With Easter approaching the thoughts of many Australians turn to family gatherings, chocolate Easter eggs and hot cross buns. It’s mostly about the food. Like people in the other wealthy nations of the world, Australians are not particularly religious. (The USA is the glaring exception to the rule; Americans’ views are closer to those of people in developing nations in that religion plays a much more important role in their lives). According to the Religion Monitor international survey, two-thirds of Australians identify themselves as Christians but religion plays an important role in the minds and everyday lives of only a minority. And 28 per cent of the Australian population see themselves as not at all religious.
My impression is that for Australians their spiritual beliefs are a private matter and they don’t try to force their beliefs on others or inject them into public policy. Their politicians don’t end their speeches with “God Bless Australia.” As one who is not religious it is a great relief to live in such an environment, if only for a few months.
Australians have a healthy distrust of authority and so are less likely to follow the dogma of organized religious institutions or the rants of some plastic-haired television evangelist. Instead the trend here, as in other industrialized countries, is toward a looser, “patchwork” belief structure, which emphasizes individual interpretations and draws on elements from many different faiths. For example, here at Kaz’s we’ve found a picture of the Virgin Mary, several Buddha statues, and a poster of the “Ten Indian Commandments.”
Australian Aboriginal Mythology is another matter altogether – complex, mind blowing, and beyond my ability to properly explain. It centers on the Dreaming (or Dreamtime), which is both a creation myth and a kind of parallel universe. The past is viewed as eternal, and therefore also present. Features of the landscape are reminders of the Totemic Spiritual Beings who created them. These same beings also created the moral codes and social structures. The earth is considered sacred, conscious of the people, and dependent on them. Whether or not you buy into the veracity of the mythology, the practical consequence is a deep respect for the land and a kinship with all its creatures. In this way the attitude of the Aboriginal people is more reminiscent of that of the American Indians, and not so much of the dominion-over-the-earth approach of Christendom.
