DOCSLIB.ORG

Interfaith Peacebuilding in Regional Australia: Religious Diversity and Its Management in Toowoomba

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Interfaith Peacebuilding in Regional Australia: Religious Diversity and Its Management in Toowoomba Interfaith Peacebuilding in Regional Australia: Religious Diversity and Its Management in Toowoomba by Samuel Hogan BA, BSocSc (Hons) Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Deakin University December, 2019 Acknowledgments The journey of writing this thesis has been the most challenging and rewarding experience. I am indebted to many people for helping me in various ways throughout the years of study. I would like to thank Deakin University and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences for accepting me as a PhD candidate. Thank you to Professor Andrew Singleton. Your selfless time and care were an invaluable source of motivation and inspiration. Thank you to Associate Professor Anna Halafoff. Your insight and encouragement helped me grow as a social scientist. A special thank you to the interview participants who generously shared their perspectives on religion in Toowoomba. I also wish to acknowledge the editorial assistance of Dr Floriana Badalotti, Artelingua. Floriana edited the thesis for language, English expression, and consistency. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends who supported me when I needed it most. iii Abstract To date, the research on emerging religious diversity in Australia has paid little attention to the impact of religious change outside the major capital cities. The cir- cumstances and experiences of a regional city such as Toowoomba, QLD, with a high concentration of Christians, a diversity of religions including Buddhism, Hin- duism, and Islam, and an increasing proportion of those with no religion, has not previously been researched. Utilising an ‘emic’ approach, and drawing on 25 in- depth interviews with religious leaders and policy makers, this study explores how social actors in a regional context respond to issues of religious change. The find- ings reveal that one important actor – the local Buddhist Pure Land Learning Col- lege Association’s (PLLCA) Multi-Faith Multicultural Centre (MMC) – has signif- icantly changed interfaith dialogue, interaction and activism in Toowoomba. The PLLCA MMC’s initiative of transforming Toowoomba into a ‘Model City of Peace and Harmony’ has been modestly successful in managing religious diversity through social outreach programs and as an interfaith peacebuilding response to local mosque arson attacks, far-right political campaigns, and neo-Nazi propa- ganda. This study analyses this interfaith, peacebuilding strategy and presents a new explanatory theory for understanding the lived, everyday realities of religious change, the management of religious diversity, and the resolving of religious con- flict in a regional setting. iv CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ........................................................................................................ x List of Tables ........................................................................................................ xii Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 Setting the Scene ................................................................................................. 3 Aims of the Study……………………………………………………….. .......... 4 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................ 6 Part One: Quantitative Data Chapter 1 The Demographics of Religious Change in Toowoomba ............... 12 The Contours of Religious Change in Australia ............................................... 13 Cross-National Comparison of Religious Change ............................................ 20 Religious affiliation in England and Wales ................................................... 20 Religious Affiliation in Canada ..................................................................... 22 Religious Affiliation in New Zealand ............................................................ 24 International Trends .......................................................................................... 26 Growth of World Religions in the West ......................................................... 27 Cross-national Census Data Trends in Summary ......................................... 29 Religion in the Regional Context of Toowoomba ............................................. 30 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 37 v Part Two: Literature Review Chapter 2 Literature Review ............................................................................. 38 The Contemporary Sociocultural Context ......................................................... 39 Secularisation ................................................................................................ 40 Post-Secular Society ...................................................................................... 42 Religious Diversity ............................................................................................ 43 The Management of Religious Diversity ....................................................... 44 Bouma’s Theory of the Management of Religious Diversity ......................... 45 The Perception of Minority Religions ........................................................... 48 Negotiating Religious Diversity in Australia: The Case of Islam ..................... 52 Religious Diversity and the Interfaith Movement in Post 9/11 Australia ..... 53 Islamophobic Discourse ................................................................................ 54 Multiculturalism in Australia: Policy Efforts to ‘Manage’ Diversity ............... 57 Models of Multicultural Management ........................................................... 62 Religion and Community Studies ..................................................................... 