The role of demographic and socio-cultural factors in Australia’s successful multicultural society: How Australia is not Europe

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 759-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary D Bouma

Religious diversity and social cohesion have long been seen to be at odds with each other. Classical sociology, grounded in the Westphalian solution to religious conflict in Europe presumed that a single religion was necessary for social cohesion. The issue of religious diversity and social cohesion has come to the fore as once religiously monochrome societies have become diverse through migration and, to a lesser degree, conversion. While European nations question the possibility of multicultural and multi-faith societies living in productive harmony, Australia offers an example of a successful multicultural and multi-faith society. Australia has produced a multicultural society through a policy of social inclusion and mutual respect, in contrast to European policies which produce separate community development. This cross-national comparative study reveals demographic and socio-cultural differences that are likely to explain some of the comparative success of Australia in producing social inclusion and avoiding the ‘othering’ of religious minorities, especially of Muslims. Australia has a particular demographic that features multiple substantial minority religious communities living in ways that promote daily encounters among people of different backgrounds.

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-238
Author(s):  
Omero Marongiu-Perria

The objective of the initiative launched in Roubaix within theframework of the network entitled “Faiths and Social cohesion”,aims to study the way in which the local governments manage religious diversity and in particular their links with the Muslim presence and its mosques. The method adopted, in agreement with the coordination of the network supported by the European Union, was to have only one case study, i.e. a municipality with a significant Muslim population and the presence of one or several mosques, to study transactions of various types between religious communities and local institutions, as well as to experiment with a role of facilitation in the framework of these relations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-153
Author(s):  
Asyhabuddin Asyhabuddin

This paper seeks to examine the tradition of chain prayer and religious social inclusion in Kepung Village, Kediri Regency. The idea of this paper came from the growing religious conflict. The inhabitants of Kepung village in Kediri, East Java district, have a unique method to build harmonious relations between religions amid the potential conflicts of religious diversity they have. The data were obtained by interviewing people in Kepung Village, Kediri Regency. That method is a tradition of chain prayer which is carried out as a series of village cleaning traditions every month of Sura in the Javanese calendar. This tradition fosters social religious inclusion because this tradition builds inclusive religious attitudes, inclusive religious policies, and guarantees access and active participation of religious social groups. In addition, this tradition also narrows ethnic distance because it can provide the expectations of minority religious groups, thus generating trust between religious groups.   Tulisan ini berusaha untuk mengkaji tentang tradisi doa berantai dan inklusi sosial keagamaan di Desa Kepung Kabupaten Kediri. Ide tulisan ini berasal dari semakin berkembangnya konflik keagamaan, warga desa Kepung di kabupaten Kediri Jawa Timur memiliki cara unik untuk membangun keharmonisan hubungan antar agama di tengah potensi konflik keragaman agama yang mereka miliki. Data-data diperoleh dengan wawancara kepada orang-orang di Desa Kepung Kabupaten Kediri. Cara itu adalah tradisi doa berantai yang dilakukan sebagai rangkaian dari tradisi bersih desa setiap bulan Sura dalam penanggalan Jawa. Tradisi ini memupuk inklusi sosial keagamaan karena tradisi ini membangun sikap keagamaan inklusif, kebijakan keagamaan inklusif dan menjamin akses dan partisipasi aktif kelompok minoritas keagamaan. Selain itu, tradisi ini juga mempersempit ethnic distance karena mampu memberikan ekspektasi kelompok keagamaan minoritas, sehingga memunculkan rasa percaya (trust) antar kelompok keagamaan yang ada.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Bouma

As societies have become religiously diverse in ways and extents not familiar in the recent histories of most, the issues of how to include this diversity and how to manage it, that is, questions about how to be a religiously diverse society have come to the fore. As a result religion has become part of the social policy conversation in new ways. It has also occasioned new thinking about religions, their forms and the complexity of ways they are negotiated by adherents and the ways they are related to society, the state and each other. This issue of <em>Social Inclusion</em> explores these issues of social inclusion in both particular settings and in cross-national comparative studies by presenting research and critical thought on this critical issue facing every society today.


2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Henne ◽  
Jason Klocek

Despite a robust literature on general forms of state repression, the determinants of religious repression remain unclear. This article argues that a regime’s experience with religious conflict will lead it to be more repressive of religious groups within its territory for three primary reasons. Religious conflict increases the behavioral threat posed by religious groups, lowers the cost of repressing these communities, and evokes vivid memories of past religious violence that underscore the role of the state in taming religion to maintain social order. New, cross-national data on religious conflict and repression from 1990 to 2009 show that religious conflict has a significant and positive effect on the level of religious repression for the time period under investigation, expanding the types and severity of government restrictions on religion in a country. Our findings point to the importance of studying the causes and nature of negative sanctions against religious communities, specifically.


2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Varbanova ◽  
Anelia Dimitrova

Abstract: Bulgarian society is multicultural and multiethnic, a fact very much linked with the historical and cultural roots of the country. The current paper outlines the main problematics linked with the concept of social cohesion in Bulgaria. Social cohesion is discussed in three main contexts: (1) cohesion for the sake of a national cause, where the unique "Chitalista" cultural and community system plays a key role; (2) reconciliation between ethnic groups, who live in peace and avoid conflicts; and (3) social stratification, difficult economic conditions, and absence of a middle class as serious burdens for building a cohesive society. The paper also discusses the role of voluntary organizations, media, and education in encouraging social cohesion in a time of democratic change. Résumé: La société bulgare est multiculturelle et multiethnique, un fait étroitement lié aux racines historiques et culturelles du pays. Cette étude trace les grandes lignes des problématiques principales reliées au concept de cohésion sociale en Bulgarie. Elle décrit la cohésion sociale dans trois contextes: (1) la cohésion comme cause nationale, où le singulier système culturel et ethnique « Chitalista » joue un rôle clé; (2) la réconciliation entre groupes ethniques, qui vivent en paix et évitent les conflits; (3) la stratification sociale, les conditions économiques difficiles et l'absence d'une classe moyenne comme sérieux obstacles à la cohésion sociale. Cet article décrit aussi le rôle des organismes bénévoles, des médias et de l'éducation à encourager la cohésion sociale dans une période de transition démocratique.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
Ismail Sukardi

The fact that Indonesia's Malay world is a very multicultural country is often the reason for the emergence of various conflicts in the name of ethnicity, religion, and race (SARA), such as the Poso, Ambon, Papua, Kalimantan, Ahmadiyah, and so on. This paper explains about various efforts that can be sought to maintain stability and harmony in pluralism of Indonesian Malay world. Existential awareness as a multicultural nation is a social and ideological capital that must continue to be grown, developed, and maintained so that Indonesia is more just, prosperous, safe, peaceful, and prosperous. Therefore the strategic agenda that must be carried out is to encourage increased strategic role of religious leaders, encourage the growth of mutual understanding between religious communities, seek social cooperation between religious groups, promote multicultural education, and incorporate elements of democratic principles and human rights (HAM) in curriculum.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muriel Saint-Suppry Ceano-Vivas ◽  
Juana Maria Rivera Lirio ◽  
Maria Jesss Muuoz-Torres

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