Australian Soul:
21st century religious and spiritual challenges to Catholic Religious in Australia
Catholic Religious Australia National Assembly
taken from the keynote address (part 1)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Professor Gary Bouma
(pictured) says the basic features of religion in Australia include being laid back, one person - one religion, distrustful, with an avoidance of organisations and professionals and infrequent attendance. Generally religion in Australia is personal, peripheral, undemanding and part of the background. But, he argues religion within Australia is changing, becoming more diverse, revitalised and is differently located.
It is critical that these changes are understood as they challenge Christian communities by creating a different social and cultural context for ministry and different opportunities for building community.
increases in religious diversity
This is being brought about by
migration, especially Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus- and he notes that there has been substantial growth in Catholic numbers since 1947 - and
conversion, especially in the areas of Pentecostals and in spiritualities
| in 2006 |
national |
Adelaide |
Melbourne |
| Catholics |
25.8% |
22.1% |
28.3% |
| Anglicans |
18.5 |
14.0 |
12.1 (1921 43%) |
| no religion |
18.5 |
24.0 |
20.0 |
| not stated |
10.0 |
11.6 |
11.1 |
| Uniting |
5.7 |
8.4 |
4.0 |
| Presbyterian |
3.0 |
1.2 |
2.3 |
| Lutheran |
1.3 |
3.1 |
0.7 |
| Orthodox |
3.0 |
3.8 |
5.9 |
| Salvation Army |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.2 (1891 1.1%) |
These figures show
more Buddhists (2.1) than Baptists (1.6)
more Muslims (1.7) than Lutherans (1.3)
In Adelaide: Uniting > Orthodox > Lutheran > Baptist > Pentecostal > Presbyterian > Muslim > Hindu = JWs
In Melbourne: Orthodox > Uniting > Buddhist > Muslim > Presbyterian > Hindu > Pentecostal
more Hindus (0.7) than Jews (0.4)
more Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Salvationists, Seventh Day Adventists (0.3) than Churches of Christ or Sikhs (0.1)
4 times the number witches than Quakers
2 times Salvos (64k) than atheists (31k, but are growing, 29% 2001 - 2006)
A closer look at the Adelaide figures show
|
% 55+ in age |
2006 |
1996 |
|
UCA |
43.1 |
33.7 |
|
ANGLICAN |
41.6 |
33.7 |
|
Baptist |
33.0 |
27.5 |
|
Lutherans |
30.6 |
26.2 |
|
CATHOLICS |
27.2 |
22.6 |
|
Pentecostal |
20.6 |
14.8 |
|
Salvationists |
44.0 |
32.8 (very aged) |
|
ADELAIDE |
26.7 |
22.9 |
There has been a major shift from Christianity to religious plurality where diversity is the new norm as is Roman Catholicism (now ahead of Church of England). Anglicans are no longer English; they are Sudanese or Sri Lankan. Catholics are no longer Irish; they are Vietnamese and Philippines. There are Korean Presbyterians, Tongan Methodists.
This shift presents major challenges to established structures, orders and expectations and raises questions such as
how to incorporate and include many religions?
how to accommodate a wider range of legitimate religious needs? and
the role of Christian communities in new environment?
Questions for discussion:
How has diversity affected
your ministry / apostolate
your order / community?
your understanding of God?
revitalisation of religion
Religion is back on the agenda
in policy (he says that Catholics have never left the policy arena), politics and in values debates. People are searching - but as consumers - and it can be seen in the popular media through television series and books.
The resurgence is happening worldwide except in mainstream Protestant churches.
He attributes this to an historical cyclical pattern, the impact of diversity and the failure of secular humanism to produce happiness, end oppression and generally deliver on its promises.
Prof. Bouma says that diversity and revitalisation will bring increased
competition - in seeking converts, shaping policy and internal rivalries over theology, worship and ethics; and
conflict - challenges to the right to exist and practice will emerge as will vilification
Questions for discussion:
What signs of revitalisation have you seen?
Is competition possible without conflict?
How does revitalisation affect dialogue?
changing social location of religion
Prof Bouma says that religion moved from the centre to the margins between 1947 and 1975. Since 1985, it has moved from the margins to involvement. It also has moved from organised to dispersed, with the end of vertically integrated groups and from the medium sized to either huge or tiny congregations.
He contends that secular does not mean irreligious. In secular societies, religion is privatised, "out of the control" of both the state and religious organisations.
the cultural shift to experiential authority
Authority is given, not possessed. It has three bases: tradition; reason/law; experience/feeling. Authority moved from tradition to reason at the time of the Reformation and Enlightenment and from reason to experience now (with reference to Kierkegaard and Schleiermacher). He highlights this shift:
He links experience and Catholics through worship as engaging God; buildings as sacred sites; meaning making and justice creating.
He links experience and authority through personal autonomy; the role of the professional being to skill, enable and empower, and a profound distrust of formal organisation and professionals. Authority becomes relational.
He links experience and apostolic action through points of spiritual contact - such as sacraments and shared religious experiences - and community builders - suggesting the use of Face Book and Twitter and the use of SMS networks - and asks: where does old spiritual technology fit?
Questions for discussion:
Catholics and experiential authority ...
how does the existing fit with the emerging?
what experiences do you offer?
what experience is had?
The shift to experiential authority ...
other implications?
21st century social context
- religion is free of religious organisation / control
- spiritualities are thriving
- no one view or group is dominant or privileged
- open to the widest diversity of voices, views and experiences
- biased neither to the religious nor the non- or anti-religious.
In this social context, a new religious context is emerging in which recent changes have made for
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