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Traditional Australian music is inseparable from the Indigenous cultures. Aboriginal songmen are revered custodians, and represent rich and distinct oral traditions of each community.

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Traditional Australian music is inseparable from the Indigenous cultures. Aboriginal songmen are revered custodians, and represent rich and distinct oral traditions of each community.

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They are indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.  There are no information of when exactly they arrived. They are known for their face tattoos, that are used to identify their history, social status and affiliation. Their traditional dance, kapa haka, is also well known. It's a mixture of dance, song and chanting in very powerful performance. There are various kinds of it, each one performed in different kinds of events, such as to intimidate before a war or to welcome poeple. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_E3yUjFNmc&ab_channel=umusicNZ

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Alex Aiono gets a warm welcome at Auckland airport

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Australian literature has a particular feature, which is its collective value. It reflects the integration of the people whether than the individual behaviour. An interesting note to take is that this proposition is valid for the Indigenous people such as the European arrivals.

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Australian literature has a particular feature, which is its collective value. It reflects the integration of the people whether than the individual behaviour. An interesting note to take is that this proposition is valid for the Indigenous people such as the European arrivals.

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Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the territory of Australia. Their ancestors migrated from Africa and Asia. 

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Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the territory of Australia. Their ancestors migrated from Africa and Asia. 

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Maori is the indigenous language of New Zealand, therefore it encompasses elements of an ancestry in dispute for memory, practice or oblivion. Catherine Watson et. al state that "its increasingly close contact with English over the last 150 years led to its endangerment, though it is now subject to active revitalization efforts". Their study "reports on some results from the MAONZE (Maori and New Zealand English) Research Project, which is studying aspects of the mutual influence of Maori and English in the area of pronunciation".

Reference: https://benjamins.com/catalog/impact.25.07har

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James N. Stanford, Dennis R. Preston - Variation in Indigenous Minority Languages (Impact_ Studies in Language and Society) (2009)

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Most people will think that Australian people and New Zealand people speak the "common" Englsh as we study in college or high school. On the other hand, the real English spoken in those countries are more regional and it has strong "accents" creating their own way of speaking and reffering to things. The New Zealand people are known as Kiwi and the Austrialian as Aussie. They don't stop there. As they would say in Kiwi "Kia Ora"

References: https://spinthewindrose.com/speak-kiwi/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8002507/Trans-Tasman-translations-Australian-New-Zealand-slang-terms-deciphered.html

https://travelteam.com/aussie-kiwi-phrases-know/

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"For now, the Maori languange is like the korotangi of old: we cannot be sure whether it is alive, dead, or has already turned into stone". 

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"For now, the Maori languange is like the korotangi of old: we cannot be sure whether it is alive, dead, or has already turned into stone". 

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This paper is a preliminary report on what the data reveal about the state of the Maori language in the 1970s.

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BENTON The Maori Language - Dying or Reviving

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The most mysterious, sacred and remarkable of all Maori relics, 'The Korotangi' is the name given to a stone bird brought from Hawaiki to Aotearoa by the Maori in the Tainui huhunu, carved from a green mineral called serpentine found in China and Indonesia

The Korotangi is not of Maori or even Polynesian origin as it was made with metal tools of which the people of the Pacific had no knowledge. The Maori’s  know they didn’t make it, and they don’t know who did. It is the opinion of most ethnologists is that the Korotangi is of indonesian origin and dates to around 790 ad. How it came into the Maoris ancestors hands and to board the Tainui canoe is a mystery.

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The most mysterious, sacred and remarkable of all Maori relics, ‘The Korotangi’ is the name given to a stone bird brought from Hawaiki to Aotearoa by the Maori in the Tainui hūhunu (ocean-going canoe).
Carved from a green mineral called serpentine found in China and Indonesia, the bird measures 10.…

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Maori culture as a strategic resource during the 1970s and 1980s

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Maori culture as a strategic resource during the 1970s and 1980s

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Jeffrey Sissons discusses "the systematisation of Maori tradition in New Zealand during the 1970s and 1980s" (p. 97). The focus is on "the politicitization and rationalisation of Maori tradition within the New Zealan state, these processes occurring partly in response to calls by Maori leaders for a dismantling of colonial and monocultural structures in New Zealand and reactive objectifications of Maori tradition which challenged the legitimacy of the post-colonial state administration" (p. 97).

Sissons, J. (1993). The Systematisation of Tradition: Maori Culture as a Strategic Resource. Oceania, 64(2), 97–116. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.1993.tb02457.x

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SISSONS The Systematisation of Tradition - Maori Culture as a Strategic Resource

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The Social organization in Australia or New Zealand is often based in you aboriginal population, being organizade by, the family and the horde, that ocuppies a certain territory. Knowing this, it is also important to know that most of the population of Australia and New Zealand lives in urban areas, around 86% in Oceania. The politics in these countries are a unitary parliamentary representative democracy, which says that they have the Prime minister and after that they have the king or the queen, nowadays being King Charles III.

References: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/australia-and-new-zealand-population/#:~:text=Countries%20in%20Australia%20and%20New%20Zealand&text=The%20current%20population%20of%20Australia,of%20the%20total%20world%20population.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40373034

https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/new-zealand-population

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Culture Invention and Its Logic: a controversial approach

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Culture Invention and Its Logic: a controversial approach

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Allan Hansons' study investigates how anthropologists and society contribute for the "invention" of traditional cultures, through the case of the Maori ancestrality.

Hanson, A. (1989). The Making of the Maori: Culture Invention and Its Logic. American Anthropologist, 91(4), 890–902. doi:10.1525/aa.1989.91.4.02a00050

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HANSON The Making of the Maori - Culture Invention and Its Logic

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Matthew Palmer and his studies take "seriously the relationship between culture and a constitution" (p. 565). In "New Zealand Constitutional Culture", he investigates the relation between the country's contemporary culture and its support - or lack of - by the Constitution.

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PALMER New Zealand Constitutional Culture

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New Zealand literature begins after European colonization, but the pre-literate Maori culture already had oral literary traditions.

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"The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including blues, jazz, country, rock and roll, reggae, and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation".
Fonte: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_New_Zealand#:~:text=The%20music%20of%20New%20Zealand,hop%2C%20with%20many%20of%20these

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The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including blues, jazz, country, rock and roll, reggae, and hip hop, w…

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"The New Zealand popular music industry has recently [2008] undergone impressive growth, and is poised to make a significant international impact"

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"The New Zealand popular music industry has recently [2008] undergone impressive growth, and is poised to make a significant international impact"

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"Two aspects of this newly privileged position are examined. First, broadly sketching twenty years of developments, I argue that Government willingness to get behind the local industry, especially the role of the post-2000 Labour Government, is a crucial determinant of the present success story. Secondly, I consider the debated relationship between local music and New Zealand cultural identity, with particular reference to two prominent musical styles: Kiwi ‘garage’ rock, and Polynesian-dominated local rap, reggae and hip-hop-inflected music. I argue that the local must not be overly valorised, and that it is necessary to distinguish between ‘local music’ as a cultural signifier and locally made music, with both worthy of support".

Fonte: Shuker, R. New Zealand popular music, government policy, and cultural identity. Popular Music, v. 27, n. 2, p. 271-287, 2008. Disponível em: <https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/popular-music/article/abs/new-zealand-popular-music-government-policy-and-cultural-identity/21051F64AAC19ACBC9AC13E72D36E5B5>

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This article has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by CrossRef.

McGregor, Andrew and Gibson, Chris 2009. Musical work in a university town: The shifting spaces and practices of DJs in Dunedin. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Vol. 50, Issue. 3, p. 277.

Skilling, Peter 2010. The Construction and Use of National Identity in Contemporary New Zealand Political Discourse. Australian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 45, Issue. 2, p. 175.

Scott, Michael 2012. Popular music as social policy: Hybrid-hierarchies and social inclusion through New Zealand's pop renaissance. Journal of Sociology, Vol. 48, Issue. 3, p. 304.

Scott, Michael and Craig, David 2012. The promotional state 'after neo-liberalism': ideologies of governance and New Zealand's pop renaissance. Popular Music, Vol. 31, Issue. 1, p. 143.

Perkins, Alicia 2012. How devoted are you? An examination of online music fan behaviour. Annals of Leisure Research, Vol. 15, Issue. 4, p. 354.

Rakena, Te Oti 2016. Engaging First Peoples in Arts-Based Service Learning. Vol. 18, Issue. , p. 119.

Beauregard, Devin 2018. Cultural Policy and Industries of Identity. p. 51.

Sepie, Andrew J. 2018. Counterculture within a Counter-Culture: New Zealand, Psychedelic Rock, and the Moral Guardians of the 60s and 70s. Rock Music Studies, Vol. 5, Issue. 3, p. 220.

Nairn, Angelique and Guinibert, Matthew 2020. A dance of excellence, accessibility, money and national identity: A discourse analysis of the Royal New Zealand Ballet's website. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, Vol. 25, Issue. 3,

Thomas, Luke 2021. Towards a ladder of popular music support in Wales: The educational impact of Forté Project. Journal of Popular Music Education, Vol. 5, Issue. 1, p. 89.

Joyce, Zita 2021. Student Radio: "A Good Friend of New Zealand Music". Journal of Radio & Audio Media, Vol. 28, Issue. 1, p. 125.

Carr, Paul 2022. Impact of COVID-19 on the Welsh Music Industries. Journal of World Popular Music, Vol. 9, Issue. 1-2,

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New Zealand popular music, government policy, and cultural identity | Popular Music | Cambridge Core

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This article has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by CrossRef. McGregor, Andrew and Gibson, Chris 2009. Musical work in a university town: The shifting spaces and practices of DJs in Dunedin. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Vol. 50, Issue. 3, p. 277.

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Kiwi rock: popular music and cultural identity in New Zealand

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Kiwi rock: popular music and cultural identity in New Zealand

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"The New Zealand popular music scene has seen a series of high points in recent years. Published in 1989 were John Dix's labour of love, Stranded in Paradise, a comprehensive history of New Zealand rock'n'roll; an influential report by the Trade Development Board, supportive of the local industry; and the proceedings of a well-supported Music New Zealand Convention held in 1987 (Baysting 1989). In the late 1980s, local bands featured strongly on the charts, with Dave Dobbyn (‘Slice of Heaven’, 1986), Tex Pistol (‘The Game of Love’, 1987) and the Holiday Makers (‘Sweet Lovers’, 1988) all having number one singles. Internationally, Shona Laing (‘Glad I'm Not A Kennedy’, 1987) and Crowded House (‘Don't Dream It's Over’, 1986) broke into the American market, while in Australia many New Zealand performers gathered critical accolades and commercial success".

Shuker, R., & Pickering, M. Kiwi rock: Popular music and cultural identity in New Zealand. Popular Music, v. 13, n. 3, p. 261-278, 1994.

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New Zealand music has western and polynesian influences with popular genres being jazz, blues, country, rock and hip hop.

Some fun facts:

Early Maori instruments called “taonga puroro” were made out of hollowed-out wood, stone, whale ivory, albatross bone and human bone

In 2013, Lorde became the youngest solo artist to reach number one in the US at 16 years old

The best-selling New Zealand pop song of all time is How Bizarreby OMC

In 2011, Kimbra collaborated with Belgian-Australian singer Gotye on “Somebody That I Used to Know” topping the charts in around 25 countries and selling more than 13 million copies worldwide

May is New Zealand Music Month, so it’s a good time to look out for local gigs

New Zealand has also an orchestra, one of the world's oldest national symphony orchestras, since 1947.

Maori is the mostly likely to hear through live performances; There are several forms of Maori music:

Waiata – songs are sung solo or in unison, usually lullabies, love songs or laments

Karanga – performed during a welcome ceremony known as a powhiri. It is the ceremonial call performed by the women of the welcoming tribe

Moteatea – traditional chanting performed even before the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand

Kapa haka – a type of Maori performing arts where groups showcase their cultural heritage through song and dance.

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New Zealand Music: What Music is from New Zealand? - NZ Pocket Guide

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Learn about the music from New Zealand in this guide to the New Zealand mustic and what music is from New Zealand.

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Australian Literature in the 21st century

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Australian Literature in the 21st century

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The Australian literature that marks the new millenium is based on the confrontation of the supremacist ideology of the lingering effects of the British Empire, a readership "interested in otherness", and exploring the compexity of postcolonial concerns. The impressions that stays about the Australian literature nowadays is one of this drought-threatened landscape with oases of hope.

VERNAY, Jean-François. International Perspectives on Australian Literature. Journal of Postcolonial Writing, vol. 58, n. 1, p. 1-5, 2022,

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Through the 1980s, it was perceived a increase of the literature in politicizing Maori issues, serving as examples Grace’s Cousins (1992) and Ihimaera’s Bulibasha (1994), both which reflect on the salvation of the Maori people being based on integration, education, and acceptance of individual responsability.

As to the poetry, its classic forms were rediscovered through academic studies, sometimes perceived as an exercise of self-limitation (due to the low percentage of the population who is fluent in Maori language), sometimes perceived as a showcase of their identity pride.

