Ecumenism, Interfaith Dialogue, and Reconciliation PDF

# Ecumenism, Interfaith Dialogue and Reconciliation ## Ecumenism * Refers to the promotion of Christian Unity, aiming to overturn sectarianism and conflict between variants/sects. * Essential given Christianity's pluralistic nature. * Key words: Unity, Social Justice, Peace, Mutual Understanding...

# Ecumenism, Interfaith Dialogue and Reconciliation ## Ecumenism * Refers to the promotion of Christian Unity, aiming to overturn sectarianism and conflict between variants/sects. * Essential given Christianity's pluralistic nature. * Key words: Unity, Social Justice, Peace, Mutual Understanding. * Example: NCCA (1994) * 18 member churches. * Committed to Ecumenism + Social Justice. * Eg. I Act for Peace, Ration Challenge, Youth Voice. * $100,000+ for Social Justice. * 2. ‘Week of Prayer’ for Christian Unity + Youth * PWR Group. * NSW Ecumenical Council (1984) * 16 member churches * Lobbied with the government: * Rights of Afghan Asylum Seekers * Pray for Ukraine. * Domestic Discipleship, peace reconciliation. * 1974 formation of the Uniting Church: Uniting Cave, Wesley Mission Caged Cave. * Australian Catholic Lobby (ACL): * Unified voice in parliament -> religious perspectives in creating bills around birethical concerns. ## Interfaith Dialogue * Relates to healing communication and mutual understanding between different religious traditions. * Key words: Peace, Harmony, Positive Cooperation. * Why is it important? * There MUST be interfaith dialogue. * Diversification of Australia’s religions (landscape - White Australian Policy 1973). * 2016: 53.9% belong to a religious tradition. * 2021: 60.3%. * Anti-religious sentiment is growing - growth of secularisation demands for a unified religious voice in parliament for bisethical issues. * Examples: * Abram convention: Unites Jews, Muslims and Christians locally in Parramatta. * Religious Founders Day: Marsden Park Mosque, Theme of ‘service to mankind’. * Communities to discuss commonalities of love and dismissing ignorance. * Helps overcome world issues, conflicts and social injustices. ## Reconciliation * Refers to the acknowledgement of the past, present and ongoing injustices against ATSI peoples. * Capturing effects of separation from land, culture and community. * Aims to treat all equally before the law. ### Christianity * Major contributor to Aboriginal dispossession through missionization. * Pope John Paul II in 2001: * Encouraged reconciliation and urged the government to invest in basic health care, employment and educational facilities for ATSI people. * National ATSI Ecumenical Council (NATSIEC): * Promotes ATSI rights and prayer. * Seen as NCCA's ‘Week of Prayer’ for Aboriginal Reconciliation. ### Judaism * Executive Council of Australia Jewry in 2001: * Lobbied with the government to implement the Bring Them Home Report. * 2019 Jewish Board of Deputies hosted a Shabbat service and dinner at the Great Synagogue for the Aboriginal community. # Denominational Switching * Changing from one denomination of the church to another. * Pentecostalism is most likely but volatile due to the revolving door syndrome: many join (especially youth) and leave within 2 years. * Mainly takes Protestant adherents, i.e. Anglican, Uniting church and Presbyterian. * Features: * Evangelical (hood news) + charismatic leaders. * Instilled with gifts of the Holy Spirit, communicate in tongues. * Informal liturgy, prayer and contemporary music. * Hillsong. * Megachurches: >2000 attend Sunday worship. * Reasons for switching: * Individuality/ contemporary ideals. * Disenchantment with static traditional worship. # New Age Religions * Since the 1945 social complexities of the modern world have resulted in an increase of New Age Religions. * Definition: Pagan, spiritual experience, focused on individual fulfillment, no sacred text. * Characteristics: * Self-spirituality. * Prevalence of the scientific method. * Environment, manifestation and meditation. * Interpersonal God. * Examples: * Scientology: Science+spirituality. * Wicca (pagan/ witchcraft) related to the natural order and spirits. * Crystals: Good and invisible energies that flow through crystals. * Fits under ‘no religion’ in the census 1971: No religion, write in name option added. * Reasons: * Materialism. * Individualism, social values. * Ecological awareness. * Disenchantment with institutionalised religions. # Secularisation * Relates to the influence of God decreasing in Australian society. * The separation of government from religion (since 1901 Federation of Australia). * Australian society: Pluralistic and secular, religious institutions compete with secular values. * Census design (1971) increases no religion: Secularization + nominal adherence. * Reasons: * Shifting