Post 1945
World War 11- refugees and resettlement schemes
1975- immigration Restriction act removed
Vietnam war- refugees (Buddhist, catholic)
2000- middle east Christians
High- birth and migrant rates- baptized but not practicing
Christianity instituationalised- law, system of gov, holidays, schools+colleges, charities
2006 64% christians

Contemporary Aboriginal Spiritualties

Discuss how Aboriginal spirituality is determined by the Dreaming
The dreaming is a fundamental, underlying aspect of Aboriginal Spirituality that refers to Aboriginal Spiritual Beliefs about creation and existence. The dreaming therefore involves all past knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal Society.
Aboriginal Spirituality is expressed through the Dreaming, through the land and the people, through the totems, values and kinship systems.
Kinship
Kinship is the system of law that governs the social interaction of Aboriginals on a day-to-day basis. Through Kinship groups, Indigenous Australians are able to maintain a connection to both their land and ancestral beings, as well as identifying each individuals roles and responsibilities within the group.
One responsibility that is closely tied with Kinship is that of transferring the stories of the Dreaming to the younger generations of the group.
The underlying tenet of Kinship is the Dreaming as it is the physical embodiment of how Aboriginal people are required and known to have acted
Ceremonial life
Ceremonial life refers to those rituals and ceremonies that take place as a way of communicating the dreaming, and maintaining a connection with ancestral beings
Ceremonial life is an important aspect of Aboriginal Spirituality as it is a means by which the community and surrounding clans are brought together to express art, perform stories of the Dreaming and practice rituals.
Art, Stories, Rituals (Smoking Ceremony, Funeral Ceremony), Totems, Balance Rites
Obligations to the land and people
The Dreaming is inextricably linked to the land, as the land is the physical medium through which the Dreaming is communicated.
The land provides the foundation for Aboriginal beliefs, traditions, ritual and laws because the stories of the Dreaming are imbedded in the land.
The link between Aboriginal people and the creation stories found in the Dreaming is made through Totemism.
A totem is an object or creature that provides a tangible link with the land and the creation stories articulated in the Dreaming.
It is the physical embodiment of each individual in his or her primordial state, i.e. the state that they existed in the Dreaming.
Aboriginal Spirituality sees that all Aboriginal people come from the land, live among land and later in death return to the land. As a result Indigenous Australians often refer to the land as their mother.

Discuss the continuing effect of dispossession on Aboriginal spiritualties in relation to:
Separation from the land
Two centuries of dispossession have led the destruction of Aboriginal spirituality, in which the separation from the land as a result of dispossession is tantamount to a loss of identity.
The loss of land as a result of dispossession leads to the ever-present burden of not being able to fulfill ritual responsibilities.
Dislocation of aboriginal people from the land caused a loss of Aboriginal cultural identity as the people of the Dreaming are inextricably connected to the land.
Separation from kinship groups
Separation from Kinship groups, results in the loss of language, which effectively means that the ability to bass on beliefs in an authentic way has been destroyed
Separation from kinship groups leads to the destruction of the kinship system, which is a critical component of Aboriginal Spirituality as it involves the passing on of Dreaming stories, traditional practices, laws and ritual responsibilities.
The Stolen Generations
The term ‘Stolen Generation” refers to the mass removal of Australian Aboriginal children from their