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New Zealand literature - Pakeha (European) literature

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Modern discussions of New Zealand literature have not given much attention to the 19th century. Immigrant writers were Britishers abroad. Only those born in the “new” land could see it as New Zealanders; and even they, for most of the first 100 years of settlement (1820–1920), had to make conscious…

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Aboriginal myths tell about totemic beings who walked around the territory singing out the names of everything that passed throug their way - birds, animals, plants - and giving meaning and existence to the world. This myth contributes to the understanding that the songlines define the intangible relationship between Aboriginal music, beliefs and the land.

The Traditional music of these groups is strongly rhythmical, with a dependence on natural sounds – handclaps, body slaps, the stamping of bare feet on the ground, or the clapping together of bilma and boomerangs. The best-known instrument is, of course, the didgeridoo, which gives either a pulse or sustained accompaniment to a dance, sacred ceremony or corroboree – a meeting of neighbouring tribes.

Source: https://www.songlines.co.uk/the-rough-guide-to-world-music/the-rough-guide-to-world-music-australia

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The story of Aboriginal music is centuries old and continues to develop in fascinating ways

Note that this Rough Guide to World Music article has not been updated since it was originally published. To keep up-to-date with the best new music from around the world, subscribe to Songlines magazine.

With a remarkable history that stretches back at least 50,000 years, the indigenous people of Australia are part of one of the world's oldest cultures. Preserving their ancient heritage through a complex oral tradition of mythological "Dreamtime" stories, music has always played a central role in maintaining cultural identity, ancestral lineage and an enduring connection to the land. From the traditional sounds of voice, bilma (clapsticks) and yidaki (didgeridoo) through to contemporary singer-songwriters, rock bands and the latest Aboriginal hip-hop, Australia's indigenous music continues to evolve in fascinating ways. Seth Jordan tells the story.

In the Dreamtime

Aboriginal creation myths tell of legendary totemic beings who wandered over the continent in the Dreamtime, singing out the name of everything that crossed their path - birds, animals, plants, rocks, waterholes - and so singing the world into existence. The songlines are paths which can be traced across the continent, linking sacred spirits that have returned to the land - a kangaroo that has turned into an outcrop of rocks, perhaps, or a giant lizard into a mountain range. Tribal groups regard these totemic beings as ancestors and thus may have, for example, a local Rainbow-Serpent Dreaming or a Honey-Ant Dreaming which incorporate the story of their creation and can be depicted in art or retold in song.

The songlines define the intangible relationship between Aboriginal music, beliefs and the land. As Mandawuy Yunupingu from the popular band Yothu Yindi explains: "The role of song in Aboriginal or Yolgnu Creation is what creation is all about. The song is creation. The art is creation. The specialness in that is that we have a heart-and-mind connection to Mother Earth. Songlines are entrenched within the land itself, the journey of the songlines is from the east to the west, the journey is about following the sun."

According to Bruce Chatwin's book Songlines, the ancestors are thought to have scattered a trail of words and musical notes along the lines of their Dreaming-tracks. An ancestral song is thus both map and direction-finder, an essential requirement in the unforgiving environment of Australia's outback: "Regardless of the words, it seems the melodic contour of the song describes the nature of the land over which the song passes. One phrase might say, "Salt-pan", another "Creek-bed", "Spinifex", "Sandhill", "Mulga-scrub", "Rock-face" and so forth. An expert songman, by listening to their order of succession, would count how many times his hero crossed a river, or scaled a ridge - and be able to calculate where and how far along a songline he was."

Chatwin also maintained that while a songline might pass through the country of various language-groups, the melody may intrinsically remain the same. In this way, if two neighbouring groups are allied and agree to trade the geographic "lyrics" of their songs, members of each group can safely travel through the country of the other. Having learned a new "verse", the extended song simply covers more territory. Some songlines reportedly stretch across the entire continent.

As the name songlines suggests, music and song are central to Aboriginal identity. Through singing, dancing, painting and ceremony, people become co-participants in the ongoing creation and re-animation of life. Songs can contain the history and mythology of a clan, the practical instructions for the care of land or advice about dangerous foods and animals.

Traditional Aboriginal music is strongly rhythmical, with a dependence on natural sounds - handclaps, body slaps, the stamping of bare feet on the ground, or the clapping together of bilma and boomerangs. The best-known instrument is, of course, the didgeridoo, which gives either a pulse or sustained accompaniment to a dance, sacred ceremony or corroboree - a meeting of neighbouring tribes. The instrument's deep, resonant sound is instantly recognizable and has become the most popular and distinctive feature of contemporary Aboriginal bands.

A Bit of History

The indigenous people of Australia are thought to have arrived between 40,000 and 100,000 years ago. Clans may have migrated through Southeast Asia, though this has not been proven. There is genetic evidence which indicates a common link with East Coast Africans and southern Indian Dravidian peoples, which may suggest an original arc of migration from Africa. There are also strong genetic and linguistic similarities between some Aborigines and the peoples of modern-day New Guinea, although this may be as a result of more recent trade and intermarriage.

While some of Australia's northern indigenous peoples traded successfully for centuries with visiting Macassan seafarers from Sulawesi (formerly Celebes), European exploration of the continent only began in the early 1600s, with Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish and French sea captains. It wasn't until 1770 that English explorer James Cook claimed the continent for Britain, which he justified by the legal concept of terra nullius ("no man's land" or "empty land") - a distinctly European idea defined as "an absence of civilization", since no other colonial power had previously laid claim to it. This was despite the fact that the continent already had somewhere between 300,000 and a million inhabitants, speaking at least six hundred distinct languages.

From 1788, the indigenous people were driven off their ancestral lands and resettled, or simply hunted and killed like animals. Such brutal practices persisted until well into the twentieth century, and discrimination has continued, with the recognition of Aboriginal rights a relatively recent development. European settlement also meant the suppression of traditional languages, ceremonies and culture, the denial of identity, the importation of European diseases and the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

In the late nineteenth century, Christian missionaries established mission stations in remote areas, rejecting the "heathen" music and culture of the Aboriginals and teaching them European hymns. The strong influence of gospel singing can still be heard in Aboriginal choirs and the work of some indigenous singer-songwriters.

There are currently over 450,000 people in Australia who identify themselves as indigenous (2.4 percent of the population) and some two hundred surviving languages. As well as the mainland Aborigines, the Torres Strait Islanders - of Melanesian descent - inhabit the islands between the coast of Queensland and Papua New Guinea. The vast majority of Aboriginals are scattered across the continent in country towns and settlements, with concentrations in the urban centres. While in some areas Aborigines are well integrated into Australian society, elsewhere there is continued deprivation, unemployment, high rates of incarceration and domestic violence, and ongoing problems with education, health and alcoholism.

Since the late 1970s, Aboriginal music has become an important vehicle for expressing the struggles and concerns of Aboriginal people, and in educating listeners from the outside world. Modern Aboriginal music is often closely aligned with the political struggle over land rights. Music has consolidated its place as a cultural glue, holding the people together and educating the public.

On the 1995 compilation album Our Home Our Land, Yothu Yindi's song "Mabo" celebrated the historic 1992 legal case in which the Australian High Court overturned the terra nullius doctrine:
Terra nullius, terra nullius, Terra nullius is dead and gone We were right, that we were here They were wrong, that we weren't there . . .

Preserving the Past

The first known wax-cylinder recordings of indigenous Australians were made in 1898, on islands in the Torres Strait. Recordings were also made in Tasmania in 1899 and 1903, and in South Australia and the Northern Territory in 1901 and 1912. An important modern cultural development for Aboriginals was the establishment in 1964 of the Institute of Aboriginal Studies in Canberra, now known as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). This has sponsored research into all aspects of traditional Aboriginal life, including a priceless archive of over 7000 hours of indigenous music, collected from 1898 to the present.

For most white Australians, traditional Aboriginal music has been a primary, if marginal experience of Black Australia. Its otherworldliness has maintained the image of Aboriginal issues being on the periphery of "Australian" life, and it has received very little mainstream attention outside anthropological or ethnomusicological circles.

One in-depth study of traditional Aboriginal music is the book Songs, Dreamings and Ghosts by Professor Allan Marett. Much more than a dry academic exercise, it gives a detailed analysis of the wangga (song and dance) of the Daly River region of Northwestern Australia. Marett's work with senior songmen and women sets a benchmark for future research into Aboriginal music.

Country Roads

Since the 1950s one of the strongest influences on contemporary Aboriginal music has been country music. Considered unlikely musical bedfellows by some, the two genres actually have a lot in common. As most Aboriginal people continue to live outside the major urban centres, the appeal of rural subject-matter is obvious, and for many years country artists were the only musicians who regularly toured and performed in those regions. As documented in Clinton Walker's definitive book (and accompanying CD/DVD) Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music,"Not only did Aborigines share a large part of country's roots (gospel music, minstrelsy, bush ballads), they were also attracted because country songs are story songs, and in traditional Aboriginal society this is what songs did too - told stories."

Adapting the tradition of campfire singing, Aboriginal singers began to make small inroads into the music industry. Jimmy Little began releasing albums in 1956, and his 1963 hit "Royal Telephone" made him thefirst Aboriginal pop star; he has remained popular ever since. Other prominent country-influenced performers/songwriters from the 1960s and 70s include Bob Randall, Herb Laughton, Lionel Rose, Gus Williams, Auriel Andrew, the Soft Sands band and early rocker Vic Simms. In the 1980s, Roger Knox became the unofficial King of Koori Country, and more recently artists such as Bobby McLeod, Warren H. Williams and June Mills have attracted well-deserved attention.Western Australia's Broome-based Pigram Brothers (who in a former incarnation were rock band Scrap Metal) continue to release relaxed country-folk albums, and singer Troy Cassar-Daley has achieved enormous commercial success, winning national praise at the annual Country Music Awards in Tamworth NSW - Australia's version of Nashville.

Reggae Roots

The real revolution in Aboriginal music began in the late 1970s, with the documentary film Wrong Side of the Road. For the first time, the idea of Aboriginal music was seen to encompass a contemporary scene, as well as its purely traditional and country forms. The film showed the Aboriginal rock bands No Fixed Address and Us Mob struggling to get exposure for their reggae-influenced songs. It marked the beginning of a public recognition of music as a tool in the fight to communicate the Aboriginal story. In particular the No Fixed Address song "We Have Survived", written by the band's frontman Bart Willoughby, made the point that the Aboriginal people would not simply disappear into the background:
We have survived the white man's world And the torment and the horror of it all We have survived the white man's world And you know, you can't change that!
Bob Marley, who toured Australia in 1979, had a marked influence in the early days of this Aboriginal contemporary music scene. As throughout Africa, Marley's socially conscious music, with its "Get Up, Stand Up" assertions, had a strong resonance and a number of Aboriginal-based bands began using reggae and rock formats to express their connections with the other black peoples of the world.

The Rock Circuit

The number of Aboriginal rock bands formed over the past three decades is phenomenal, on a scale similar to that of the punk explosion in Britain or the US, and more lasting. Even in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, virtually every remote community has its own band.

The two most notable bands of the 1980s were Warumpi Band and Coloured Stone. The desert-bred Warumpis attracted attention as the first mixed Aboriginal and white band, singing in both tribal languages and English. Fronted by the late George Rrurrambu, their flamboyant lead singer, and white songwriter/guitarist Neil Murray, Warumpi's 1983 single "Jailanguru Pakarnu" (Out from Jail) was the first rock song ever recorded in an Aboriginal language. Their 1984 debut album Big Name, No Blanketscontained the singles "Blackfella/Whitefella", "Breadline" and "Fitzroy Crossing", which all received national radio airplay. They followed up with Go Bush in 1987, which included the iconic song "My Island Home". Their next album, Too Much Humbug, didn't appear until 1996, and the band officially retired in 2000, though Murray continues to pursue a creative solo career.

Coloured Stone, led by Buna Lawrie, originated in South Australia in 1978 and was one of Australia's longest-lasting indigenous bands. Their mid-1980s albums Kooniba Rock, Island of Greed and Human Love caught the ear of mainstream radio with the catchy singles "Black Boy" and "Dancing in the Moonlight". Lawrie continues to perform with his latest group The Peace Tribe.

Since 1990 there has been continuous development within the indigenous rock/reggae scene, with most new bands coming from the regions around Darwin, Alice Springs and Aboriginal-controlled Arnhem Land. While many have only been locally popular, others have gone on to record and undertake major tours. The most prominent groups have been Mixed Relations, Blek Bala Mujik, Letterstick Band, Sunrize Band and Lajamanu Teenage Band. Current Arnhem Land favourites include Nabarlek, Saltwater Band and Yilila.

Yothu Yindi

Yothu Yindi ("Mother Child") have been far and away the most successful exponents of distinctively Aboriginal rock, both at home and abroad, and are inseparably associated with the struggle for Aboriginal rights. Former schoolteacher Mandawuy Yunupingu and his fellow band-member Witiyana Marika are sons of leaders of the Gumatj and Rirratjingu clans in Northeast Arnhem Land.

Yothu Yindi's first album, Homeland Movement, was released in 1988, Australia's bicentennial year - an event which provided a focus for their protest. Their second release, Tribal Voice (1991), spawned the massive hit single "Treaty", which has become an Aboriginal anthem.

In concert, the band has continued to address social injustice as well as the wish for harmony and reconciliation between black and white. The band itself symbolizes this, with its mix of Aboriginal and white ( balanda) musicians, and Western and indigenous instruments (clapsticks and didgeridoo). Yunupingu was declared "Australian of the Year" in 1992 for his work in promoting Aboriginal culture and inter-racial harmony.