67 Community Studies and Religion .................................................................. 68 International Perspectives ............................................................................. 71 Religious Tension within the Community ...................................................... 72 Positive Community Initiatives ...................................................................... 74 The Interfaith Movement ................................................................................... 76 Case Studies of Interfaith Networks .................................................................. 79 Faith on the Avenue ....................................................................................... 79 Victorian Multifaith Networks ....................................................................... 81 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 84 Part Three: Method vi Chapter 3 Methods .............................................................................................. 89 The Informants .................................................................................................. 90 Interview Questions ........................................................................................... 95 Data Collection .................................................................................................. 96 Analytical Strategy ............................................................................................ 98 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 101 Part Four: Religious Diversity and its Management Chapter 4 Garden City on the Darling Downs: Actor Perspectives of Religion in Toowoomba ................................................................................................... 103 History of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs ............................................. 104 Social Features of the Toowoomba Region .................................................... 107 Demographic Composition of Toowoomba ................................................. 107 Sport and Recreation ................................................................................... 108 Garden City Tourism ................................................................................... 109 Economic Development ............................................................................... 110 A Personal Experience of Toowoomba ........................................................... 112 Introducing the Interview Participants ............................................................ 113 The Religious Environment ............................................................................. 116 Christian Legacy? ............................................................................................ 121 The Case for Plurality ...................................................................................... 131 vii A Change for the Better? ................................................................................. 140 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 144 Chapter 5 A Curious Actor? Religious Diversity and its Management ....... 147 The Concept of Management .......................................................................... 149 Perspectives on the Management of Religious Diversity ...............................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Donald Trump, the Changes: Aanti
    Ethnic and Racial Studies ISSN: 0141-9870 (Print) 1466-4356 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rers20 Donald Trump, the anti-Muslim far right and the new conservative revolution Ed Pertwee To cite this article: Ed Pertwee (2020): Donald Trump, the anti-Muslim far right and the new conservative revolution, Ethnic and Racial Studies, DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2020.1749688 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1749688 © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Published online: 17 Apr 2020. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 193 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rers20 ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1749688 Donald Trump, the anti-Muslim far right and the new conservative revolution Ed Pertwee Department of Sociology, London School of Economics, London, UK ABSTRACT This article explores the “counter-jihad”, a transnational field of anti-Muslim political action that emerged in the mid-2000s, becoming a key tributary of the recent far- right insurgency and an important influence on the Trump presidency. The article draws on thematic analysis of content from counter-jihad websites and interviews with movement activists, sympathizers and opponents, in order to characterize the counter-jihad’s organizational infrastructure and political discourse and to theorize its relationship to fascism and other far-right tendencies. Although the political discourses of the counter-jihad, Trumpian Republicanism and the avowedly racist “Alt-Right” are not identical, I argue that all three tendencies share a common, counterrevolutionary temporal structure.
    [Show full text]
  • Halal Certification Services Pty
    Halal Certification Authority Australia (A.B.N. 33 068 275 203) GPO Box 3906, Sydney, NSW 2001 Tel +61 2 9232 6731 – Fax + 61 2 9223 8596 Email: [email protected] Senate Submission Preamble Muslims have always been eating Halal since they arrived in Australia, the same as the Jews have. From the first Cameleer till recently Muslims killed their own meat. About 50 years ago Muslim butchers started appearing in Areas where Muslims reside to cater to their needs for Halal meat. Muslim migrants to this day buy fresh food and cook their own in preference to buying ready-made consumables. Each migrant prefer his own type of cuisine. However the second and third generation are requiring the same type of fast food as the rest of the population but in a Halal form When Muslim countries started buying meat from Australia in the early 60s they requested the animals to be slaughtered by Muslims and to be certified by the local Islamic organisation. Foreign Governments sent representatives to ensure this was done according to Islamic rites and to their specifications. In the 80s the Federal Government became involved in Halal certification. In fact each consignment of exported meat carries a Government Halal certificate endorsed by an Islamic organisation for authenticity. In the 90s with some Muslim countries achieving affluence they started asking for products other than meat to be exported to their countries to satisfy the local demands. Some requested Halal certificates for products other than meat, like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
