Generations of Change: Religion and Spirituality in Contemporary Australia

Abstract

I have taught the sociology of religion at university for more than a decade. One of the students' assignments involves visiting several different religious services.Among other things, this gives them an insight into the diverse ways contemporary Australians worship. I hand out a list that details all of the different kinds of services they can attend: Catholic, Anglican (high and low), Baptist, Pentecostal, Uniting Church, Lutheran, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu,Sikh, Baha'i, Hare Krishna, Christian Science, Mormon, and Wiccan, among many others. What a choice! (I was somewhat chastened this year when I realised that about half the participants at a particular Wiccan festival celebrating the Autumn equinox were in fact my students doing their fieldwork.)