While no longer the musical force that they once were, Yothu Yindi still offer a unique live experience, with their body-painted dancers and a repertoire that includes arrangements of traditional and sacred songs, giving a strong spiritual dimension to their music.

Singer-songwriters

Perhaps the most important development in Aboriginal music over the last thirty years has been the emergence of a number of individual singer-songwriters. Able to eloquently express themselves by sharing their often traumatic life-experiences, their personal perspectives have acted as a bridge between cultures, and educated many listeners about Australia's history.

Assimilation was the euphemistic term for a policy, practised up until the 1960s, of taking children from their parents and raising them in white foster homes or institutions. Many of these children, some of mixed race, were literally kidnapped and told that their parents were dead. The institution responsible was called the "Aborigines Protection Board" - an astonishing piece of doublethink. The theory was that children reared away from traditional influences would choose to become like whites. In fact, a good many children felt compelled to try and track down their families and rediscover their roots.

Three of them - Kev Carmody, Archie Roach and his wife Ruby Hunter - have become major singer-songwriters, and are today among the most powerful indigenous voices of Australia.

Kev Carmody, who was taken from his family when he was ten, has become the leading balladeer of Aboriginal concerns and has been dubbed Australia's Dylan. The angry, insightful lyrics of his 1990 album Pillars of Society were informed by his doctoral research into the white treatment of Aborigines. He is especially contemptuous of the hypocrisy of British colonizers, a theme brilliantly developed in the song "Thou Shalt Not Steal":
1789 down Sydney Cove the first boat people land And they said sorry boys our gain's your loss we're gonna steal your land And if you break our new British laws you're sure gonna hang Or work your life like our convicts with a chain on your neck and hands They taught us Oh black woman thou shalt not steal Hey black man thou shalt not steal We're gonna change your black barbaric lives and teach you how to kneel But your history couldn't hide the genocide, the hypocrisy was real 'Cause your Jesus said you're supposed to give the oppressed a better deal We say to you yes our land thou shalt not steal, Oh our land you better heal
Carmody's subsequent albums have sustained his strong vocal style with hard-strummed guitar and occasional didgeridoo, and his 1993 duet with Australian troubadour Paul Kelly, "From Little Things, Big Things Grow", remains a much-loved national classic. His influential voice has found a wide audience, notably in schools.

Archie Roach was taken from his parents at the age of three and told that his family had perished in a fire. As a teenager he discovered that his mother had died only recently, and the shock was devastating. Dispossessed and rootless, like thousands of Aborigines he resorted to drink and spent the next ten years in an alcoholic haze. "I went from city to city, living on hand-outs. Playing music was my way of getting money to drink. Finally I stopped drinking and music seemed the natural thing to fill up the void. It was therapeutic. Still is."

Roach's expressive songs, often simply written for voice and guitar, sound confessional and many come directly from his own experience. "Took the Children Away" made his name and appeared on his 1990 debut album, Charcoal Lane:
Told us what to do and say Told us all the white man's ways Then they split us up again And gave us gifts to ease the pain Sent us off to foster homes As we grew up we felt alone Cause we were acting white Yet feeling black
The recognition that some of the evils committed against Aboriginal people are at last being overturned was an important theme in Roach's second album, Jamu Dreaming. The title track celebrated the rediscovery of lost ancestral values by urban-dwelling Aborigines. His more recent albums, Looking for Butter Boy and Sensual Being, share the recurring twin themes of hurt and hope.

Roach's wife Ruby Hunter pursues a solo career, as well as performing alongside her husband. With her deep husky voice and folk style, Hunter offers unique insights from the perspective of an older Aboriginal woman - especially noteworthy given the silence that Aboriginal women can be bound to in traditional contexts. Her 1994 debut album Thoughts Within, its follow-up Feeling Good (2000) and the stage presentation Ruby (2005) have all served to solidify her reputation as Australia's most articulate indigenous female voice.

The rise of female Aboriginal performers has greatly broadened the perspective of Australian indigenous music. The vocal trio Tiddas ("Sisters") enjoyed a popular decade-long career of close harmonies before disbanding in 2000, and the Stiff Gins currently occupy similar musical territory. Singer-songwriters Kerrianne Cox, Lou Bennett, Shellie Morris and Emma Donovan have all found enthusiastic audiences for their work, and Emma's cousin Casey Donovan won the 2004 Australian Idol TV programme.

Other notable male singer-songwriters who have emerged in recent years include Frank Yamma, Dan Sultan, L.J. Hill and actor/musician Tom E. Lewis. However, the most recent indigenous success story has been the phenomenal rise of Elcho Island singer and guitarist Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. Blind from birth, Yunupingu first came to prominence in his cousin Mandawuy's band Yothu Yindi, and then went on to form his own Top End group, the Saltwater Band. But it was his 2008 solo album Gurrumul, featuring Yunupingu's remarkably pure and gentle voice in an acoustic setting, that has propelled him to the forefront of the Australian indigenous music scene, and made him a household name across the country. Praised by one music journalist as "the greatest voice this continent has ever recorded", Gurrumul won two ARIA Awards (the Australian Grammys) for Best World Music Album and Best Independent Release.

The Torres Strait Connection

The Torres Strait archipelago is made up of over a hundred islands. Its first inhabitants are believed to have migrated from Indonesia thousands of years ago, when there was still a land bridge between New Guinea and Australia.

The discovery of pearl shell in the 1860s led to an influx of people from all over the Asia/Pacific region, concentrating on Thursday Island. The colony of Queensland officially annexed the islands in 1879, but they have maintained their own distinct culture and identity, with strong links to both the mainland Aboriginal people and the tribal groups of New Guinea.

The Mills Sisters - Rita, Cessa and Ina - formed in 1970, and performed their traditional island songs around the world. Perfectly summing up the relaxed Torres Strait Islander lifestyle, these swinging island grannies' 1993 album Frangipani Land still makes for essential listening. Rita began performing solo in 1995, and died in 2004.

Without a doubt, the best-known Torres Strait Islander performer is singer/dancer/actor Christine Anu, who brought a youthful pop sensibility to her first single, "Monkey & the Turtle" (1994). Her 1995 remake of Neil Murray's Warumpi ode "Island Home" has remained her signature tune ever since:
I come from the saltwater people We always lived by the sea Now I'm down here living in the city With my man and my family My Island home/my island home My island home is waiting for me
Anu has remained in the public eye with her follow-up albums Come My Way (2000), 45 Degrees (2003) and the live set Acoustically (2005). She's also pursued an acting career.

A favourite Torres Strait Islander performer at present - both at home and on the mainland - is septuagenarian crooner Seaman Dan. Other notable musicians include King Kadu (Richard Idagi), storyteller Getano Bann and local Thursday Island band Totemic.

Here Come the Hip-Hoppers

Like young people all over the world, in recent years many young Aborigines have been attracted to hip-hop. Adapted to their own culture and environment, hip-hop has encouraged a whole new generation of indigenous Australian musicians to come forward. While some of the beats, hand-gestures and baseball caps may be borrowed from abroad, there's no denying that Aboriginal hip-hop is establishing its own distinct style.

Whether it's the urban wordplay of inner-city rappers like Wire MC, Local Knowledge and Radical Son,the hardcore sound of Central Desert rockers NoKTuRNL or the sassy raps of female Arnhem Land crew Wildflower, indigenous hip-hop seems here to stay. While many young Aboriginal hip-hop artists are yet to properly record their work, every year sees a few more releases, and the live scene is booming.

Blackfella/Whitefella

Over the years there have been numerous musical partnerships between black and white Australian musicians. While Yothu Yindi and Warumpi Band are the best-known examples, a couple of others deserve special mention. Inspired by renowned Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil, the band Waak Waak Jungi is an occasional collaboration between Arnhem Land songmen and rurally based white musicians from Victoria. Their 1997 album Crow Fire Music was a successful blend of traditional vocals and ambient soundscapes. Warren H. Williams has regularly collaborated with fellow Aussie country star John Williamson, and their musical partnership yielded the classic 1998 hit single "Raining on the Rock". The 2001 album Corroboration: a Journey through the Musical Landscape of 21st Century Australia featured collaborations between an all-star cast of indigenous and non-indigenous pop performers.

The careers of several other white Australian musicians have been closely associated with indigenous issues. Among them are ex-Warumpi singer-songwriter Neil Murray, Goanna band founder Shane Howard, Gondwanaland's didge virtuoso Charlie McMahon, and veteran rock band Midnight Oil. Singer/keyboardist David Bridie has produced a number of albums for Aboriginal artists, and with his own band Not Drowning, Waving he has forged ties with indigenous musicians from Papua New Guinea and West Papua. In 2008, a mixed-race, all-star indigenous group - the Black Arm Band - emerged, featuring some of Australia's finest musicians. Fronted by Archie Roach and Shane Howard, this large group has appeared at major festivals in both Australia and the UK, and a stripped-down version of the ensemble, Liyarn Ngarn ("the coming together of the spirit") has also toured extensively.

Australia's World Music Scene

Multicultural Australia has also become the adopted home for a substantial number of first- and second-generation migrant musicians from around the world. The result has been a vibrant local world-music scene in most of the major cities, with urban venues regularly presenting African, Asian, European, South American and other acts. Adelaide has hosted Australia's annual WOMAD Festival since 1992, and many of the country's other regional festivals often contain a strong world music component.

Currently prominent non-indigenous acts include Australian/Kazakh guitarist Slava Grigoryan, Tatar/Russian singer Zulya, cheesy gypsy band Monsieur Camembert, the Eastern European-influenced group Mara!, soulful Tongan sisters Vika & Linda, Papuan troupe Drum Drum, female acapella quartet Blindman's Holiday, Australian/Egyptian oud player Joseph Tawadros and multi-ethnic party band The Cat Empire.

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The story of Aboriginal music is centuries old and continues to develop in fascinating ways With a remarkable history that stretches back at least 50,000 years, the indigenous people of Australia are part of one of the world's oldest cultures.

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When it comes to the internationalization of its music, Australia plays a interesting role, with some names recongnized beyond its borders, such as Kylie Minogue, AC/DC, Sia, Troye Sivan, Gotye, Iggy Azalea and Natalia Imbruglia.

This is due, of course, to these artists' appeal to the mainstream music and their approach to the American music industry.

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Christianity is the largest religion in New Zealand, with 15.4% of the population identifying with Protestant denominations, 10.1% identifying as Catholic and 11.9% identifying with some other form of Christianity.¹ However, almost half (48.6%) of New Zealanders stated they had no religion in the 2018 census, signifying the first time that the number of ‘religiously unaffiliated’ people has exceeded Christians.² The number of people affiliating with minority (non-Christian) religions is also increasing, such as Hinduism (2.7%), Maori religions, beliefs, and philosophies (1.3%), Islam (1.3%) and Buddhism (1.1%).

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Nina Evason,

Christianity is the largest religion in New Zealand, with 15.4% of the population identifying with Protestant denominations, 10.1% identifying as Catholic and 11.9% identifying with some other form of Christianity. ¹ However, almost half (48.6%) of New Zealanders stated they had no religion in the 2018 census, signifying the first time that the number of 'religiously unaffiliated' people has exceeded Christians. ² The number of people affiliating with minority (non-Christian) religions is also increasing, such as Hinduism (2.7%), Maori religions, beliefs, and philosophies (1.3%), Islam (1.3%) and Buddhism (1.1%). ³

Christianity in New Zealand

Many of the British who settled in New Zealand in the 19th century arrived with the intent of setting up Christian missions. They wished to convert the lawless British who had arrived from the Australian penal colony, as well as the tribal Māori. As Māori culture is polytheistic, it quite easily accepted a new God to be blended in with its practices, resulting in almost all Māori adopting some Christian tenets or understandings. This was part of a larger mission scheme throughout the Pacific Ocean, so most Pacific Islanders in New Zealand that have migrated from neighbouring islands are also very strong believers in the Christian faith. Today, while traditional denominations of Christianity have been declining in popularity, evangelical sects are continuing to gain adherents.

Religiously Unaffiliated

The percentage of people identifying as non-religious has been steadily increasing from 29.6% in 2001, to 34.6% in 2006, to 41.9% in 2013 and 48.6% in 2018. Considering this, the Pew Forum predicts New Zealand's population to have a non-religious majority by the end of the century. It is important to note that not all who identify as having no religion are committed atheists. However, the decline in the popularity of faith can be partly attributed to a generational difference, as data shows that younger people are less likely to have religious affiliations. New Zealanders with European or Māori descent are also more likely to claim no religion. Recent migrants-including people of Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, Latin American and African populations-are much more likely to be religious.
1 Central Intelligence Agency, 2020 2 Central Intelligence Agency, 2020 3 Central Intelligence Agency, 2020

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Nina Evason, Christianity is the largest religion in New Zealand, with 15.4% of the population identifying with Protestant denominations, 10.1% identifying as Catholic and 11.9% identifying with some other form of Christianity. 1 However, almost half (48.6%) of New Zealanders stated they had no religion in the 2018 census, signifying the first time that the number of 'religiously unaffiliated' people has exceeded Christians.

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Australia is a secular country, with a high degree of religious freedom and religious diversity. Although the state and religious groups are maintained as separate entities, religious institutions continue to play a large role in Australian society.
- Christianity is currently the most dominant religion in Australia, introduced by British settlers at colonisation.
- On a general cultural level, Australians tend to avoid overt displays of religiosity.

