Religion in Australia pre-1945 - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Religion in Australia pre-1945Slide2

Time

frame: 1788 – 1945 and the growth of religion

The religious landscape immediately after the arrival of the first fleet and the issue of Sectarianism

The arrival of the Jews and Muslims

Contribution of Christianity to Social welfare, the First World War and the

DepressionContribution of Christianity to Rural communitiesContribution of Christianity to EducationContribution of Christianity to Public moralityKey playersWhat topics are we going to be looking at?Slide3

Many convicts were Church of England (C of E)

Some Irish Catholics

Most officers were C of E

C of E was the established religion of the colony

Rev Richard Johnson was the 1st (C of E) Chaplin

There was serious division (rivalry) between the English and the Irish. This was known as sectarianism and had been raging from the time of the ReformationGov. Philip decreed that everyone must attend a C of E service every SundayThis caused resentment between the English and the Irish. Why? ( Give two reasons p3)1a The religious landscape after the arrival of the First FleetSlide4

Ministers of the C of E were also the magistrates and such sat in judgement of the crimes and decided the punishment to be applied – much of which was severe

The Rev. Samuel Marsden was known as the Flogging parson

The C of E was the largest and most influential religion – and the Catholic the most troublesome!

Catholics felt like an underprivileged and disadvantaged group in the colony because of the sectarian

issueCatholicism was not allowed to operate formally until 1820

Some other minor denominations established themselves; viz. Methodists and Presbyterians The religious landscape after the arrival of the First Fleet and the issue of SectarianismSlide5

1b The arrival of the Jews

The establishment of the Jewish faith was slow to get underway

A few arrived on the 1

st

Fleet – but it was not until 1817 that the first minyan (a group of 10) was formedThe establishment of the Jewish Burial Society (

Chevra Kaddisha) marked the beginning of a functioning Jewish communityAaron Levy was the first rabbi in 1830in 1837, the first synagogue was opened in Bridge St.In 1844, a large and more permanent synagogue was opened in George StThe Great Synagogue was built in Elizabeth St in 1878By 1880, there were synagogues in most major cities – but over 40% of Jews lived in rural areasSlide6

1c The arrival of the Muslims

The first Muslims actually came to Australia before white settlement via the Macassan fisherman from Indonesia beginning in the 1750s.

They worked in the pearling industry and later on the sugar plantations

But the Immigration Act (1901) and the establishment of territorial waters meant that many had to leave Australia and return home

The use of camels as a mode of transport in the Australian outback and desserts in the 1860s saw the first Muslim camel drivers arrive from Pakistan and Afghanistan

This came to an end in the 1920s with the demise of the camel transport industrySlide7

Religious division

Sectarianism - being rivalry and division along religious grounds - leads to discrimination, persecution and violence

That the issue emerged in the new colony was due in the most part to the conflict in Northern Ireland between the Catholics and the Protestants

Social, Political and Religious issues

These factors blur the division because of the rivalry and bitterness between the C of E and the Catholics in England and Ireland

2a The impact of SectarianismSlide8

The Reformation (also called the Protestant Reformation) of 1517 created a

long lasting bitterness between the C of E (the Protestants) and

the Catholics in England

This was evident on all aspects of life

The occupation of Ireland by the English and the oppression of the Irish people was more a political issue than a religious oneThe sectarian problems accompanied the new settlers to Australia and continued to divide the new society

One result was the enforced attendance for all at the C of E Divine Service on Sundays – which was resisted by both groupsThe Catholics were forbidden from taking part in any form of collective worship2a The impact of SectarianismSlide9

Fr James Dixon and the

Castle Hill Rebellion

Fr Dixon was born 1758 and died 1840

He was transported to Australia as a convict arriving on 16 January,

1800 – thus becoming the 1st Catholic priest of the colony

Governor King granted him permission to perform his priestly duties on 19 April, 1803He celebrated the first public Mass on 15 May, 1803 in Sydney On Sunday night, March 4, 1804, about 250 convicts overpowered the guards at the Government farm at Castle Hill (west of Parramatta) and were joined by other convicts who had walked off the private farms to which they had been assigned92a The impact of SectarianismSlide10

The Castle Hill R

ebellion

was quashed by the Army with devastating results for the Catholics of New South Wales, both convict and free.

