Religion in Australia pre-1945

What topics are we going to be looking at? 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 Depression Contribution of Christianity to Rural communities Contribution of Christianity to Education Contribution of Christianity to Public morality Key players

1a The religious landscape after the arrival of the First Fleet 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 Reformation Gov. Philip decreed that everyone must attend a C of E service every Sunday This caused resentment between the English and the Irish. Why? ( Give two reasons p3)

The religious landscape after the arrival of the First Fleet and the issue of Sectarianism 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 issue Catholicism was not allowed to operate formally until 1820 Some other minor denominations established themselves; viz. Methodists and Presbyterians

1b The arrival of the Jews The establishment of the Jewish faith was slow to get underway A few arrived on the 1st Fleet – but it was not until 1817 that the first minyan (a group of 10) was formed The establishment of the Jewish Burial Society (Chevra Kaddisha) marked the beginning of a functioning Jewish community Aaron 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 St The Great Synagogue was built in Elizabeth St in 1878 By 1880, there were synagogues in most major cities – but over 40% of Jews lived in rural areas

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 industry

2a The impact of Sectarianism 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 Sectarianism 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 one The 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 groups The Catholics were forbidden from taking part in any form of collective worship

2a The impact of Sectarianism 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, 1803 He 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 assigned

2a The impact of Sectarianism The Castle Hill Rebellion 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.

2a The impact of Sectarianism 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, 1840

2a The impact of Sectarianism 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

2a The impact of Sectarianism 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

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 Barracks It was entirely dependant on public subscription and sheltered up to 96 women

2b The contribution of Christianity to Social Welfare 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 Shellharbour In 1846, she and her husband returned to England where she continued to work with those emigrating to Australia It estimated that she helped over 10,000 to settle in Australia

2b The contribution of Christianity to Social Welfare 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

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 Air

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 priests

3b The contribution of Christianity to Education 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 Education 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 Education 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 churches But 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 Act

3b The contribution of Christianity to Education 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 Education 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 Education The Public Instruction Act of 1880 This was supposed to bring to an end the issue of government funding for denominational schools This Act provided an education that was free, compulsory and secular This heralded the start of Public Education But 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 church That the Catholic education survived was a tribute to the dedication of the nuns, brothers and priests

3b The contribution of Christianity to Education 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

3c The contribution of Christianity to public morality 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 society

3c The contribution of Christianity to public morality 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 convicts This was met with strong resistance from each group However, legislation was enacted which effectively banned recreational and labour (i.e. commercial) activities on Sundays But in fact, both the C of E and the Catholics had more liberal views on this prohibition and it was ineffective

3c The contribution of Christianity to public morality 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 morality 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 drinking It 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 moderation

3c The contribution of Christianity to public morality 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