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Chara Scroope,

Australia is a secular country, with a high degree of religious freedom and religious diversity. Although the state and religious groups are maintained as separate entities, religious institutions continue to play a large role in Australian society. For example, many primary and secondary schools, hospitals, aged-care facilities and charity organisations are owned and funded by religious organisations.

Christianity is currently the most dominant religion in Australia, introduced by British settlers at colonisation. There has always been a degree of religious diversity in Australia. However, it was not until the abolition of the White Australia Policy (in the 1970s) that non-European communities were able to significantly establish themselves and grow in numbers. Since then, the country has seen growing diversity of non-Christian religions as well.

On a general cultural level, Australians tend to avoid overt displays of religiosity. There is not a common public religious rhetoric (such as 'God bless America' or 'God save the Queen') that correlates Australian national identity with Christianity. Indeed, it is more common for people to avoid explicitly stating their religious beliefs in the workplace to maintain a distinction between their private and public life. Conversations about religion are usually welcome in private settings and among familiar people. However, public promotion or defensiveness of one's religious views (including atheism) is typically unappreciated.

Demographics

The 2021 census recorded over 100 different religious affiliations in Australia. Approximately 52.1% identified as Christian, constituting the largest religious category. The Catholic Church (20.0%) and Anglican Church (9.8%) were the two largest Christian denominations identified. Meanwhile, of the population who identified with a religion other than Christianity, Islam (3.2%) and Hinduism (2.7%) were the largest, followed by Buddhism (including Theravada and Mahayana traditions) (2.4%), Sikhism (0.8%) and Judaism (0.4%). The fastest-growing religious affiliation in Australia is 'no religion', with 38.9% of the population nominating this category in the 2021 census. This constitutes multiple subcategories such as atheist, agnostic, and other spiritual beliefs (such as New Age). The following summaries briefly overview the historical development and contemporary major religious communities in chronological order of their introduction to Australia.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Worldviews

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have held a range of spiritual beliefs and practices for thousands of years. There is not one single Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander religion or spirituality. Traditional beliefs and practices vary significantly across different regions and groups. However, they generally share a common holistic worldview that emphasises the reciprocal relationship and interconnectedness between people, landforms, animals and other elements of natural landscapes. The natural world is understood to be energised by spirits that are equal to one another, thus reflecting a deep respect for the land. This holistic understanding underpins all areas of life in a way that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait people believe confirms their Indigenous identity.

Another major element of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander worldviews are the stories of the universe's origins, which occurred during the 'Dreamtime'. Such narratives recall various human and animal ancestors whose actions and interactions shaped the physical and social world. Dreamtime heroes are associated with spaces and places. Therefore, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups often share an intimate connection with Dreamtime heroes local to their ancestral lands.

The deep connection to the land and the events of the Dreamtime means families and clans inherit totems (a kind of spiritual emblem). Such totems may be a natural object, plant or animal. They define the roles and responsibilities of people and their relationships between each other and the land. A person is allocated various totems at birth relating to place and kinship. From here, one learns particular songs, dances and ceremonies associated with the totems and participates in helping sustain and care for the lands.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional beliefs and practices have been profoundly impacted by colonialism and introduction of Christianity (both past and present). In the 2016 census, only 8,076 Australians identified as practicing an 'Australian Aboriginal traditional religion'. However, this figure is unlikely to represent the exact number of people sharing Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander worldviews for various reasons.

Christianity in Australia

Historical Development

Christianity was introduced to Australia by the first British settlers in the late 18th century. The Church of England (also known as the Anglican Church) began operating immediately and held a religious monopoly over the country. Eventually, other Christian denominations emerged, particularly the Catholic Church. British and Irish immigrants and religious clergy played a major role in developing churches, schools and orphanages around the country in the early twentieth century.

Christian denominations were once historically correlated with one's ethnicity in Australia. In particular, the Catholic Church was often associated with the Irish population while Protestant denominations (mainly the Anglican Church and Presbyterian Church) were associated with the British. During this time, one's religious and ethnic identification played a major role in determining one's education and opportunities in life.

Christian Communities in Australia

The Christian population remains the largest in Australia, yet it has steadily declined over the past century (from 96.9% in 1921 to 43.9% in 2021). Today, most Australian Christians are affiliated with either the Catholic Church (20.0%) or the Anglican Church (9.8%). Other denominations include the Uniting Church (2.6%), Eastern Orthodox (2.1%), Presbyterian and Reformed (1.6%), Baptist (1.4%), Pentecostal (1.0%) and Lutheran (0.6%). One can find many elements of Christianity in Australian society, from the diverse churches dotted throughout the country to the many Christian funded or established social services, such as hospitals, aged-care facilities, schools and charities.

The social and class association with Christian denominations is no longer prevalent. However, it is common to find ethnic and national churches that continue to act as a cultural hub for many of Australia's diverse cultural communities. For example, one can find Eastern Orthodox churches that also act as a cultural meeting place for Greek, Russian and Serbian communities, or Oriental Orthodox churches for Egyptian Coptic, Armenian and Ethiopian communities. There are also Wesleyan Methodist churches associated with Pacific Island nations such as Samoa and Tonga.

Judaism in Australia

Historical Development

The Jewish community was the first non-Christian ethno-religious group to arrive in Australia during the colonisation period. Most of the first Jewish migrants were English speakers from Britain and Ireland rather than Yiddish-speaking Jews from Eastern Europe. The diversity of Australia's Jewish population grew during the early twentieth century as Jews from different European countries (such as Germany and Poland) and some parts of the Middle East (mainly Egypt and former Palestine) began migrating to Australia. Meanwhile, the WWII period and the following decades saw a tripling of the Jewish community in Australia from 23,000 in 1933 to 61,000 in 1961.

Jewish Communities in Australia

Though the Australian Jewry is very young compared to the course of Jewish history, it is home to a vibrant and diverse community. Approximately 91,000 people identified as religiously Jewish in the 2021 census (0.4% of the population). However, this figure may be an underestimation of the total Jewish population due to ambiguities around 'Jewish' as a religious or ethnic identity marker. Some may also fear declaring their Jewish identity due to collective memories of the Holocaust (known as Shoah). ¹ It is not uncommon for Jewish families in Australia to have extended family members living in other parts of the world due to the longlasting effects of WWII and the Holocaust.

According to the 2021 census, nearly all of Australia's Jewish community reside in Victoria (​​46.4%) and New South Wales (41.0%). However, one can find synagogues from different streams of Judaism throughout Australia's major cities, smaller cities and some country areas. Jewish settlement and communities tend to be concentrated, with synagogues often acting as community hubs that help to connect local and visiting Jews. It is also common for Jewish schools, kosher food stores, aged-care facilities and other commercial and community-oriented services to be found nearby, fostering a greater sense of community and support.

Islam in Australia

Historical Development

Evidence shows various Muslim groups arrived in Australia in small numbers over numerous centuries before the 1800s. However, the first Muslims who settled in Australia in large numbers arrived in the 1860s as cameleers from South Asia. This early Muslim community was compromised of men with numerous cultural and linguistic backgrounds from Afghanistan and former British India (contemporary Pakistan and regions of India) - collectively referred to as 'Afghans' or 'Ghans'. Despite long journeys and the harsh conditions of the Australian outback, the Muslim cameleers were able to maintain their religious practices. However, the population dwindled by the 1930s due to the first generation passing on or returning to their homelands, and the introduction of the White Australia Policy.

Muslims of various ethnicities and nationalities migrated later over the early to mid 20th century. For instance, the 1920s and 1930s saw small numbers of Malay and Indonesian Muslims come as indentured labourers for the pearling industry. During the post-WWII, Muslims from Europe (namely Albanians and former Yugoslavia) entered. The late 1960s and 1970s was marked by Turkish and Lebanese migrants along with small numbers of young professional Muslim couples from Egypt, Pakistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.

Muslim Communities in Australia

Australia's contemporary Muslim population reflects its diverse linguistic and ethnic migrant history. Many of Australia's mosques were originally established along ethno-linguistic lines, such as Turkish, Lebanese and Egyptian communities. However, a generational shift has seen ethno-linguistic differentiations deemphasised among second generation Muslims and Anglo-Australian Muslim converts. Australian mosques are often very multicultural, acting as cultural and social hubs for various migrant communities and providing a sense of universal connection to the Muslim world. In addition to mosques, other services and organisations help meet the needs of Australia's Muslim population. Some examples include Islamic primary and secondary schools, and the various butchers and restaurants in most metropolitan areas.

Today, those who identify as Muslim make up 3.2% of Australia's population. The majority of Australia's Muslims are Sunni, followed by Shi'a. Australia is also home to a number of followers from various Sufi orders, such as the Shadhili, Mevlevi, Naqshbandi and Nimatullahi. Some Australian Muslims may prefer see their Muslim identity as a cultural identification while others are non-denominational.

Hinduism in Australia

Historical Development

Hinduism was brought to Australia during the nineteenth century by small groups of Hindus who worked as farm hands, hawkers, and cameleers alongside Muslims and Sikhs. Many Hindus were itinerant and returned to the Indian subcontinent. In 1911, there were less than 1000 'Hindoos' recorded in Australia (0.01% of the population). The following decades marked by two world wars and the introduction of the White Australia Policy saw a decline in Hindus migrating to Australia.

The Hindu community grew significantly during the 1970s. An assortment of various spiritual figures such as , yogis, and began introducing different expressions of Hinduism in Australia. For example, various guru movements became popular, such as Transcendental Meditation, and the Ramakrishna Mission. In the following decade, there was a wave of refugees and political migrants of Indian descent from Fiji, Sri Lanka and African nations. This greatly contributed to the growth of Australia's Hindu population, and by 1986, the census recorded 21,500 people identifying as Hindu, 0.26% of the population.

Hindu Communities in Australia

Today, Hinduism is the fastest growing religion in Australia, up from 0.7% in 2006 to 2.7% in 2021. Much of this growth is attributed to migration, with about half (51.0%) of those who were born in India and 44.9% of those born in Fiji identifying as Hindu.There are various small community groups comprised of overseas-born and Australia-born followers who meet regularly for meditation and chanting. Auspicious events such as Holi and Diwali are often celebrated in homes, temples or at cultural events. Such celebrations usually consist of , preparing various foods and sweets, chanting and music. The influences of various Hindu spiritual movements can be seen today, from inner-city to the popularity of various kinds of .

Buddhism in Australia

Historical Development

Buddhism has been present in Australia since the colonial period. The first known Buddhists arrived as itinerant workers from Asia (such as China) during the Gold Rush. This was followed by a second wave some decades later due to Buddhism's popularity in the United States and the Theosophical Society. During the 1970s, a large wave of Buddhist migrants came in the 1970s from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, and Malaysia. There was also a large influx of refugees in the mid-1970s from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Simultaneously, Buddhist teachers from Europe and the United States brought forms of Buddhism that are less intertwined with various Asian cultural practices.

Buddhist Communities in Australia

Buddhism is the third largest religious group in Australia, with 2.4% of the population identifying with the religion in the 2021 census. Australia's Buddhist community continues to be very ethnically and linguistically diverse. Many of Australia's Buddhists have heritage in Buddhist countries. For example, the majority of those born in Cambodia (74.6%), Laos (71.1%) and Thailand (71.1%) and just under half of those born in Sri Lanka (45.3%) and Vietnam (44.7%) identify as Buddhist.However, there are also Anglo-Australian Buddhists as well as those who have migrated from other English-speaking Western countries.

The Buddhist community is also diverse in terms of practices. While some are part of schools and sects that have survived centuries, others are part of newly emerged schools. The presence of the major branches of Buddhism (such as Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana) can be found throughout Australia. For example, there are various meditation centres for different schools, such as from the Zen tradition, in Australia's major cities. Nonetheless, Buddhists from all traditions come together during May to commemorate Vesak and celebrate the life and teachings of the Buddha.

Sikhism in Australia

Historical Development

The introduction and growth of the Sikh community in Australia is closely linked to the larger pattern of South Asian migration. Many Sikhs arrived as cameleers in the 1860s, referred to as 'Afghans' at the time. At its core, Sikhism is a monotheistic faith that emphasises equality across all factions of society (especially gender and caste). Sikhism was founded in the Punjab region by Guru Nanak (1469-1539), who was succeeded by nine gurus ('teachers') over the span of nearly 240 years. The final leader, Guru Gobind Singh, declared the sacred Sikh scriptures, known as the Guru Granth Sahib, as the final and eternal guru of the Sikh community.

Sikh Community in Australia

According to the 2021 census, 210,400 people identified as Sikh (0.8% of the population). The influence and presence of the Sikh community can be seen throughout Australia. For example, Sikh temples known as gurdwaras can be found in various parts of Australia. These places of worship act as a sites for congregational prayer and social activities, such as sharing in communal meals (langar).

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Learn about the religious make-up of society and how religion influences daily life and culture

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More than 48,5% of New Zealand's population - or more than 2 milion people -says that they have no religion.

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More than 2 million New Zealanders say they have no religion.