social values - New Age religion adapting outdated practices/ traditions, clergy scandals (1997 Royal commitment). * Christianity - no authority, oppressive institutional religion. # Wik (1996): Native Title * Land to be claimed by the government and used for pastoral leasehold/pastoral lease. * Did not extinguish native title, i.e. they coexisted. * Leusenahld had priority. * Mudrooov - crown law had priority. # Native Title Amendment (1998): * Ten Point Plan (Ten Requirements) ruling that could extinguish Native Title. * States/territories to legislate their own native title procedure. * Topic: The Dreaming is central in the ATSI peoples' land and sacred sits which the LRM helped restore. # Dreaming * The summation of ATSI peoples’ knowledge and attitude of their physical, spiritual understanding of national creation, existence and ethics. * Inextricably connected to the land, metatemporal concept (past, present, and future unified as one. * Kinship: A complex relationship network that connects people of the same biological family and totems (kinship with the natural world). * Moieties Systems: Everything is a perfect half of the whole, Stein named. * Naming system (sequential) Relationships outside the biological family. * Kinship systems dictate daily life, social responsibilities, rights to land, ceremony and the Dreaming. * Ceremonial Life: Celebrates the metatemporal and the Dreaming AND connects the spiritual and physical world. * Celebrated and passed on the dreaming through song, art, rituals and totems. * BORA: Initiation into manhood. * Stories: Fundamental to the Dreaming. * Creation: The Rainbow Serpent. * Moral: Tiddalik the Frog (respect for land and community). Anangu people, Uluru. * Obligation to land and people: * Basis of the Dreaming. * Dreaming: Physical medium. * Totems. * Land: Sacred sites, identity. * Spirituality is oneness with all that lives and breaths and what doesn’t - ‘Mudrcovco’. # Dramatic Changes in the Religions Landscape (Post 1945): * Reasons: * Colonisation, Anglicans from England and Catholics from Ireland. * 1945: 23.9% to 26% (Anglican) and 8 to 15% (Catholic). * 1986: 26 to 20% (Anglican) and 15 to 20%. * Statistics: * Christianity: 88% to 43.9%. * Clergy (1994 Royal Commission). * Aboliton of the ‘White Australia Policy’ (1973) leading to multiculturalism. * Catholic overtakes Anglican (1986). * No religion: 0.3% to 38.9%. * In Australia: * 1977: Formation of the Uniting Church. * Pluvalistic society. * Disenchantmant & Secularisation. * Includes New Age Religion: 1971, no religion option added to the census. * Non-Christian: 0.5% to 10.1%. * Hinduism is the fastest growing: 457 skilled migrant VISA. * Islam is the largest by adherence. * Order 2021: Islam, Hinduism. * Christianity: Order 2021, Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Orthodox, Presbyterian, Eastern. * According to census data, Christianity has been the major religious tradition since 1947, making up 43.9% of the population. * Greatest number of adherents and growing populations of non-Christian immigrants. # Immigration * Reasons: * Aboliton of Immigration Restriction Act (White Australia Policy) 1973 -> multiculturalism. * Eg: * Catholic and Orthodox (populate or perish). * Vietnam War: Catholics, Buddhists. * Lebanese civil war: Maronite + Masin (1980's). * Indian migration -> 457 skilled migrants VISA. # Bring Them Home Report (1997): * Focuses on documenting ATSI dispossession and its effects. * Aims to gain national recognition of the report. * Aims to develop a strategy to address Australia's past. * Attended by Kevin Rudd, who later apologized for the stolen generation. # Kevin Rudd Apology - Closing the Gap (2008): * Important step to unify Australian society. * Improve standards of living for ATSI people. # Continuing Effects * 11 years lower life expectancy. * 8 times higher incarceration and 2 times higher suicide rate. ## Land Rights Movement: * Legislations that overturned Teuva Nullis (1783), marking a self-determination era, by a restoration of connection to the land, dreaming, sacred sites (ancestral beings) and ceremonial life. # Wave Hill Walk Off (1966): * Vincent Langnaui. * Gough Whitlam pours earth into Langnaui’s hands, symbolising the return of land. # Native Title: * Recognizes ATSI peoples’ rights to titles of land and sen. * Cases: * **Mabo (1992):** First legal ruling in favour of ATSI people. * ATSI people were freehold owners and pass down native title. * Government conceded ownership and ‘Terra Nulling’ was overturned. * **Native Title Act (1993):** Codified the Mabo decision. * ATSI people could only claim land if it could be proven that they lived and maintained it before 1788 (WGS). * Land being overturned resulted in a small percentage at best being claimed.