The Castle Hill Rebellion

was an attempt by predominantly Irish Catholic convicts to escape from “slavery

”No sooner had the Castle Hill rebellion been quashed than Governor King revoked Fr Dixon’s permission to officiate as a priest and cancelled the salary (£60 ) he had granted him.102a The impact of SectarianismSlide11

This all happened only 11 months after Governor King had conditionally pardoned the Fr Dixon and allowed him

to ‘exercise his clerical functions as a Roman Catholic priest’;

i.e. say Mass and perform the sacraments.Nothing was gained by those who took part in the Castle Hill Rebellion. What did result, was the setting back of the Catholic cause in the colony for another 16 years before the British Government appointed Frs Conolly and Therry as official Catholic chaplains to the colony in 1820

Dixon was allowed to practise privately after the Castle Hill Rebellion

1808 saw him return to Ireland where he died on 4th

January, 1840112a The impact of SectarianismSlide12

Employment issues

Most businesses were owned and operated by people of Protestant background

Because they had deep seated hostility to – and resentment and mistrust of – Catholics, they would not employ them

Accordingly, it was common to see the words “Catholics need not apply” in job adverts

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2a The impact of SectarianismSlide13

Employment issues

Interestingly, one of the few places where this discrimination did not apply was the Public Service

Consequently, Catholics were attracted to that employ – and have at times been overrepresented in this sector

To further their chances of being successful in PS applications, the Catholic schools developed a strong focus on preparing their students to pass the Public Service Examination

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2a The impact of SectarianismSlide14

2b The contribution of Christianity to Social Welfare

Caroline Chisholm and Immigration

It has always been a part of the Christian ethos to help the needy and disadvantaged

Migrants have always been among the most at risk group

In 1838, Caroline Chisholm (who had converted to Catholicism) arrived in Australia with her husband and began to champion their needs – particularly the young girls dumped at the docks without any means of supporting themselves

She hassled the clergy and Governor Gipps on behalf of the migrants so successfully that in 1842 the Female Immigrants Home was able to be opened at the Immigration BarracksIt was entirely dependant on public subscription and sheltered up to 96 womenSlide15

This enabled young women recently arrived in Australia to find accommodation and jobs

The Home was able to be closed in 1842 because her work in finding employment for the girls was so successful

She also worked at settling immigrants in the interior

She designed a scheme for settling families on the land with long leases

At her own expense, she arranged for the settlement of 23 families on land at ShellharbourIn 1846, she and her husband returned

to England where she continued to work with those emigrating to AustraliaIt estimated that she helped over 10,000 to settle in Australia2b The contribution of Christianity to Social WelfareSlide16

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

With the advent of the Great Depression of the 1930s, it became apparent that something had to be done to provide assistance for the poor

The churches lobbied the government and were successful in having the government introduce unemployment benefits, the “susso” – or the dole

2b The contribution of Christianity to Social WelfareSlide17

3a The contribution of Christianity to Rural Communities

Christian denominations worked at providing support for the families in the bush

C of E Bishop Nathaniel Dawes established the Bush Brotherhoods in 1997

They were groups of preachers who rode horses and visited the remote outback communities providing ministry

In the 1920s, Rev John Flynn – of the Australian Inland Mission of the Presbyterian Church

– developed the Flying Doctor Service and the School of the AirSlide18

3b The contribution of Christianity to Education

Catholics felt like an underprivileged and disadvantaged group (class) in the colony because of the sectarian issue

They felt that it was important to have their own education system to preserve their moral and religious values

Thus came the development of religiously affiliated schools

In 1866, Fr Julian Tennyson Woods and Mother Mary MacKillop founded the Order of St Joseph to provide schooling for the poor

After the Public Instruction Act (1880), the Catholic education system was staffed almost entirely by members of religious orders; i.e. nuns, brothers and priestsSlide19

There were three relevant pieces of legislation:-

The Schools Estates Corporation Charter of 1825

The Church Act of 1836

The Public Instruction Act of 1880

You need to know the effects of these Acts on the churches and the way the Churches responded

3b The contribution of Christianity to EducationSlide20

The Schools Estates Corporation Charter of 1825

The intent was to provide resources exclusively for the use by the C of E schools – to reinforce that the C of E was the established (official?) church of the colony

1/7 of all land grants were to be used for

the C of E schools and churches

This did not please the other churches as it was interpreted as excluding their children from education

3b The contribution of Christianity to EducationSlide21

The Church Act of

1836

Gov. Burke’s Church Act of 1836 provided for a “pound for pound” subsidy for all religious groups

This meant that the government would match (by grant) all funds raised by the religious denomination

On the surface, this appeared to be to the advantage of the other churchesBut in reality, it was set up to advantage only the C of E as they had much better capacity in fund-raising.