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Resident population count who reported no religion between 2001-2018 in New Zealand

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Resident population count who reported no religion between 2001-2018 in New Zealand

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The biggest religion in Australia is Christianity (Catholics and Anglicans, mainly): more than 50% of the population. On the other hand, the fastest grwoing goup is the "No religion" group: almost 40% of the population.
But the fastaest growing religion is Yezidi, a religon from northern Iraq, that increased from  63 people in 2016 to 4,123 in 2021.

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Over the past 50 years, there has been a steady decline in the proportion of Australians who reported an affiliation with Christianity. The same period has seen a consistent rise in Other religions and No religion, particularly in the last 20 years.

Australia's religious profile has been shaped by waves of migration. In the late 18th Century, Christianity was introduced by the British. Other migration to Australia that has likely impacted the religious landscape includes:

1800s and early 1900s: British and Irish free settlers

1940s and 1950s: Post World War II migrants from Europe

1960s: Refugees from the Middle East

1970s: Refugees from Southeast Asia

2000s: Humanitarian entrants from Africa and Middle East; skilled migrants from North-east and Southern Asia(1).

The trend of an increase in Other religions and No religion in Australia is reflected in the religious affiliation of migrants who arrived since the last Census.

The religion with the highest proportional growth since the last Census was Yezidi.

Yezidis (or Yazidis) are an ancient religious minority, who are mostly from Northern Iraq. Many Yezidis fled their country in the past decade due to religious persecution.

The number of Yezidis in Australia increased from 63 people in 2016 to 4,123 in 2021 (an increase of 6,444%). Most of this group arrived in Australia in 2018 and 2017. This was a result of Australia's Humanitarian Program that specifically focussed on resettling Yezidi women, children and families from Iraq and Syria(2).

In 2021, Yezidis were mainly located in regional locations in Queensland and NSW. These areas are designated regional refugee settlement locations as part of the Humanitarian Settlement Program(3).

Christian affiliation of people in Australia varied across generations. Generally, older generations were more likely to be affiliated with Christianity and younger generations were more likely to have no religious affiliation.

For example, more than two-thirds (69.4%) of the Interwar generation were affiliated with Christianity and were the least likely to have No religion (18.6%).

Millennials had the highest proportion of No religion (46.5%) and Other religions (14.9%). This reflects the age profiles of these religions. For example, the median ages for Hinduism was 31 years, Sikhism was 30 years and Islam was 28 years.

The religious affiliation of Generation X closely aligned with the proportions of the Australian population overall.

The number of people affiliated with Christianity in Australia decreased from 12.2 million (52.1%) in 2016 to 11.1 million (43.9%) in 2021. This decrease occurred across most ages, with the largest decrease for young adults (18-25 years).

Anglican and Catholicism have been, and are, the largest Christian denominations in Australia. In 2021, the number of people reporting each of these denominations has dropped and make up most (78%) of the decrease in an affiliation with Christianity.

In 2021, Catholicism decreased to 20% (from 22.6% in 2016). While this number has been falling over time, the decrease has been slowed by immigration from regions with high numbers of followers of Catholicism, such as Southeast Asia and South America.

Of all migrants who came to Australia between 2016 and 2021, almost 200 thousand (191,000) reported an affiliation with Catholicism in the 2021 Census, over one-quarter of which were born in the Philippines.

The Anglican Church (named the Church of England until 1981) was the main religious denomination in Australia throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries. At the 1911 Census 38.4% of the population reported an affiliation with the Church of England. This proportion remained steady throughout the first half of the 20th Century, driven by the continued British migration to Australia. The 1954 Census reported 37.9% of Australians were affiliated with the Church of England.

In the past 50 years this proportion has been steadily declining. In 1986, the proportion of Anglican affiliation (23.9%) dropped below Catholic affiliation (26.1%). In 2006, Anglican affiliation (18.7%) was surpassed by those reporting to have No religion (19.4%).

From 2016 to 2021, Anglican affiliation had the largest drop in number of all religious denominations - from 3.1 million to 2.5 million people. This was a decrease of nearly one in five Anglicans (19.5%), from 13.3% to 9.8% of the population.

The average age of people with an Anglican affiliation in 2021 was 56 years, compared with 47 years for Christians overall.

Not all Christian denominations are declining. From 2016 to 2021, the highest increase was in responses coded to the supplementary category, Christianity nfd (not further defined). Christianity nfd includes responses containing enough information to be coded to Christianity but not to a specific denomination. In 2021, most of this group were people who answered "Christian" or "Christianity" to the religion question.

In 2021, there were nearly 700 thousand people in the Christianity nfd category (688,400), an increase of 75 thousand since 2016 (76,100). They represented 2.7% of Australians - the same as the proportion affiliated with Hinduism.

Christianity nfd was first included as a group in the 1996 Census when the Australian Standard Classification of Religious Groups (ASCRG) was developed. Since then, the number of responses in this category has grown from 181,900 (1.0% of Australians) in 1996.

An increase in this group may indicate a growing trend of people affiliating more broadly with Christianity rather than specific Christian denominations.

From 2016 to 2021 other Christian denominations that increased included Orthodox denominations. These denominations grew in Australia in the second half of the 20th Century due to post-World War II migration from Eastern Europe. They are common to people with Greek, Lebanese and Serbian ancestries. The largest of these denominations, Greek Orthodox, accounted for 1.5% of Australians in 2021.

In 2021, over 2.5 million people reported an affiliation with Other religions. This was an increase of over 600 thousand (617,800) since 2016.

In the past 25 years the proportion of people reporting an affiliation with Other religions has increased from 3.5% in 1996 to 10% of the population in 2021. This growth has particularly accelerated since 2006.

These increases reflect Australia's migration trends. In 2021, 93.8% of people affiliated with Other religions were either born overseas or had at least one parent born overseas.

In 2021, the main religions in Other Religion in Australia were Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

In the 1981 Census, data on Buddhism was released for the first time in response to the arrival of large numbers of Buddhists as Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s. A steady increase since then has largely been maintained by migration from Southeast Asia, China and Sri Lanka.

While the numbers of Buddhists continue to increase, in 2021 the main contributors to the increase in Other religions were:

These increases were largely a result of recent migration from Southern and Central Asia.

Of migrants who arrived in Australia between 2016 and 2021, there were 210,500 who were affiliated with Hinduism. Most of these migrants (91.9%) were born in India and Nepal.

Similarly, nearly 60 thousand (57,300) recent migrants were affiliated with Sikhism, and almost all (95.9%) were born in India. Sikhism has grown in Australia particularly over the past ten years. The number of people who affiliate with Sikhism has almost tripled since the 2011 Census. In 2021, they accounted for 0.8% of the population (210,400 people).

The increase of Islamic affiliation can also be largely attributed to recent migration. Almost 126,000 people who arrived in Australia between 2016 and 2021 affiliated with Islam. Their main countries of birth were Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh.

While NSW and Victoria had higher proportions of religious affiliation with Islam and Hinduism than other states and territories in 2021, the state with the highest growth rate in these religions since 2016 was Tasmania.
Hinduism
From 2016 to 2021, the proportion of people who affiliated with Hinduism in Tasmania increased from 0.5% to 1.7% of the population. This was an increase from 2,550 to 9,720 people. Most were Nepalese and Indian migrants.

Of those who reported Hinduism:

5,088 born were born in Nepal

2,802 were born in India

898 were Australian-born children of migrants (aged under 15 with one or both parents born overseas).

Islam
The proportion of the population affiliating with Islam in Tasmania increased from 0.5% to 0.9%. The number almost doubled, from 2,498 to 4,947.

Of those who reported Islam:

1,385 were born in Pakistan

534 were born in Bangladesh.

661 were Australian-born children of migrants (aged under 15 with one or both parents born overseas).

Religious freedom is an important value in Australian society. People are free to choose, express and practice their religious beliefs in different ways. This includes the right not to profess a religion or belief.

In every Census since 1911, a proportion of people have responded that they did not have a religious affiliation. The 1911 Census form asked each person to state their religion. People could respond that they did not have a religion if they were "a free thinker, or if no denomination or religion". Over ten thousand people stated they had no religion in 1911. This was 0.2% of the population.

Over time, we have changed how we present the No religion option on the religion question. Amendments have been made to reflect changes in Australia's religious profile as well as in response to public consultation. These include:

1971: The first Census with instructions on the form "If no religion write none".

1991: The first Census with a check box list of religions, an option for free text and a check box for No religion at the bottom of list.

2016: The No religion response option was moved from the last to the first response option on the Census form.

These changes may have affected the number of No religion responses. For example, the proportion of the population who reported they had no religion increased from 0.8% in 1966 to 6.7% in 1971 when instructions were added to the religion question.

No religion in 2021

From 1971 to 2021, the proportion of people reporting to have no religion in Australia steadily increased.

In 2021, the proportion was 38.9%, an increase from 30.1% in 2016, representing an increase of more than 2.8 million people. This increase indicates a shift away from religious and spiritual viewpoints, by either expressing their beliefs outside of traditional religious institutional settings or not holding a religious or spiritual viewpoint to express.

Most of the responses in the broad category, Secular Beliefs and Other Spiritual Beliefs and No Religious Affiliation, were in the sub-category No religion, so described. The remaining subcategories account for only 1.2% of responses.

No religion by state and territory

The proportions of people reporting to have no religion varied across states and territories. In 2021, Tasmania had the highest proportion with half (50%) of the population reporting to have no religion. The lowest was NSW with almost one-third (33.2%) of the population.

From 2016 to 2021, the highest growth in the number of people reporting to have no religion was in Queensland and Tasmania.

No religion by age

An increase in people reporting to have No religion in 2021 indicates that some people have changed from being affiliated with a religion since the last Census in 2016.

An increase in people reporting to have No religion between 2016 and 2021 was highest for young adults, particularly those aged in their twenties. In general, the likelihood of people becoming unaffiliated with a religion decreased with age.

People reporting to have No religion were younger than people affiliated with Christianity. In 2021 almost half (48.4%) of people aged 25-34 years reported to have No religion. Since 2016 however, the median age of this group increased from 31 years to 33 years.

In 2021, while the proportion of people reporting to have No religion increased for all age groups, the highest proportional increase was people aged 65 years and over. This was an increase from nearly 600 thousand (592,000) to just over 1 million people. Despite this shift, in 2021, almost two-thirds (64.2%) of people in this age group were affiliated with Christianity.

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Over the past 50 years, there has been a steady decline in the proportion of Australians who reported an affiliation with Christianity. The same period has seen a consistent rise in Other religions and No religion, particularly in the last 20 years. Australia's religious profile has been shaped by waves of migration.

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There is no state religion in New Zealand, but the principal religion is Christianity, with 38% of the population identifying themselves as Christians. In addition, around 8% of the population are affiliated with other religions (including Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism) and almost 49% of the population don’t identify as belonging to any religion. The traditional Maori religion still has some followers, but many Maori people converted to Christianity after the European settlement of New Zealand.

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New Zealand Culture : Language, Religion, Food - Original Travel

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Read our cultural information about New Zealand to prepare your New Zealand holiday.

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Diversity of religion and spiritual beliefs

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Diversity of religion and spiritual beliefs

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In the 2021 Census, Christianity remains the most common religion with 43.9 per cent of the population identifying as Christian, a decrease from 52.1 per cent in the 2016 Census. Non-Christians represented about 10% of the population, an increase from 8% in the 2016 census. The percentage of Australian’s reporting no religious affiliation continues to grow. It’s now at 38.9 per cent of the population compared to 30.1 per cent in the 2016 Census. The religious composition of the States and Territories varies.

Referência: https://racismnoway.com.au/about-racism/australias-cultural-diversity/diversity-of-religion-and-spiritual-beliefs/

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Media Representations of Religion, Spirituality and Non-Religion in Australia

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Media Representations of Religion, Spirituality and Non-Religion in Australia

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Australia is a religiously diverse society, and this diversity long predates white settlement. Indigenous Australians have diverse cultural and spiritual practices. Waves of immigrants from Asia have long brought Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam to Australia, since the 1850s Gold Rush. The Australian Immigration Restriction Act, widely known as the ‘White Australia Policy’, was implemented in 1901 until 1973, largely to stem the flows of migration from Asia, and resulted in the myth of a white Christian Australia (Bouma and Halafoff 2017). Multiculturalism was embraced in the 1970s and remains a central part of the state of Victoria’s identity, yet it has eroded in part, with a swing toward a more narrow nationalism and accompanying policies of social cohesion and citizenship, emerging at the federal level, that have also impacted Victoria’s policies in more recent years (see (Ezzy et al. 2020) in this Special Issue).

In terms of religious demographics, the state of Victoria follows a similar pattern to the rest of Australia and many Western societies in that it is becoming increasingly non-religious and religiously diverse concurrently. In the 2011 Census, 57.5% of Victoria’s population identified as Christian, 24% as having No Religion, 3.1% as Buddhists, 2.9% as Muslims, 1.6% as Hindus, and 0.8% as Jews. In the 2016 Census, 47.9% of Victoria’s population identified as Christian, 31.9% as having No Religion, 3.3% as Muslims, 3.1% as Buddhists, 2.3% as Hindus, and 0.7% as Jews. The fastest growing groups are Hindus, Muslims, and No Religion. Christianity, by contrast, is declining sharply (.idcommunity n.d.).

