Religion & Society

Western Europe is still reeling from the terrorist attacks that struck Paris on the evening of Friday 13 November, killing 129 people and injuring over 300 more, many critically. Political leaders are discussing appropriate responses, to follow up on France’s initial airstrike against Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State that has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Details are emerging about the eight gunman who carried out the attacks, all in their 20s or 30s. They appear to include at least five French citizens, including the Abdeslam brothers, Salah and Brahim, who lived in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, described by Belgian authorities as a "breeding ground for jihadists". Two others were born and bred in Paris, the target of their attacks. Another of the terrorists was a Syrian national who appears to have arrived in Greece and registered as a refugee in October. An obvious question that arises from the above details is the motivation of the eight young Mu...

On 15 September, Malcolm Turnbull became Australia’s 29 th Prime Minister. Incumbents have enjoyed an average of just under four years in the post since Federation in 1901. However, the country has had five prime ministerial appointments in the last eight years, so cynics have been quick to suggest that the country is heading for chronic political instability in line with Italy. Turnbull represents the stereotype of the self-made man. Brought up by his father after his mother left the family, Turnbull achieved well at school and, after completing undergraduate studies in Sydney, he won a Rhodes scholarship to study in Oxford. His widely recognised powerful intellect quickly set him on the path to achievement in a variety of fields. In his 60 years of life, Turnbull has worked as a journalist, lawyer, investment banker and venture capitalist, accumulating a sizeable fortune in the process. His name regularly appears among lists of Australia’s wealthiest people. However, he is no u...

While the countries of Europe are facing an immigration crisis, with unprecedented numbers of refugees being shipped by people smugglers on rickety boats across the Mediterranean – with many drowning in the process – Australia is at the opposite end of the curve, having stemmed the flow of boatpeople in the last two years. However, the debate rages on around issues of ethics. The 15 years since the turn of the millennium have seen the refugee pendulum swing wildly, largely determined by different immigration policies held by the main political parties in Australia. In 2000, the conservative coalition government led by Prime Minister John Howard faced increasing numbers of refugee boats reaching Australia’s shores without government approval. Pacific Solution There was widespread concern in the Australian community for several reasons. First , such boat arrivals attracted much opposition in the community at large. Second , failure to address this phenomenon allowed people smuggli...

NEWS ITEM: Indonesia’s Constitutional Court recently rejected a request for a judicial review of Article 2 of the 1974 Marriage Law, which effectively forbids interfaith marriage. I lived in Indonesia for several years during the 1980s, and have travelled back regularly to the country since that time. The period of the 1980s was characterised by comparatively relaxed relations between the faiths. Overt expressions of faith were not so pronounced as they are today. At the time few Muslim women in professional or academic positions wore Muslim head-covering. Conversions between the faiths, especially from Islam to Christianity and vice versa, were in evidence and did not attract much comment. Moreover, I witnessed a number of interfaith marriages among colleagues and in the broader community. At the time, interfaith marriage seemed to be almost a non-issue. Today the religious scene in Indonesia is very different. In offices, and in the street, the jilbab headcovering for Muslim ...

The Australian city of Melbourne has recently been voted as the world’s most liveable city for the fourth year in a row. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual liveability survey had Melbourne leading the top 10 cities, which also included Vienna, Vancouver, Toronto, Adelaide, Calgary, Sydney, Helsinki, Perth, and Auckland. Indeed, Melbourne is certainly an easy city to live in from a material perspective according to the survey’s criteria: healthcare, education, stability, culture and environment and infrastructure. In matters of Christian faith, however, there are a number of challenges which are not considered by the liveability survey. The Council for Christian Education in Schools, also known as Access Ministries, runs Christian Special Religious Instruction (SRI) on behalf of 12 denominations using volunteer instructors in the state of Victoria’s government schools. In 2011, religious instructors were present in 70 per cent of public primary schools in Victoria. This numbe...

A change in my work circumstances has given me more time to pick up my blog again, after a fallow period since 2010. I am about to post an article published in this month's issue of "Evangelicals Now". Also, please note a new book that I have co-edited with Brent Neely, entitled  Islam and the Last Day: Christian Perspectives on Islamic Eschatology .   More to follow...

“Places of worship have become a topic of much dispute around the world in recent years”, said Dr Melissa Crouch at the launch of a new report at the Melbourne University Law School on June 26. “Examples are the Swiss ban on minarets in 2009 and the 2010 Ground Zero mosque dispute in New York city,” she added. Her talk focused on a report entitled “Disputed Churches in Jakarta”, published in Indonesian by the Center for Religious and Cross- Cultural Studies of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and translated into English by the Melbourne Law School. Indonesia has witnessed a significant increase in attacks on churches since the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998. An average of fifteen such attacks occurred each year between 1968-98, but a staggering 232 churches were damaged or destroyed between 1999-2001 alone. The new report is based on extensive fieldwork by Indonesian researchers from the Jakarta-based Paramadina Foundation’s Research Team into controversies. It particula...