RARE BOOKS UEl /-he 4--t...e~ kl rs o~ 111 ry Pi-..(1:>, s-o~ 6 1 f't'~ SPIRIT AND SUBSTANCE RELIGIOUS BROADCASTING ON ABC RADIO 1941-91 ALISON M. HEALEY A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Studies in Religion University of Sydney December 1993 CONTENTS Acknowledgments VI Terms and spelling Vll List of abbreviations V111 INTRODUCTION PART I: CONTEXT AND BEGINNINGS 6 1. Reli~ion, reli~ions and modern culture 7 A definition of 'culture' 7 Religion and religions 8 Some legal descriptions of religion 12 'Sacred' and 'spiritual' 14 Modem individualisation and secularisation 15 Modernity and religion 18 Religion and modernity in Australia 22 And now to the ABC ... 23 2. The ABC: Charter and institution 24 Beginning a national broadcasting service 24 Charter 24 Commissioners and Directors 27 Finance 28 Authority of Government and Parliament 30 ABC structures and lines of authority 32 Philosophy and purposes 36 Commercial broadcasters 39 TheBBC 41 3. Religious Broadcasting 1932-41 43 Australia in the 1930s 43 Religious programmes before 1932 45 ABC religious programmes 46 PART II: 'THE HENDERSON YEARS', 1941-56 50 4. Australian society (1): 1940s-1950s 51 Population and religion: some statistics 51 War-time 52 Post-war Australia 54 5. Consensus and the census 60 Introduction 60 The man, Henderson 61 Christian broadcasting 64 According to the census 66 Christian ecumenical relations 70 Caution with controversy 74 Day-to-day faith 76 Range of programmes 77 Resources 86 Serving Australia 87 Pathways for the future 88 iv PART III: ACROSS BARRIERS OF BELIEF 90 6. In search of truth 91 John Munro 1956-61 91 Continuity 91 From different perspectives 94 More complexity 95 A developing philosophy 96 The Department and the churches 98 A developing Department 100 Concluding comments 101 7. Australian society (2): since the 1960s 103 Continuity with the 1950s 103 Decolonisation 103 Migration 103 International alliances and influences 104 Change since the 1960s 106 Social criticism 106 Freedom of individual consciousness and choice 110 World Council of Churches and Vatican II Ill Religious plurality in Australia 114 The ABC and social change 118 8. 'Wise decision' or 'lost opportunity''? 119 James Peter 1961-77 119 Questions of policy for the 1970s 121 Religious broadcasts policy 1970-1 123 Movements for change 1973-5 126 'Present practice, possible changes', 1975 129 Public controversy 1975 134 Final preparation for Seminar 141 Seminar 1976 143 Public controversy resumes 1976-7 146 ABC policy statement on religious broadcasting 1977 149 Concluding evaluation !51 PART IV: INSIDE THE ABC, 1941-91 156 9. Firm ground, shifting sands 157 Introduction 157 The Federal Government and the ABC 157 Competitive broadcasting environment 165 BBC origins and influence 168 ABC modernity 171 Re-organising the ABC 173 Public broadcasting in New Zealand 175 Re-structuring the Religion Department 177 Concluding comments 190 v PART V: FIFTY YEARS OF PROGRAMMES 193 10. 'Religion in life' 194 Dimensions and relevance of programmes 195 Programming in changing circumstances 201 Role of Department Head 201 Programme schedules 202 Audiences and their responses 205 Religious content in other ABC programmes 217 Programmes for young people 222 Worship and 'devotion' 225 Responsibilities of staff 233 Religious diversity 238 Concluding comment 242 11. EPILOGUE AND CONCLUSION 244 Epilogue 244 Conclusion 247 Future research and development 251 Appendixes 253 I Chairmen and Chairwomen (Commission/Board) 253 General Managers and Managing Directors II Heads of Religion Department 253 III List of personal interviews 254 Bibliography 255 L ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work would never have been accomplished without the assistance and encouragement of many people to whom I am grateful. A guide whose judgments one can trust and respect is invaluable in such an enterprise as this, and Professor Eric J. Sharpe of the School of Studies in Religion in the University of Sydney was always available to offer me wise advice. The staff and fellow postgraduates of the School were a sympathetic community of support. I owe sincere thanks to present and former members of staff of the ABC Religion Department, and to particular colleagues of theirs in other sectors of the ABC, who agreed to personal interviews and were generous with their time and their resources of memory and documentation. They are too many to list individually here, but they are named, with gratitude, in Appendix 3. I would like, however, to pay particular tribute to Dr John Munro, whose luminous intellect and gracious interest I will never forget. His death left all who knew him grieving. I was fortunate to be able to speak at length with all the Heads of the Religion Department except Kenneth Henderson. His daughter, Dr Margaret