Interest in spirituality is also strong in Australia. The Australian National Church Life Survey Research Australian Community Survey, a national random survey of 1258 Australian adults (over 18) conducted in December 2016, found 39.9% to be ‘Nones’, 16.9% to be ‘Spiritual but not Religious,’ and 43.3% to be ‘Religious and Spiritual’ (Pepper and Powell 2016). The Australia’s Generation Z (AGZ) study, conducted in 2016–2018, found six types of worldviews among 13–18 year-olds: 23% were ‘this-worldly’/non-religious, 15% were ‘indifferent’, 18% were ‘spiritual but not religious’, 8% were ‘religious and spiritual’, 20% were ‘nominally religious’ and 17% were ‘religiously committed’ (Singleton et al. 2019). The AGZ study also found that a large number of Australian teens engaged in spiritual practices and beliefs; 22% had practiced yoga and 30% had practiced meditation (both outside of school), 20% believed in astrology, 30% in reincarnation, and 50% in karma (Singleton et al. 2019).

Australia has no state church, and Australians have been described as being quite private and subdued in their religious expression, with religious participation recorded as low to moderate (Bouma 2006). This has been changing in recent years, with more public displays of conservative religiosity by political figures, including current and recent Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott, and in vehement debates regarding same-sex marriage and religious freedom. Disturbingly, the frequency of incidents of ‘discrimination on the basis of skin colour, ethnicity or religion’ reported by respondents in the annual Australian Mapping Social Cohesion studies increased from 9% in 2007 to 20% in 2017, with Muslims and Hindus reporting the highest levels of such incidents committed against them. In addition, since 2010, 22–25% of respondents have noted ‘very negative’ or ‘negative’ attitudes towards Muslims, compared to 4–5% toward Christians and Buddhists (Markus 2017, pp. 3, 57, 59).

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Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC 3125, Australia

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

1. Introduction

Since the events of 11 September 2001, reporting on religion, and particularly on Islam, has gained new prominence in the media, globally and within Australia, despite the assertion of the secularisation thesis that it would fade from social and public significance ( Hjelm 2015; Bouma et al. 2007). Previous research has documented the role of the media in contributing to negative prejudices against Muslims, and in sensationalising religion since 2001. Moreover, recent research on religion in Australian media discourses has found that it tends to be presented primarily through dominant and narrow perspectives, frequently disconnected from everyday religious experiences ( Bouma et al. 2007; Weng 2019, 2020). This has highlighted the need for more educational programs focused on religious literacy, that include learning about diverse religions and worldviews and of their presence in society, in order to advance greater levels of understanding and respect for them ( Halafoff et al. 2019a, 2019b) and a need for journalists and journalism students to be better equipped in sensitively handling news reporting on religion ( Weng 2020). Scholars have also argued that both media reporting and educational initiatives must better match the lived and complex non-religious, religious, and spiritual diversity of Australian society ( Halafoff et al. 2020; Weng 2019, 2020).

This article presents the Australian findings of a larger study, 'Religion on an Ordinary Day,' that was conducted as part of the 'Religion, Discourse and Diversity Project', co-led by Kim Knott (Lancaster University) and Lori Beaman (University of Ottawa), within the broader 'Religion and Diversity Project' led by Beaman. It included case studies from Canada, the United Kingdom, Finland and Australia. 1 This paper focuses on newspaper coverage of religion in the city of Melbourne, the capital city of the Australian state of Victoria, on the 'ordinary day' of 17 September, over three years, in 2013, 2014, and 2015. 2 This ordinary day of 17 September was randomly selected by the international research team, so as to capture how religion was depicted in everyday media, in contrast to an anniversary of a major event, such as of 11 September 2001.

The Melbourne quantitative and qualitative findings are being compared to those in the other countries, in a forthcoming edited collection arising from this project, but this paper presents and interrogates the Australian qualitative, thematic data in far more detail. The analysis of the Melbourne data shows that the ways that religion, spirituality and non-religion manifest in public life do not always reflect the religious composition and lived experiences of worldview diversity in Victoria and Australia. 3

2. Religious Diversity in Australia

Australia is a religiously diverse society, and this diversity long predates white settlement. Indigenous Australians have diverse cultural and spiritual practices. Waves of immigrants from Asia have long brought Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam to Australia, since the 1850s Gold Rush. The Australian Immigration Restriction Act, widely known as the 'White Australia Policy', was implemented in 1901 until 1973, largely to stem the flows of migration from Asia, and resulted in the myth of a white Christian Australia ( Bouma and Halafoff 2017). Multiculturalism was embraced in the 1970s and remains a central part of the state of Victoria's identity, yet it has eroded in part, with a swing toward a more narrow nationalism and accompanying policies of social cohesion and citizenship, emerging at the federal level, that have also impacted Victoria's policies in more recent years (see ( Ezzy et al. 2020) in this Special Issue).

In terms of religious demographics, the state of Victoria follows a similar pattern to the rest of Australia and many Western societies in that it is becoming increasingly non-religious and religiously diverse concurrently. In the 2011 Census, 57.5% of Victoria's population identified as Christian, 24% as having No Religion, 3.1% as Buddhists, 2.9% as Muslims, 1.6% as Hindus, and 0.8% as Jews. In the 2016 Census, 47.9% of Victoria's population identified as Christian, 31.9% as having No Religion, 3.3% as Muslims, 3.1% as Buddhists, 2.3% as Hindus, and 0.7% as Jews. The fastest growing groups are Hindus, Muslims, and No Religion. Christianity, by contrast, is declining sharply (.idcommunity n.d.).

Interest in spirituality is also strong in Australia. The Australian National Church Life Survey Research Australian Community Survey, a national random survey of 1258 Australian adults (over 18) conducted in December 2016, found 39.9% to be 'Nones', 16.9% to be 'Spiritual but not Religious,' and 43.3% to be 'Religious and Spiritual' ( Pepper and Powell 2016). The Australia's Generation Z (AGZ) study, conducted in 2016-2018, found six types of worldviews among 13-18 year-olds: 23% were 'this-worldly'/non-religious, 15% were 'indifferent', 18% were 'spiritual but not religious', 8% were 'religious and spiritual', 20% were 'nominally religious' and 17% were 'religiously committed' ( Singleton et al. 2019). The AGZ study also found that a large number of Australian teens engaged in spiritual practices and beliefs; 22% had practiced yoga and 30% had practiced meditation (both outside of school), 20% believed in astrology, 30% in reincarnation, and 50% in karma ( Singleton et al. 2019).

Australia has no state church, and Australians have been described as being quite private and subdued in their religious expression, with religious participation recorded as low to moderate ( Bouma 2006). This has been changing in recent years, with more public displays of conservative religiosity by political figures, including current and recent Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott, and in vehement debates regarding same-sex marriage and religious freedom. Disturbingly, the frequency of incidents of 'discrimination on the basis of skin colour, ethnicity or religion' reported by respondents in the annual Australian Mapping Social Cohesion studies increased from 9% in 2007 to 20% in 2017, with Muslims and Hindus reporting the highest levels of such incidents committed against them. In addition, since 2010, 22-25% of respondents have noted 'very negative' or 'negative' attitudes towards Muslims, compared to 4-5% toward Christians and Buddhists ( Markus 2017, pp. 3, 57, 59).

The Australia's Generation Z study also found that 25% of young Australians had less-than-positive views about Muslims, and more optimistically, that students who had participated in educational programs about diverse religions and worldviews had more positive opinions toward religious minorities, and most notably towards Muslims and Hindus ( Singleton et al. 2019). This study, however, noted that there was only a moderate level of religious literacy among Australian teens and that while it was broad, it was shallow. The researchers also concluded, drawing on Meredith McGuire ( 2008) work on 'lived religion' and Inger Furseth ( 2018) work on 'religious complexity', that educational programs needed to better reflect the lived and complex reality of non-religious, religious and spiritual diversity of Australian teens, as existing programs tended to preference the Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and other major faith and no-faith traditions only ( Halafoff et al. 2019b, 2020; Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority n.d.).

3. Religious Diversity in Australian Media

News media, in its collective sense encompassing print, broadcast, digital and social formats, is increasingly viewed as one of the central cultural sites where religious meanings and symbols inform public imaginations of religions ( Hoover 2002, 2011). Australian research reflects this, where news media remain a primary source of information about Muslims for non-Muslims, and has played a role in perpetuating negative stereotypes of, and fear of, Muslims and Islam ( Bouma et al. 2007; Dunn et al. 2007; Rane et al. 2014; O'Donnell et al. 2018). The mediatisation of religion theory informs this, as news media becomes instrumental in determining and defining religious meanings, practices and symbols for a wider public ( Hjarvard 2011, 2013; Lövheim 2014). News reporting about religions has become an area of scholarly concern, since journalists still maintain a critical role in the selection of information and reporting of news events, even though news media industries are in a state of crisis and decline ( Deuze and Witschge 2020; Zion et al. 2016). News media reporting is no longer confined to print materials, but has the potential for greater dissemination locally and transnationally, through digitisation processes and a much more participatory media culture ( Lewis 2012; Hujanen 2016). Moreover, as Australia continues to become less religious, understandings of religions and religious groups will be derived increasingly from news reporting ( Lundby et al. 2018).

It is therefore important to further interrogate the way that Australian media represents religion and religious diversity, including spirituality and non-religion, beyond studies of media and religion that have, in recent years, often focused largely on Islam. The media also has a tendency to polarise debates about religion through its selection of information and representatives. Enqi Weng ( 2020), in her study of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's popular program Q&A from 2009 to 2013, found that discussions about religion were primarily represented by, and constructed using, Catholic and Atheist perspectives, and especially by white middle-class men. Islam was also a topic of interest on Q&A, but there was far less Buddhist and Jewish representation, and no mention of Hindus or Hinduism whatsoever. More in keeping with the diversity of non-religious expressions in the Census ( Bouma 2006), there was, however, some Agnostic representation, and representation of those who expressed ambiguity in their religiosity/non-religiosity. Broadly, while references to major religions were mostly neutral, they tended to be negative rather than positive when they occur. By contrast, references to non-religion were exceedingly positive, such as through the sacralisation of political parties, the environment, democracy, humanity, the economy and historical artifacts as some examples. Furthermore, through the coding of religion using a broad spectrum of categories, Weng's ( 2020) study's findings suggested religion's multifaceted presence in obvious and more subtle ways in Australian public life and meaning-making. A similar methodology was employed in the Religion on an Ordinary Day study.

4. Methods

A mixed-methods quantitative and qualitative approach using thematic content analysis was applied to printed newspapers in Melbourne, on an ordinary day of 17 September in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Three broadsheets and tabloids that capture major demographics were selected. Three researchers (Weng, Halafoff and Horsfield) independently coded the newspapers, and compared and refined coded references after discussions. An expanded understanding of the concept of 'religion' was applied in the coding process, including Conventional Religion, Common Religion and the Secular Sacred ( Knott et al. 2013). 4 This framework was previously developed by Kim Knott, Elizabeth Poole and Teemu Taira for their project on 'Media Portrayals of Religions and the Secular Sacred' and slightly adapted for the Religion on an Ordinary Day project. 5 Weng ( 2019, 2020) also used an adapted version of Knott et al. ( 2013) coding framework in her Q&A study.

This broadening of 'religion' captures diverse popular interpretations of this term, but also ongoing debates among scholars about how it ought to be defined ( Smith 1998). Conventional Religion refers to religions that are organised with defined sets of beliefs and practices, such as mainstream religions of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism. Common Religion refers to attitudes and practices that acknowledge the presence of a higher power that can influence or intervene in quotidian life. Some examples include fairies, vampires and other supernatural beings. The Secular Sacred refers broadly to expressions of non-negotiability that are ascribed to secular objects, systems, things and people. This category is broad and encompasses Atheism, Secularism and Humanism, but also takes an amorphous approach to include religion-like expressions, such as faith in a political party, belonging to a football team, and more generally any form of sacralisation of the secular, such as a reverence for nature ( Knott et al. 2013; Weng 2019, 2020). This broad and rather comprehensive view of religion also aims to capture its diverse, complex and changing forms as they appear in public life and in the media.

5. Summary and Quantitative Analysis of the Newspapers

The data reported below is from one national newspaper, The Australian, and two Melbourne newspapers, The Age and The Herald Sun ( Table 1). The total number of articles across the three papers that included references to religion, encompassing Conventional Religion, Common Religion and the Secular Sacred, over the three-year period, was 588, with many more references to religion in Domestic News (397) than International News (122) and 69 mentions that were mixed. A total of 693 references were coded, as reflected in Table 1, over the three-year period. Religion appeared far more frequently as a Passing Reference (437) than a Main Issue (151) in articles. In terms of genres, News (177) was by far the largest category that included mentions of religion, followed by Sport (88), Features (75) and Reviews (63).

5.1. The Australian

The Australian is the largest national daily broadsheet. Its readers are mainly made up of professionals, managers, business leaders and the higher percentile of income earners in the nation. Its political viewpoint leans towards the conservative right. 7 References to religion in The Australian were mainly found in News (85), Opinion (30), Features (19), and Sport (14) sections. Conventional Religion-Religion General (35), of a largely Christian nature, was the category that had the highest number of references overall. The Australian had a stronger focus on Islam than any of the other papers, with more references overall (28) and as a Main Issue (17). The Secular Sacred-Religion-Like (13) and the Secular Sacred-Mixed (7) were also frequently featured overall.