But the Catholics rallied and through a great deal of organization and sacrifice managed to improve their fund-raising and accordingly take advantage of the Act3b The contribution of Christianity to EducationSlide22

The Church Act of

1836

The Presbyterian Church opposed the Act on the grounds that

they felt that religion should be separate from government because religion should not be funded from government

as this might allow the government to put too much influence of the way the churches operated.

3b The contribution of Christianity to EducationSlide23

The Church Act of

1836

The Methodists were pleased with the Act – but because of sectarian feelings – did not want the Catholics to benefit from the government funding

The Act also had the unintended result of increasing the rural v urban class divide because the churches in the outback could not raise any where near the amount of money the city churches could.

Thus they received less funding

3b The contribution of Christianity to EducationSlide24

The Public Instruction Act of

1880

This was supposed to bring to an end the issue of government funding for denominational schoolsThis Act provided an education that was

free, compulsory and secular

This heralded the start of Public EducationBut it brought great hardship to the denominational schools – particularly the Catholics

If the Catholics wanted to continue to provide “religious” education for their children, they would struggle as the entire church-based system relied on funds raised by the churchThat the Catholic education survived was a tribute to the dedication of the nuns, brothers and priests3b The contribution of Christianity to EducationSlide25

The Public Instruction Act of

1880

Government funding of church schools is known as State Aid

It has continued to be an issue – and still is!The C of E continued to operate some schools where the parents were able to meet the costs – but generally, the C of E supported the public school system

The Presbyterians also continued to support the Act because they believed in the separation of government and church

3b The contribution of Christianity to EducationSlide26

What is public morality?

Generally speaking, it is the behaviour of the public in regard to moral issues such as Sabbatarianism, sexual activity, consumption of alcohol and gambling

Conservative elements within the various Christian churches felt that it was their responsibility to decree what was - and what was not - acceptable behaviour

Their attempts at social control are referred to as wowserism and fuelled the religious tensions between the various churches

The general public steadfastly resisted the attempts of the churches to moderate their behaviour

This led to a more secular society3c The contribution of Christianity to public moralitySlide27

Sabbatarianism

This is the term coined to mean observance of – and attendance

at – church services on the Sabbath

The C of E was instrumental in trying to make it compulsory for all convicts – both English and Irish

The rationale was to improve the “moral character” of the convictsThis was met with strong resistance from each group

However, legislation was enacted which effectively banned recreational and labour (i.e. commercial) activities on SundaysBut in fact, both the C of E and the Catholics had more liberal views on this prohibition and it was ineffective3c The contribution of Christianity to public moralitySlide28

Sexual morality

Christian views on extramarital relationships, homosexuality and divorce were quite strong and inflexible

Accordingly, laws governing these issues were quite strict

It was particularly difficult to gain a divorce in these times

3c The contribution of Christianity to public moralitySlide29

The Temperance movement

This was the activity of the – mostly Protestant

– churches to reduce alcohol consumption in the colony

Some conservatives actually believed that total abstinence was necessary and called on men to take a pledge to refrain from drinking

They also co-opted the women folk to convince their men to stop drinkingIt was felt that this was a strong option because it was the women who were often the victims of alcohol abuse

Some effect was seen but legislation to ban drinking was never enacted mainly because the C of E and the Catholics saw no harm in having a drink in moderation3c The contribution of Christianity to public moralitySlide30

Gambling

Christianity was influential in attempting to ban gambling in the early days of the colony on the basis that it was dishonest to “earn” money by ways other than work

But the Catholics saw no harm in gambling so long as it was not excessive

3c The contribution of Christianity to public morality