Henderson, kindly offered me access to relevant personal papers of her father which she held. I thank her for that and for her gift of three of his books. A particular word of thanks is due to Dr Frank Engel, who interrupted his own writing of the history of Christian ecumenism in Australia to send a detailed response to my questions. David Ireland, Errol Pyke and Gavin McGinley in the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand received me warmly and, in Wellington, files and a room for me to work in were ready when I arrived. It was a visit that was as enlightening as it was pleasant. Archivists and librarians generally have been eager to help and competent in doing so. Special acknowledgment is due to Patricia Kelly in ABC Document Archives, the staff of the Australian Archives and Marjory Wearne in the ABC's reference library. Finally, my deep thanks go to those who sustained me personally during this labour: to my mother and my friends in the Grail Movement for their material and moral support and patient kindness; to Catherine Mullane who first suggested that I make this study of ABC religious broadcasting; to Shirley Collins and Denise O'Hara, whose criticisms and proof reading of the text saved me from some significant blunders; and to other friends also, who understood and held me to the task with their confidence in the outcome. At this moment, with the work completed, all are remembered with affection and gratitude. Sydney, November, 1993. Alison Healey TERMS AND SPELLING 'Religion Department' Over the years, the specialist sector of the ABC charged with the production of religious programmes has had various titles: Religion Department, Religious Department, Religious Broadcasts Department, Religious Programmes, Religious Programs. In recent times the word, 'Unit', has been used, rather than 'Department'. For convenience, one title, 'Religion Department', is used throughout most of this study; it is occasionally replaced by 'Religion Unit' in discussion of the period after 1990. When 'Department' is used without an accompanying descriptive word or phrase, and with a capital 'D', it refers to the 'Religion Department'. 'Head' The person finally responsible for religious programmes has had different titles over the years, such as Special Talks Officer, Federal Supervisor, Federal Director, Specialist Editor. However, 'Head' has been a term commonly used and, for the sake of simplicity, has been preferred in this text unless the context demands one of the more precise titles. 'Head' is used in reference to the senior officer of other programme departments, also. 'Broadcast' The word, 'broadcast', is used throughout in its general sense of 'communication far and wide' and is applied to television as well as to radio. 1 'Memorandum (memo)' 'Memorandum' in the main text, and 'memo' in the notes, refers to a communication produced and circulated within the ABC, unless otherwise specified. 'Programme' There has been a spelling shift in Australia over time from 'programme' to 'program', but the shift has been neither complete nor consistent. For convenience, one form of spelling only will be used throughout, except in a quoted title, and 'programme' has been chosen since it is an acceptable form for the whole period under discussion, whereas 'program' would be quite incongruous in reference to material dated earlier than the 1960s. The Australian Bmadcasting Corporation Act 1983 distinguished between 'broadcasting' and 'television', i.e., 'broadcasting' implied radio only. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS M Australian Archives AASR Australian Association for the Study of Religions ABA Australian Broadcasting Authority ABC Australian Broadcasting Commission Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABCB Australian Broadcasting Control Board ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics ABT Australian Broadcasting Tribunal ACC Australian Council of Churches AGM Assistant General Manager A/GM Acting General Manager AGPS Australian Government Printing (Publishing) Service A/Mgr Acting Manager ASCM Australian Student Christian Movement AVSS Australian Values Systems Study BAPH Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart (pronounced 'baff), referring to ABC State Branches in Qld, SA, W A and Tas. BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BCNZ Broadcasting Council of New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand C. Progs Controller of Programmes CRA Christian Research Association CRAC Central Religious Advisory Committee (UK) C. TV Controller of Television EST Eastern Standard Time FRAC Federal Religious Advisory Committee GM General Manager Hd Rei. Head of Religion Department HdTalks Head of Talks Department MD Managing Director Mgr Manager PMG Post-Master General 'PSA' 'Pleasant Sunday