5.2. The Age

Within the state of Victoria, The Age is a daily newspaper based in Melbourne that predominantly covers Victorian News. In 2012, Fairfax announced massive job cuts to some of its papers, including The Age, and it subsequently reduced from a broadsheet to a compact, tabloid-sized paper in 2013 8 ( Zappone 2012). Whilst there is a decline in print readership, it remains popular with digital readers. The Age's viewpoints tend to be more progressive centre-left. References to religion were mainly found in News (39), Sport (38), Reviews (38), Features (19) and Advertisement (15) sections in this paper. The Age had high numbers of Conventional Religion-Religion General (61) references overall, but also as a Main Issue (10), and Islam also featured prominently overall (20) and dominated the Main Issue (11) coverage. Catholicism (17), the Secular Sacred-Other (14) and the Secular Sacred-Religion Like (7) also featured highly in this paper.

5.3. Herald Sun

The Herald Sun is a Melbourne tabloid newspaper on the conservative right side of the political spectrum, and is the daily tabloid newspaper with the highest circulation in Australia. References to religion were mainly found in News (53), Sport (36), Features (28) and Reviews (24) sections of this paper. The Herald Sun, similarly to The Age, had high numbers of Conventional Religion-Religion General (67) references overall, but also as a Main Issue (10), although Islam dominated the Main Issue (14) news coverage and had 17 mentions overall. The Herald Sun also had a high amount of coverage of Other Supernatural Beings (16).

The above can be explained, at least in part, by demographics and current affairs. As Australia is a predominantly Christian country, Conventional Religion-Religion General, of a mainly Christian nature, was the highest category across all three papers featuring mainly in News articles. The highest percentage of Christians in Australia are Catholic, and the large number of Catholicism references in The Age occurred as this paper played a significant role in exposing cases of institutional child sex abuse before the commencement of The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2013, and so, these issues continued to receive a large amount of attention in this newspaper. Islam, Australia's second largest religion, also received significant media attention during these years, largely as a result of the rise of Islamic State at that time. The more conservative right Australian included greater coverage of Islam than the Victorian papers. The absence of other minority faiths of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism, by contrast, in terms of quantity of media attention across the three papers, needs also to be noted. References to the Secular Sacred were higher in the Australian and The Age. The greater number of references to Other Supernatural Beings in The Herald Sun may be explained by its tabloid, less high-brow nature and broader readership.

6. Christianity

The pervasiveness of Christianity was noted throughout the papers, which is indicative of its strong underlying influence on Australian life and culture, despite its decreasing numbers in the 2016 Census. It is also of interest to note here the prevailing political influence of Christianity in Australia, especially on the marriage equality debate and debates on religious freedom in recent years, as noted above, even though it is a secular society. Christianity also permeated all genres from News, to Entertainment, to Business, and to Sport in a range of ways. Entries on Christianity were coded to Catholicism, Protestantism, Other Christian Churches and Groups, and Religion General, in the absence of a Christian General category in the coding mechanism that was problematic.

In main national news stories and discussion relating to them, Catholic institutions received negative coverage in connection with The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and also then-soon-to-be Prime Minster Tony Abbott's views on gender. On 17 September 2015, an editorial in The Age focused on two Royal Commission child sexual abuse reports on the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, and on the Melbourne Response, which assessed cases against Catholic clergy. It described the Response as 'badly handled', as it had primarily defended the Catholic Church ( The Age 2015a, p. 18). On the eve of Abbott's swearing in as Prime Minister on 17 September 2013, widespread discussion of the incoming Coalition government occurred in the Opinion, Letters and Reader Response sections of The Age. An opinion piece in The Age, which critiqued the lack of women on Abbott's frontbench, described Abbott as 'a man with an outlook so conservative it could only have been spawned from the Catholicism he held so dear' ( Ford 2013, p. 17). A reader response in The Age included the pun, '[u]nless you are a Bishop, women don't make it into the Coalition,' as Julie Bishop was the only woman entrusted with a ministerial portfolio in the Abbott government ( The Age 2013a, p. 15). Another reader in The Herald Sun questioned: 'Is Australia on the verge of becoming a theocracy? We have an Abbott as PM and a Bishop as Speaker of the House' ( Harris 2013). In the same vein, the Australian Christian Lobby was also referenced negatively; Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, called for Abbott to cease 'bowing to pressure' from the Australian Christian Lobby and to instead listen to the 'overwhelming support' for marriage equality in The Australian ( Karvelas 2013, p. 5).

References to the Anglican Church and other institutions in relation to The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse were similarly negative. For example, the 17 September 2013 coverage noted that many religious organisations would be investigated, including the Anglican Church, Catholic Church, the YMCA and Salvation Army ( Box 2013, p. 3; Zwartz 2013, p. 3). Another article in The Herald Sun mentioned a case reported to the Royal Commission on child sexual abuse alleged to have occurred at the Church of England Boys Society church camp ( Michelburough 2015, p. 16). In contrast, when passing references were made to Anglicans and Protestants, they tended to be largely positive or neutral. The Australian quoted the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies, as having urged Abbott, 'as a Christian leader', to restore the refugee quota to 20,000 a year, to protect Iraqi Christians ( Owens 2014, p. 6).

A blending of Christian and Secular Sacred-Religion-Like references was noted in the leadership spill of 2015. This occurred when Malcolm Turnbull became the Australian Prime Minister on 14 September 2015, ousting Abbott. Much of the 17 September 2015 national coverage on religion focused on this issue. An article in The Australian referred to Abbott's treasurer Joe Hockey's 'spirited defence' of his economic record ( Uren 2015, p. 6), and another described the spill as a 'ritual culling of a prime minister' ( Gluyas 2015, p. 23). A letter stated that Abbott was 'sacrificed on an altar of hubris', and another that he was 'crucified' ( The Australian 2015a, p. 13). An opinion piece in The Age also noted that Victorians, neglected by Abbott and 'hoping for a messiah' in Turnbull, would be disappointed ( Gordon 2015, p. 20).

Christianity's presence in schools largely received negative responses, especially in terms of religious instruction. A piece titled 'Religion out of favour' described how 63% of Victorian parents opposed Christian religious instruction where 'fundamentalists' were believed to be teaching children 'superstitious nonsense' and' illogical drivel' not appropriate for a 'secular setting' ( Kelly 2014, p. 19). A similar reference to some Christian groups as deviant could also be seen from an article in The Herald Sun titled 'Floods hit Sect', which stated that at least 16 members of a 'polygamist Mormon sect,' the 'Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints', had been killed in floods on the Utah-Arizona border ( The Herald Sun 2015, p. 28).

Christianity and Christian terms also came up frequently in place names and football team names, in Arts/Entertainment, Puzzles, Business and Sport more generally. For example, notable football clubs are called The Saints and The Demons, and referred to across the three papers. Catholic references also appeared in relation to art and entertainment, such as Francis Bacon's paintings of 'screaming, diabolical popes' ( Westwood 2013, p. 16), a quiz question on who is featured in the Pieta ( The Australian 2013, p. 18), and a review of the silent film The Cathedral Builder (about a Catholic church in Prague) ( The Age 2013c, p. 22).

Across the three-year study, references to Christianity were mixed, with negative, neutral and positive treatments. Moreover, many Christian references were humorous, of a distinctly Australian laconic nature, which suggests a level of ease with this subject, and a sense of irreverence, as people felt free to make fun of it.

7. Conventional Religion-Minority-Faiths and New Religious Movements

7.1. Islam and Judaism

Of the so-called minority faiths in Australia, Islam received the greatest attention, which was largely in discussion of international news events focused on concerns of the conflict in Syria and the rise of the Islamic State (IS), and controversies over Mosque building on the Gold Coast and Bendigo. In most of these articles, Islam was negatively associated with terrorism, although concerns about conflict and war were raised for both Muslims and non-Muslims.

The major global stories on 17 September 2013, focused on The United Nations report on the Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic in Ghouta on 21 August 2013. These included references in The Age to the sectarian divide between the Sunni majority and Shia minority in Syria ( Zankin 2013, p. 14). The Australian also described how two senior female police officers had recently been killed in Helmand Province, a 'hotbed of Islamist insurgency' in Afghanistan ( AFP 2013, p. 10).

Major global coverage on Islam increased dramatically on 17 September 2014, as the horrific video of the beheading of British aid worker and Islamic State (IS) hostage David Haines had been released on 14 September and representatives of 30 countries met in Paris to discuss a global strategy against IS on 15 September. Articles discussed what role the Arab states would play in the 'war against Islamic State' ( Lyons 2014, p. 6), the recent US airstrikes on IS ( McGeough 2014, p. 6), and the Paris talks ( Stewart 2014, p. 9). Then Prime Minister Abbott was quick to pledge military support to the US and this also generated substantive debate in Australia ( Kenny 2014, p. 6; Stewart 2014, p. 1).

A combination of keywords and images were used in these media reports, to either present or signal violence associated with extremist manifestations of Islam. An article in The Herald Sun, titled 'Top guns blitz evil death cult', was accompanied by photographs of Kurdish men and women in battle ( Whinnett 2014, p. 7). Other photographs on the day showed four female Iranian members of the Freedom Party of Kurdistan in The Australian ( Stewart 2014, p. 9), a large picture of two fighter jets in The Age ( McGeough 2014, pp. 6-7), and a masked IS figure holding an IS flag, with fighter planes superimposed over a map marking US strikes in the IS-held territory in The Herald Sun ( Hurley 2014, p. 6). The Australian also featured pieces on a 'Kiwi "jihadi"' ( Schliebs 2014, p. 6), on Indonesia's Jaamah Ansharat Tauhid, and on Indonesians fighting in Syria and Iraq with the al-Nusra Front ( Alford 2014, p. 9), and on Fiji's upcoming election and fears of 'Islamification' ( Callick 2014, p. 11).

On 17 September 2014, regional news was centred on countering terrorism and protests against a mosque building. An article in The Australian described how Victoria Police would be given new 'counter-terrorism spying powers' to protect against IS inspired attacks ( Ferguson 2014, p. 6). Another story, on a plan to build a Mosque on Queensland's Gold Coast, explained how, despite the fact that the area was home to over 10,000 Muslims, and thousands of tourists had visited from Arab states, the plan was rejected in a bid to contain social tensions ( McKenna 2014, p. 6). Another major regional story in The Herald Sun focused on anti-mosque protestors abusing councillors who supported a new mosque being built in the Victorian country town of Bendigo. It also described how anti-Islam and anti-racism activists had clashed there over the issue ( Minear 2015, p. 2). The Australian and Herald Sun used descriptors in news stories that were more sensational and fear mongering in relation to Islam. However, their coverage was not entirely negative, as there were at least attempts to engage with more 'moderate' Muslims and genuine concerns raised in relation to war and conflict in the Middle East, and the resulting refugee crisis.

Judaism similarly received negative main story coverage; in this case, associated with the sexual abuse of children. A major story reported in all three major papers on 17 September 2015, was that of a sexual abuse scandal at an ultra-orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne, where a former student was awarded one million dollars in damages ( Hatch 2015, p. 12). The Australian quoted the Judge as saying the 'headmistress offender was '"evil"' ( Towers 2015, p. 5) and The Herald Sun quoted the Judge as saying the headmistress was '"monstrous"' ( Deery 2015, p. 2). In contrast, other references to Judaism mentioned the horrors of the holocaust, evoking outrage and compassion ( Newman 2015, p. 21).

A more light-hearted, and at times humorous, treatment of Islam and Judaism occurred in Features, Entertainment and Sport. A sport article applied the Jewish term 'exodus' to describe a footballer's exit after an illegal drugs incident ( Niall 2015, p. 50). The Muslim term 'mecca' was also used in reference to Adelaide as 'a wannabe mecca for budding start-ups' ( Foo 2013). The Age's Green Guide (a weekly television guide) described how Ainsley Harriot's Street Food (a television program) visited Fes, Morocco in the lead up to the Eid celebration and had 'a joyful time' in 'the Muslim world' ( Galvin 2015, p. 15). A documentary series on marriage described in The Age also included a Muslim couple ( Farrer 2015, p. 14).

7.2. Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Other Religions

Non-Abrahamic religions received far less attention across the three papers and in major stories. Only one article in The Age on international trade relations between Australia and China made a passing reference to how they might be adversely affected by the Prime Minister Abbott's relations with Tibet and the Dalai Lama ( White 2013, p. 17).

Buddhism and Hinduism were largely mentioned in passing, neutrally or positively, in Opinion, Education and Puzzles. Interestingly, these references were sometimes made alongside references to the Abrahamic traditions. For example, a letter in The Australian stated: 'To set the record straight, the religion of peace is actually Buddhism... Islam and Christianity are what they are' ( The Australian 2014a, p. 13). An advertisement for a poster of World Religions in The Herald Sun featured an Indian holy man ( The Herald Sun 2013b, p. 45). A crossword puzzle in the same paper had 'Yoga master' as a clue, alongside 'Prayer ending,' and 'Follower of Islam' ( The Herald Sun 2014b, p. 60).

There were also many distinct references to Buddhist and Hindu terms and practices, in particular in Letters, Reviews, Arts, Entertainment, Travel, and Fitness. For instance, the Headspace meditation app, co-developed by a former Buddhist monk, received a positive review for training the mind 'for a healthier, happier, more enjoyable life' ( Karena 2015, p. 13). An ad for a 'Railway Adventure in Myanmar', in The Australian, featured a picture of air balloons over Buddhist temples ( The Australian 2015c, p. 34), while a crossword in The Australian included the clue 'Hindu garment', and a quiz clue mentioned Mahatma Gandhi ( The Australian 2015d, p. 18). There was only one passing reference to a 'Sikh in a turban', in an article in The Australian on The Beatles' experimental music videos ( The Australian 2015b, p. 14).