    [Show full text]
  • Society of Australia
    Societyof AustraliaInc -UpholdingAustralianValues- Committee Secretary, Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, P O Box 6100, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600 By email [email protected] Human Rights And Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 21 December 2012 Dear Sir or Madam; Thank you for considering our submission pertaining to the proposed changes to Australian Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination laws. From Libya to Burma people fight and die for human rights, freedom and liberal democracy. The provisions of this bill would result in the very opposite for Australians and constitute an open violation of Article 19 of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Never before in times of peace has an Australian government sought to impose such restrictive laws onto our Nation. Q Society of Australia opposes this legislation for the following reasons: a) Basic Freedoms and Human Rights are lost b) Onus of proof is reversed and natural justice impeded c) Introduction of new protected attributes create “special” Australians Discrimination is defined in the bill as “any conduct that offends, insults or intimidates” another person. In essence adverse or controversial political, cultural or religious expressions are seen as grounds for discrimination. This is the antithesis of liberal democracy. In Section 124 the proposed bill requires a complainant to make out a prima facie case with the onus on the defendant to prove there was not “unlawful discrimination.” This is a reversal of a fundamental principle in our legal system. Protected attributes are expanded to include “gender identity” and “sexual orientation”. Special rights and protections are not extended to other behaviour based sub-sections of society and have no place in our communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Deakin Law Review Style Guide
    TAXATION TREATMENT OF ISLAMIC FINANCE PRODUCTS IN AUSTRALIA * MARIA BHATTI In October 2010, the Board of Taxation released a Discussion Paper titled Review of the Taxation Treatment of Islamic Finance. Since the release of this Discussion Paper, there has been no legislative reform in Australia to accommodate Islamic finance products. In the Discussion Paper, the Board reviews the taxation treatment of Islamic finance products, such as murābaḥa. Murābaḥa is known as ‘cost plus profit financing’ and involves the sale of a commodity by a financial intermediary to a purchaser at a cost plus mark-up profit rate. The Board argues that in order for a murābaḥa product to be treated equally to a conventional product for Australian taxation purposes, the profit mark-up component common to murābaḥa transactions must be treated as if it were interest. However, the Board does not consider the implications for Muslims if the murābaḥa profit mark-up is treated as interest. The objective of this article is to investigate the following two questions: can murābaḥa be viewed as Sharīʿa-compliant by Muslims if mark-up is treated as if it were interest; and, if murābaḥa is viewed by Muslims as no longer Sharīʿa-compliant, could this cause Australia to become less attractive for Muslim investors? This article will undertake a comparative analysis by examining the implications of treating murābaḥa mark-up as if it were interest from various Australian and UK perspectives. This article argues that before legislative amendments are introduced to cater for Islamic finance products, further research is needed on the Sharīʿa- compliant nature of Islamic finance products such as murābaḥa.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Cultural & Social Affairs Department Oic
    Cultural & social affairs Department OIC islamophobia Observatory Monthly Bulletin – February 2013 I. Manifestations of Islamophobia: 1. UK: Conservative councillor suspended for alleged racism against Muslims – A Conservative councillor had been suspended and is under investigation after allegedly making anti-Muslim comments and sectarian remarks on a social media website. Chris Joannides’s Facebook page contained material comparing Muslim women who wore the burqa to rubbish bags. Another post included sexual remarks in a discussion about a flasher, and a comment that his work as a councillor was getting in the way of his social life. Joannides had been a councillor in Enfield, north London. News of the incident comes as David Cameron considered measures to try to increase the low levels of support the party received from ethnic minority voters. The Conservatives were trying to shed their “nasty party” image and appear more inclusive. His fellow Conservative councillors decided to suspend Joannides over the comments. Over a picture of a woman and child dressed in burqas, with a black binbag either side of them, Joannides appeared to have written: “I saw her standing there and I told her she had three beautiful children. She didn’t have to get all pissed off and threaten me … an honest mistake.” The Facebook page now appears to have been removed. Azad Ali, chair of the Muslim Safety Forum, said: “This is a shocking example of institutionalised and normalised Islamophobia…We expect the Conservative party to take a robust stand against this behaviour and prove that their drive to engage with black and minority ethnic communities isn’t tokenistic…Further, we will follow up with the Metropolitan police service and see that the full weight of the law is applied.” In: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/feb/01/conservative-councillor-chris-joannides-facebook, retrieved on 02.02.2013 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Record of Proceedings
