Pointers 31-1 March 2021
Inside this issue:
Australians’ Attitudes to Other Religions
There is a general assumption in many places that people of different religions cannot get along with each other (Kraft, 2006). After all, they are competitors, offering quite different conceptions of the world in which we live. There is no way around the fact that Muslims generally believe that Jesus did not die on the cross, and thus did not experience resurrection, while those beliefs are central in the Christian faith, for example. Yet, if multifaith societies are going to work, people of different faiths must live alongside each other. The 2018 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes provides much information about the attitudes that Australians have about people of different religious backgrounds. The same questions were asked in 2009, giving us a picture of the trends that are occurring.
Book Review – Pub Theology: Where Potato Wedges and a Beer are a Eucharistic Experience
One of the great challenges for all forms of practical theology is how one brings together aspects of life and themes of faith into one narrative. Our thinking and experiencing of faith is often siloed, held in quite different compartments from our thinking about our work and other aspects of everyday life. In this book, the authors bring those diverse strains of life together.
Getting ahead in life: What do Australians see as important?
Data from the 2019 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) was recently released to the public. The AuSSA focuses on a special topic each year, and the topic for the 2019 edition was ‘Social Inequality’. Whilst the specific questions in the survey were centred around inequality, social security and income levels, there were the usual additional demographic questions, including religious affiliation. Inclusion of such variables allow us to compare differences in the views of people of different sexes, from different ethnic backgrounds or of various religions.
Update on the Journal of Contemporary Ministry
Marriage in the UK and Australia
A recent article in Future First, a bi-monthly bulletin published by Peter Brierley, the former director of the Christian Research Association UK, provides a fascinating insight into the changes that have taken place in relation to marriage in the UK since the 1940s. It also prompts us to reflect upon similarities and differences to changes which have occurred in Australian society.
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Pointers 30-4 December 2020
Inside this issue:
Australians’ Attitudes to Relationships, Sexuality and Human Life
The attitudes of Australians to relationships, sexuality and human life differs widely between various religious and non-religious groups in the population. For many, religious beliefs are about values, morals and relationships, and the intersection of all three characteristics affect their everyday decisions and lifestyles. That is, their religious beliefs become the basis for making ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ choices in life. For some, decisions are made on the basis of an understanding or interpretation of their religious Scriptures. For others, the teachings of their religious organisations become the foundations for what is right or wrong. And for many others, a combination of Scriptural teachings, adherence to religious organisational doctrines, as well as following one’s ‘conscious’ in matters of morality, become the basis for decision-making. The 2018 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes asked a number of questions about Australians’ attitudes to sexuality, relationships and human life. Analysis of the data has revealed some important findings and some fascinating trends.
Charting the Faith of Australians: Thirty Years of Pointers
With the December 2020 edition, Pointers completes thirty years of production. During that time, around 120 issues have been published and around 500 articles have been produced. Pointers is neither a newsletter nor a fully-fledged journal. It falls between the two, which has sometimes produced some confusion over its status. However, I believe it has fulfilled a valuable role for the Australian churches and church-related organisations.
Building Community
Life has been changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Between March and October 2020, much Australian community life was suspended, particularly in Victoria, with four months of hard lock-down. There have been hard borders between most states. Many people have not been able to meet even close members of their families face-to-face let alone their friends. People were told to work from home if they could. Many industries and businesses closed and hundreds of thousands lost their jobs. Throughout much of Australia, there were limits on the numbers of people who could meet in religious communities, and many have had no face-to-face meetings for eight months.
World Christian Encyclopedia (3rd edition) Released
The third edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia was launched in March 2020. It is a huge volume with articles covering Christianity in every part of the globe.
Church Online
In October 2020, Dr Peter Brierley, former director of the Christian Research Association of the UK, reported some research in the UK about church online. It was the result of just 180 responses from one Anglican diocese in the UK, but it gives some clues as to what information might be sought and how people might feel.
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