compares it to religion in other countries and cultures. Finally the book describes the challenges we may face in building a truly multi-faith Australia.
Gary is an Anglican priest and has a long term involvement in religious dialogue, especially Christian-Muslim dialogue.
He has played a leading role in the
Parliament of World Religions, as the Chair of the Board of Management for the Parliament to be held in Melbourne in December 3-9, 2009.
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