Religion and Politics in Australia

Melleuish, Gregory C

doi:10.1558/poth.v11i6.909

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…As Alistair Thomson (2013 : 218) has argued, there is no ‘universal Anzac template’; there are ‘excluded or marginalised individual experiences that do not fit the homogenous national legend’. Indeed, the Courier Mail , engaged with this 2020 iteration of the Anzac mythology in a manner that, while owing at least something to the work of Bean and his disciples, also embraced its modern positioning as a national civil religion ( Cranitch, 2008 ; Fischer, 2012 ; Melleuish, 2010 ; Welborn, 2002 ). It is a religion that serves a much broader church than it did in 1918.…”

Section: The Anzac Mythology the Bushfires And The Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frontline heroes: Bush fires, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the Queensland Press

Kerby

Baguley

Gehrmann

et al. 2021

Media, War & Conflict

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During the catastrophic 2019 and 2020 bushfire season and the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, Queensland’s Courier Mail regularly celebrated firefighters and health workers as national archetypes. By positioning them as the ‘new Anzacs’, the Courier Mail was able to communicate an understanding of the crises using a rhetoric that was familiar, unthreatening and reassuring. The firefighters, both professional and volunteer, were easily subsumed into the mythology’s celebration of national identity. As Queensland’s health workers were predominantly female, urban-based and educated, the article used a more modern iteration of the Anzac mythology better suited to this different context. The emergence of a ‘kinder, gentler Anzac’ in the 1970s and its focus on trauma, suffering and empathy proved equally useful as a rhetorical tool. Both approaches were underpinned by a move away from a narrow military context to the Anzac mythology’s standing as a civic religion that celebrates more universal values such as courage, endurance, sacrifice and comradeship.

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Section: The Anzac Mythology the Bushfires And The Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frontline heroes: Bush fires, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the Queensland Press

Kerby

Baguley

Gehrmann

et al. 2021

Media, War & Conflict

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…However in the brief overview presented here, some comment on the so-called "Christian Right" in Australia is needed. The rise of this movement over the last few decades-which is linked to the growth of Pentecostalism, has connections with the Christian Right in the United States and is typified by parachurch organizations such as the Australian Christian Lobby-has elicited considerable comment among Australian political scientists, although the extent of its influence in electoral and non-electoral politics is debated [6,8,[38][39][40]. The Christian Right has tended to engage on a narrow platform of issues concerning same-sex marriage, abortion, and the rights of religious organizations to discriminate in their employment practices [38,40,41]; engagement on environmental matters appears to have been very limited.…”

Section: Climate Change Politics and The Australian Churchesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, the low religiosity of the Australian electorate does not translate into the absence of religion from the political sphere. Indeed, political scientists have documented its rising presence over the last few decades, particularly during and since the turn to conservative politics during the Prime Ministership of John Howard (e.g., [6][7][8]). The increasing prominence of religion in political life is relevant not only to the question of the engagement of religious elites with issues of public policy, but also to the potential mobilization of the religiously affiliated with regards to particular causes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change, Politics and Religion: Australian Churchgoers’ Beliefs about Climate Change

Pepper

Leonard

2016

Religions

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Abstract:A growing literature has sought to understand the relationships between religion, politics and views about climate change and climate change policy in the United States. However, little comparative research has been conducted in other countries. This study draws on data from the 2011 Australian National Church Life Survey to examine the beliefs of Australian churchgoers from some 20 denominations about climate change-whether or not it is real and whether it is caused by humans-and political factors that explain variation in these beliefs. Pentecostals, Baptist and Churches of Christ churchgoers, and people from the smallest Protestant denominations were less likely than other churchgoers to believe in anthropogenic climate change, and voting and hierarchical and individualistic views about society predicted beliefs. There was some evidence that these views function differently in relation to climate change beliefs depending on churchgoers' degree of opposition to gay rights. These findings are of interest not only for the sake of international comparisons, but also in a context where Australia plays a role in international climate change politics that is disproportionate to its small population.

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The Role of the Penteco/Charismatic Clergy in the Political Health Development in Ghana

Asamoah

2017

J Relig Health

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Several countries in Africa are perpetually linked to an inexpungable history of cyclical ethnic conflicts, violence and coup d'état which culminated in the untimely death of many, others severely wounded and many left in a hopeless situation. The paper discusses in-depth, the role and functions of the clergy (ministers of religion) in the political health development in Ghana. The rationale is that the clergy's esteemed status among the church members and the society as a whole could impact positively on the lives of the people in the society, and for that matter, they are expected to speak to national issues. Twenty-one clergy participated in one-on-one in-depth interviews for this study. It was found out that a number of the ministers of religion were not interested in political health development issues, and therefore, their roles in politics were woefully inadequate. It is recommended that the clergy boldly take up their leadership responsibilities and provide a framework for collaboration and reconciliation in the peace-building process and also be models of a peaceful disposition. The clergy are to continue to pray fervently, advise politicians and educate their church members for a sound political health development in Ghana.

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Religion and Politics in Australia

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

Frontline heroes: Bush fires, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the Queensland Press

Frontline heroes: Bush fires, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the Queensland Press

Climate Change, Politics and Religion: Australian Churchgoers’ Beliefs about Climate Change

The Role of the Penteco/Charismatic Clergy in the Political Health Development in Ghana

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