HSC Studies of Religion I key terms

The principle that the state and public institutions operate independently of religion, treating faith as a private matter rather than a basis for law or policy.

The social process by which religion loses influence over public life, institutions and everyday behaviour as societies modernise and diversify.

Hostility or division between religious groups, especially the historical tension between Catholics and Protestants that shaped Australian society and politics.

The organisation of religion into separate recognised branches, such as Anglican, Catholic and Uniting churches, each with its own structures and identity.

The movement among Christian denominations to cooperate, dialogue and seek unity in belief and practice despite their historical divisions.

Structured conversation and cooperation between people of different religious traditions, aimed at mutual understanding and shared social action.

A social condition in which many religious traditions coexist openly and are legally free to practise, and the acceptance of that diversity.

A government policy framework that recognises, supports and celebrates cultural and religious diversity within a single national society.

A set of laws and practices, largely dismantled by the 1970s, that restricted non-European immigration and shaped Australia's religious and ethnic composition.

The mass migration program from 1945 onward that brought large numbers of Europeans, and later Asians and Middle Easterners, transforming Australia's religious landscape.

The national survey item asking Australians to state their religious affiliation, producing data on belonging rather than active belief or practice.

A person's stated identification with a religious tradition, which may not reflect personal belief, attendance or observance.

The extent to which people actively practise and observe a faith, measured by attendance, prayer and ritual rather than by nominal identification alone.

The Census category for people who report no religious affiliation, a fast-growing group that includes atheists, agnostics and the spiritually unaffiliated.

A loose, individualised movement drawing on astrology, meditation, crystals and self-development, often practised outside formal religious institutions.

A person's sense of connection to meaning, transcendence or the sacred, which may be expressed inside or outside organised religion.

The worldview of Aboriginal peoples centred on the Dreaming, kinship with Country, ancestral law and ceremony passed down through generations.

The Aboriginal concept of an eternal, creative reality in which ancestral beings shaped the land, law and life, and which remains present in ritual and daily existence.

In Aboriginal spirituality, the land to which a person belongs through ancestry and law, understood as a living relative rather than property.

A system linking individuals or groups to particular plants, animals or places that carry spiritual significance and obligations of care.

The elaborate Aboriginal system of relatedness that defines social roles, marriage rules, ceremonial duties and obligations toward Country and community.

The legal fiction that Australia was unoccupied land before British settlement, denying Aboriginal ownership and law, overturned by the Mabo decision.

The 1992 High Court ruling that recognised native title and rejected terra nullius, a landmark for Aboriginal land rights.

The legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights to land and waters based on traditional law and continuous connection.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people removed as children from their families under government policies, causing lasting grief and loss of cultural transmission.

The national process of building respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians, addressing past injustice.

An annual national day of remembrance acknowledging the grief and trauma suffered by the Stolen Generations and their families.

A major, historically continuous faith system with shared beliefs, sacred texts, rituals, ethics and institutions, such as Christianity, Islam or Judaism.

A writing regarded by a religious community as authoritative or revealed, shaping belief, worship and moral teaching.

The communication of divine truth to humanity, understood by believers as coming through scripture, prophets, nature or direct religious experience.

A formal statement of essential beliefs that unites a religious community and is often recited in public worship.

Conformity to officially accepted doctrine, defining what a tradition regards as correct belief.

Correctness of religious practice and action, emphasised in traditions where right living and ritual observance matter as much as right belief.

A prescribed sequence of symbolic actions performed in worship or ceremony, expressing and transmitting a tradition's beliefs and identity.

In several Christian traditions, a visible sign instituted by Christ believed to convey divine grace to participants.

The acts by which believers honour the divine, including prayer, singing, preaching, sacrifice and communal gathering.

The system of moral principles a tradition derives from its sources of authority to guide right conduct in personal and social life.

The inner capacity to judge right from wrong, understood by many traditions as shaped by reason, formation and divine guidance.

The branch of ethics dealing with issues raised by medicine and biotechnology, such as abortion, euthanasia and genetic research.

Teaching about the final destiny of humanity and the world, including death, judgement, afterlife and the end of history.