    PROOF ISSN 1322-0330 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Hansard Home Page: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/hansard/ E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (07) 3406 7314 Fax: (07) 3210 0182 Subject FIRST SESSION OF THE FIFTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT Page Thursday, 1 December 2011 PETITIONS ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4013 TABLED PAPERS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4014 MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS ........................................................................................................................................................ 4014 Abbot Point Coal Terminal ................................................................................................................................................. 4014 Members of Parliament, Pay Rise ...................................................................................................................................... 4015 Queensland Economy ........................................................................................................................................................ 4015 Natural Disasters, Preparedness ....................................................................................................................................... 4016 Natural Disasters, Preparedness
    [Show full text]
  • Familyvoice Australia
    Submission on the Interim Report on Traditional Rights and Freedoms— Encroachments by Commonwealth Laws to the Australian Law Reform Commission The Executive Director Australian Law Reform Commission GPO Box 3708 Sydney NSW 2001 Telephone: 02 8238 6333 Facsimile: 02 8238 6363 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.alrc.gov.au/ by FamilyVoice Australia 4th floor, 68 Grenfell St, Adelaide SA 5000 Telephone: 1300 365 965 Fax: 08 8223 5850 Email: [email protected] Website: www.fava.org.au 21 September 2015 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 2. Terms of Reference .................................................................................................... 1 3. Freedom of Speech .................................................................................................... 2 3.1. Racial Discrimination Act .............................................................................................3 3.2. Sex Discrimination Act ................................................................................................. 6 3.3. Age Discrimination Act ................................................................................................. 8 3.4. Disability Discrimination Act ........................................................................................8 4. Freedom of Religion ................................................................................................... 9 4.1. Sex Discrimination
    [Show full text]
  • Western Civilization Under Siege
    WESTERN CIVILIZATION UNDER SIEGE THE ASSAULT ON THE WESTERN MIND HOW THE WEST CAN BE SAVED KENNETH SCHULTZ Western Civilization Under Siege Copyright © 2018 Kenneth Schultz. All rights reserved Website: www.kenschultz.net Facebook: kenschultz.net Twitter: Ken Schultz @KenSchultz87 ISBN 978-0-6480731-3-0 Contents Preface .............................................................................................................................. 5 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 10 Chapter 1: We are at a Critical Point in the History of Western Civilisation ..... 15 Chapter 2: Physical and Financial Threats to the West ......................................... 32 Chapter 3: Hegemon Rising ....................................................................................... 49 Chapter 4: The Assault on the Western Mind ......................................................... 63 Chapter 5: The Dawn of a New Dark Age .............................................................. 79 Chapter 6: The Long March through the Institutions ........................................... 90 Chapter 7: The Enemy Within ................................................................................. 104 Chapter 8: The Remorseless Assault on Free Speech .......................................... 139 Chapter 9: The Dangers of Multiculturalism ......................................................... 146 Chapter 10: Understanding Islam ...........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Transatlantic 'Counterjihad' and the New Political Theology
    ‘Green Crescent, Crimson Cross’: The Transatlantic ‘Counterjihad’ and the New Political Theology Ed Pertwee A thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, October 2017 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it ispermit- ted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 87,083 words. i Acknowledgements My deepest gratitude goes to my supervisor, Professor Chetan Bhatt, for his support and encouragement over the past four years. He has been a constant source of inspir- ation and I owe him an enormous intellectual debt. I am also grateful to the Economic and Social Research Council and to the London School of Economics for their generous financial support, without which this research would not have been possible. I spent several days exploring the Searchlight Archive at the University of Northampton, which was a treasure trove of information. My thanks go to Dan Jones, who was invaluable in helping me to navigate the collections.