Interestingly, Buddhist, and Hindu terms have also made their way into the Australian vocabulary, with no direct reference to these religions as such. A fashion article in The Australian referred to a 'design mantra' and the 'yin and yang of things' ( Traill-Nash 2014, p. 16) and Phelim McDermott as the 'guru of British theatre company Improbable' ( Buzacott 2014, p. 14). A reader of The Herald Sun also exclaimed: 'I hope that karma comes back to the person that stole my yucca [plant]' ( The Herald Sun 2014c, p. 23).

New Religious Movements and other less mainstream religious groups received even less coverage. A Herald Sun crossword puzzle included 'Pagan' as a clue ( The Herald Sun 2014b, p. 60), and a quiz had a question on Scientology: 'Celebrity Centres are a feature of which religion?' ( The Herald Sun 2014b, p. 60). The Satanic Temple, a Satanist group in Florida, was also reported as wanting to distribute literature at schools, after Christian evangelical and Atheist groups had done so ( Herald Sun 2014d, p. 27).

8. Common Religion

The vast majority of Common Religion entries relating to supernatural beings, witches, magic, ghosts, fairies, vampires and mythology were positive, and some had a humorous tone. Their prevalence indicates that in particular, the world of entertainment in Australia is highly enchanted. The prevalence of these entries in Entertainment, Crosswords, Cartoons, Fashion and Sport also shows a level of ease with the supernatural among Victorians, as common religion permeates everyday life. The Herald Sun also had daily sections dedicated to horoscopes and astrology.

Witches, wizards, and magic especially received a large amount of attention. Notable examples were: references to The Footy Show's Wizard of Oz photoshoot, discussed in major news above; 'Hogwarts school of magic' ( The Herald Sun 2013a, p. 18); and the TV Series The Witches of East End ( Devlyn 2014, p. 32). Mentions of ghosts occurred less frequently, and included the Melbourne Theatre Company's upcoming production of Henrik Ibsen's The Ghosts ( Harford 2013, p. 30) and the movie Ghostbusters ( Johnson 2015, p. 53). There were also many references to vampires, such as an opinion piece in The Herald Sun focused on a discussion of gender in Twilight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Dark Angel ( Clarke 2013, pp. 20-21).

Fairy tales and fairies also received much attention. Examples included a piece titled 'Frolic with the fairies' in Tinker Bell Fairy Garden at the Royal Melbourne Show, accompanied by a large picture of a young girl wearing fairy wings ( The Herald Sun 2014a, p. 13), and reviews and features on the Australian Ballet's Cinderella ( Dunn 2013, p. 30). Many other supernatural beings and themes were mentioned across the papers, including yetis ( Northover 2013, p. 18), zombies ( Squires 2013, p. 31) and superheroes, superpowers and teleportation ( Blundell 2015, p. 11).

The Herald Sun had significantly more references to Common Religion as compared to the other two newspapers. These news stories focused on spirituality, supernatural themes, healing and resilience. For example, a news story titled 'Ada's tribute to her lost angel' described an actress' resilience after the death of her stillborn son ( Sams 2014, p. 3). Another article, about singer Mark Holden's cancer treatment, quoted him saying 'we're living in an age of miracles' ( Dennehy 2015, p. 20), and stem cells were described in The Australian as having 'almost miraculous powers' ( Baxendale 2013, p. 3).

9. Secular Sacred

Secular Sacred references, though not frequent, tended to be positive, reflecting extra special qualities of people, places and things. Religion-Like expressions were used to articulate this, often alongside religious ones, hence the relatively large number of Mixed entries. References to the Secular Sacred were often applied in passing in News, Business, Sports, Entertainment, Review and Opinion pieces, and were coded largely to Religion-Like, Humanism, Spirituality, Mixed and Other. Non-religious people and things were often elevated to the other-worldly. Notable examples included Barack Obama being referred to as a 'political messiah' ( Montgomerie 2013, p. 13), a wine and food festival labelled a 'Shiraz Heaven' ( The Age 2013d, p. 14), bacon also achieved 'divine' status ( The Age 2013b, p. 6), and sport was described as being 'too sacred in our culture'. ( Baum 2013, pp. 42-44). Other articles and reviews tackled Secular Sacred 'big moments' in life, which included 'life, death and the mundane' ( The Age 2015b, p. 31). One school had also introduced a Philosophy Club to broaden students' critical thinking capacities ( Hosking 2014, p. 12).

Expressions of non-religiosity being imbued with sacred qualities traditionally attributed to religion may reflect a time of transition from a more to a less religious society. Conversely, it may be that there are elements that have always been deemed sacred beyond and 'beneath religion' ( Halafoff 2017), such as nature, human dignity and, in the Australian context, football. For instance, the Secular Sacred was also located in references to places and landscapes. One article in The Australian mentioned how the 'Balinese idea of sacredness' was found in 'landscape, animals and trees', and especially the banyan tree, because of its 'spiritual significance' ( James 2015, p. 15). A tour to the sacred memorial site of the Gallipoli landings, to mark their 100th anniversary, was also advertised in The Australian ( 2014b, p. 28).

The relatively large number of Spirituality and Humanism mentions can be explained, as Australians widely identify as spiritual and engage in spiritual practices, as noted above, and due to the rise in those declaring no-religion. Humanism has been acknowledged recently as one of Victoria's main worldviews, alongside major religions of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism ( Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority n.d.).

10. Discussion and Conclusions

This study of Religion on an Ordinary Day in Melbourne, Australia revealed a prevalence of religion, spirituality and the secular sacred in its myriad forms across its newspapers. All the Abrahamic religions-Christianity, Islam and Judaism-were highly represented in news stories on conflict and controversy, such as those related to sexual abuse, terrorism and violence. Media portrayals of religion, especially in the front and priority pages of these newspapers, were primarily focused on these religions and reported through limited news frames, with an emphasis on sensationalism ( Weng 2019, 2020; Zwartz 2016). Islam was negatively associated with terrorism. Catholicism, in particular, received significant negative media coverage in relation to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, but the Anglican Church, the YMCA, the Salvation Army and a Jewish school also featured in reporting of child sexual abuse. Issues around conservative religious views on gender and religious instruction in schools equally received negative coverage.

The three Abrahamic faiths certainly had a higher level of coverage, and thereby status, than other religions, evident in the amount and prominence of attention they received. This was also reflected in the telling daily Faith section in The Age, which includes Muslim prayer times above a 'Text for the day' from the Old or New Testament. This demonstrates the centrality of the three major Abrahamic traditions in Australia, despite the fact that there are also a substantial number of Buddhists in Australia, and that Buddhism has a long history in this country. Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Other World Religions and New Religious Movements had significantly less media coverage, and thereby reflect less status. Similarly, media representations of these religions were either absent or minimal in current affairs discussions, further suggesting that sociopolitical discourses are dominantly informed by certain perspectives over others ( Weng 2020). Sometimes, what is missing is also revealing.

Religion General references, which were mostly Christian in nature, were also located in categories beyond news, that include entertainment, business and sports. The tone of this coverage was mixed; while news references were largely negative and related to crime and murder, positive and neutral references to Christianity came up frequently in place names, football team names, in the arts, in quizzes and crosswords and sport. These Christian references were often applied in a witty or humorous way that suggests some level of familiarity with the religion, and an irreverent attitude towards it.

The pervasiveness of Christian references throughout the papers suggests its continued influence in Australian public life and culture, whether in politics, or more generally in everyday meaning-making. The presence of these references in mixed tones, however, does suggest perhaps a questioning and turning away from the authority of mainstream Christianity, and from the abuse of power that it is associated with. These findings were similarly reported in Weng's research (2020), where Catholic representatives, especially, were challenged on several sociopolitical issues and their religious input was frequently delegitimised. Yet, at the same time, these findings suggest that religion, and Christianity in particular, plays a more pervasive role in the Australian public mind in an everyday way than is often acknowledged in this supposedly secular society. Christianity was literally all over the three main papers.

Islam had a significant place in news stories, mostly through international news events, with a particular focus on the conflict in Syria and the rise of the Islamic State. Islam remains strongly and negatively associated with terrorism and violence, with mentions of IS. Domestically, news stories addressed controversies over the visibility of Islam through protests over mosque building on the Gold Coast and Bendigo. The Australian and Herald Sun especially used descriptors in news stories that were more negative and sensational in relation to Islam, yet at times, they attempted to present more 'moderate' positions and an empathetic approach to war and conflict in the Middle East, and the resulting refugee crisis.

The difference in treatment of Islam in the news is dependent on the newspaper; the medium remains integral in shaping news content, informed by a matrix of factors that include audience profile and political leaning ( Knott et al. 2013; Weng 2020). Judaism was the least covered out of the three Abrahamic faiths, and similarly received negative main story coverage in association with the sexual abuse of children. Additional references to Judaism mentioned the horrors of the holocaust, with empathy toward the survivors.

In contrast, a more light-hearted and neutral approach to Islam was also evident in a small number of pieces in fashion, quizzes, food, and reviews, and to Judaism in food and entertainment. These examples show a level of everyday acceptance and appreciation for these cultures in Australian society, as do the use of terms 'exodus' and 'mecca' in the English and Australian vocabularies.

Buddhism, Hinduism and Yoga were mostly perceived as positive. These references largely appeared in travel pieces, and at times, displayed exoticism and orientalism. The papers also showed a level of lived engagement with these religions and philosophies, particularly evident in the way in which terms such as mantra, karma, rebirth and guru had made it into the Australian lexicon. This is not surprising, given Australia's geographical proximity to Asia, and as Buddhism is the third largest religion in Australia and Hinduism is the fastest growing. It is also possible to argue, however, that their lack of appearance in news coverage and their frequent citation alongside the Abrahamic faiths may mean that they are perhaps not seen as being as well-established in Australian society as yet.

While Conventional Religion dominated major news coverage, the prevalence of Common Religion across many other genres in the newspapers provides evidence of sustained enchantment in Australian public life. Light-hearted mentions of fairies, witches, vampires, ghosts and other supernatural beings featured prominently in entertainment, crosswords, and fashion. Expressions of mundane and sometimes passing references to luck, chance and magic were embedded in sports, reader responses, letters, stories and entertainment. Supernatural forces seem also to be a source of comfort in times of need, and associated with healing, much more so than Conventional Religion. Compared to Conventional Religion, however, the presence of Common Religion is subtler and more embedded; The Australian also contained far fewer of these Common Religion entries; The Herald Sun had more references to Common Religion comparatively, perhaps because of its audience demographics.

The presence of Secular Sacred references, while much less frequent in numbers, generally tended to be positive, and referred to a quality of specialness attached to objects, people, places and systems. Their presence signals a shift of media perceptions of public attitudes towards the sacred, where secular forms of the sacred are perhaps more socially acceptable or preferred over religious sacred forms. Secular sacred references were frequently located beyond and beneath religion and referred to things and values such as nature, human dignity, democracy and football in the Australian context. It is interesting to note that the current Prime Minister Scott Morrison named ANZAC Day as Australia's 'most sacred day' as a unifying message to all Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Prime Minister of Australia 2020).

This shift in the sacralisation from religious to secular forms is most evidently located in Religion-Like expressions. They tend to draw significantly from Christian references, which suggests that, while religion may not so often take centre stage, as it were, there is a pervasive but somewhat 'hidden religiosity' and particularly 'hidden Christianity' that this study has revealed, that permeates many elements of Australian life and culture. We argue that this has been previously under-acknowledged, and that this data and the analysis of it may help to explain the prevailing influence that religious groups, and especially Christian groups, have on social and political issues, such as marriage equality, religious instruction in schools, and religious freedom in Australian public life. It may also contribute further evidence of why Australian teens have such a broad but shallow level of religious literacy, given the prevalence of Conventional Religion, Common Religion and the Secular Sacred across the media and the sensationalisation of coverage, particularly of Islam and Christianity, alongside the lack of in-depth content on religion in Australia's education systems. This further strengthens the case for the need of more religious literacy programs for journalists and in schools, to develop a better understanding of Australia's lived and complex worldview diversity.

Weng E, Halafoff A. Media Representations of Religion, Spirituality and Non-Religion in Australia. Religions. 2020; 11(7):332. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11070332

Chicago/Turabian Style

Weng, Enqi, and Anna Halafoff. 2020. "Media Representations of Religion, Spirituality and Non-Religion in Australia" Religions 11, no. 7: 332. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11070332

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Media Representations of Religion, Spirituality and Non-Religion in Australia

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Despite predictions of decline, religion has featured prominently in the public sphere and the media since the events of 11 September 2001. Previous research on media and religion in Australia post-September 11 has focused largely on its negative impacts, particularly on Muslim communities.

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Religion and Etrepreneurship in New Zealand

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Religion and Etrepreneurship in New Zealand

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Religious coping, stress, and quality of life of Muslim university students in New Zealand

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Religious coping, stress, and quality of life of Muslim university students in New Zealand

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Religious coping stress and quality of life of Muslim university students in New Zealand