    [Show full text]
  • Anti-Halal Campaigns in Australia November 2019
    ANTI-HALAL CAMPAIGNS IN AUSTRALIA IMPACT: Anti-Halal campaigns in Australia have sought to remove or restrict Halal certification of food products in Australia, leading to public boycotting of Halal-certified brands and even a Senate Inquiry into third party food certification. Opponents of Halal certification claim that certification fees fund terrorism and supports the “Islamization” of Australia. • According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), anti-Halal campaigns in Australia “gain[ed] momentum” in 2014 when a “loose collection of affiliated anti-halal, anti-Islam and nationalistic groups” established a movement to boycott Halal-certified products in Australia. Popular online groups and individuals have included Boycott Halal in Australia, Halal Choices, Non Halal, as well as Q Society of Australia, activist Kirralie Smith, and several Members of Parliament. • According to her 2015 Senate Inquiry submission, Kirralie Smith began researching Halal certification in Australia in 2010. Smith created an anti-Halal website called Halal Choices, which she now hosts on her website kirraliesmith.org, as well as a “phone app, shopping guide and social media awareness campaign.” Described in The Guardian as “the face” of the anti-Halal movement in Australia, Smith argues that Australian consumers should have the choice about whether to “support and fund halal practices.” She also claims that there are “most definitely indirect links between some halal certifiers and charities when it comes to funding extremist activity.” • Other websites designed to deter companies from seeking Halal certification and consumers from purchasing Halal-certified products include Non Halal and Boycott Halal in Australia. Non Halal provides a list of brands and products that are not Halal-certified with the aim of “supporting businesses that choose not to support halal certification.” Boycott Halal in Australia is an Australian anti-Halal Facebook group that has over 100,000 followers as of September 2019.
    [Show full text]
  • View / Download PDF Document
    1 Purpose of this document This document contains excerpts, quotes and summaries from various websites. It allows readers who are open to learning about the underlying problems with orthodox Islam to print out a single comprehensive document, or read it on a computer screen, without having to click on hundreds of hyperlinks. It also makes it easier to forward a single file via email to other interested readers, which we'd like to ask you to do. The document offers a good overview of Islam and why it matters to all of us, but we also encourage you to check out additional material online using the provided website addresses. Our sources include WikiIslam, Human Rights Watch, Faithfreedom International, Islam Watch, Jihad Watch, Charter for Compassion and others. We explore the question of how to best safeguard human rights and freedom in our democracies. For a list of our online sources, see chapter 4. Some of the original text was slightly modified to ensure the consistent use of terminology and better readability. In order to protect the identities of contributors who are critical of Islam, we avoid mentioning (full) names in this document. After the heinous attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center in 2001, most people were still under the impression that militant Muslims are a tiny minority and that we are able to keep them in check. Especially liberals remain extra careful not to offend anyone in the Muslim community, pointing out that they are criticizing terrorism, not Islam. Many of us know really nice, friendly and peace-loving Muslims.
    [Show full text]
  • Society of Australia Inc - Upholding Australian Values
    SUPPLEMENTARY SUBMISSION NO. 335.2 Society of Australia Inc - Upholding Australian Values - Joint Standing Committee on Migration Enquiry into Multiculturalism Committee Chair Ms Vamvakinou By Email [email protected] Supplementary Material to Submission No 335 28 June 2012 Dear Ms Vamvakinou, Thank you for the recent opportunity to address the Committee in Melbourne. In response to your invitation to submit further information pertaining to • Halal Certification Schemes funding Islamic Terrorism • Islamic Sharia Law in Australia we attach two short papers with examples to validate our assertions, as well as references and recommendations the committee may wish to consider for policy developments. As it stands, Australia is giving the green light for Islamic supremacists and self-styled community leaders to establish a parallel society, which many Muslims in this country may not necessarily support. However, in the absence of a positive Western lead culture, with which Australians from all religious groups including young Muslims can identify, we invite extremists to fill this cultural value vacuum. If we do not halt the spread of sharia soon, we will experience the same balkanisation of communities along the religious fault lines and growing social unrest now spreading across Europe. Minister Bowen is mistaken in believing our form of multiculturalism is any different or better. The same socio-political and psychological forces operate here as there. We are merely 10 to 15 years behind. Community information and education in this area is critically important and we provide: • International and local speakers • Resource and reference materials • Continued research and publications • Audio visual presentations • Panel and group discussions Australia wide Please contact us if you require more information.
    [Show full text]