Social Justice in Australian Churches
...continuation of denominational schools in Australia. It was through the Goulburn School Strike that led to the plethora of non-government schools in Australia. Other denominations have established schools, but these are mainly secondary schools with a much higher fee structure than the Catholic schools. Today, 40 percent of high school students and 26 percent of primary students now attend non-government schools. The Islamic Association of Australia has several objectives in order to broaden Islamic education in Australia. These include liaising and co-operating with schools and educational institutions to further the advancement of Islamic education in Australia, assist in the setting-up of Islamic study programs and to help prepare teaching criteria for the teaching of Islamic education in Australia. Islamic educational institutions have been established along with centres for research and development of Islamic educational resources.# In the Jewish sector of Australian society, educational institutions have begun to take on an important role in the Jewish community in recent years. Increasingly, Jewish day school are seen as the key to the future of Australia’s Judaism. The five Jewish day schools in Sydney cater for around half of all resident Jewish children.# It is through the diversity of religions that many educational facilities relating to each religion and denomination are established. This allows for parents to choose, according to their beliefs, the best education for their child. Religious organizations have had a significant role in the welfare of the Australian people. In 1817, the Benevolent society of New South Wales became the model for other voluntary organizations, each receiving government subsidies. The contribution of these organizations have aided in the development of social welfare in Australia. Through their volunteer services, they provided since their beginnings a level of social welfare services which the government does not have the resources to provide.# The Catholic, Anglican and Uniting Church denominations all have social welfare organizations established to help the disadvantaged of Australia, regardless of their religious beliefs and doctrines. Before World War II, Christians did give a great deal to help the poor and unemployed but tended not to speak out about or question the social and economic system that caused this kind of suffering. World War II marked the beginning of the Great Depression and the late 1920s and 30s saw an increase in unemployment. The various Christian churches provided some practical relief for those most affected in those difficult time, but there was little offered in the way of long-term relief. Since then, however, Christians have become more willing to campaign for social and economic change, rather than simply providing charity. The Catholic St. Vincent De Paul’s 40000 members and volunteers work hard in assisting people in need and combat social injustice across Australia. The members of the society live out their faith in action by visiting people in their homes to provide support, friendship and material assistance. They are provided with furniture, clothing and household goods free of charge through the society’s centres of charity. Centres also offer affordable clothing and goods to the wider community and the profit from the sale of stock is used to provide resources and support to people in need.# The mission of Catholic Welfare Australia is to promote and advance the ministry of Catholic social welfare as part of the core mission of the Church. Catholic Welfare Australia is the peak body that represents the social welfare apostolate of the Catholic Church at a national level. It is a national Federation of Catholic social service that operates in local communities. Since 2001, it has been replaced by the Australian Catholic Social Welfare commission and Centacare Australia. The goal of this agency is to work towards the economic, social and spiritual well-being of the Australian community through contributions to social policy debates informed by the Social Teaching of the Church and the delivery of quality social welfare services to local communities.# Established during the Great Depression in 1934, the Brotherhood of St. Laurence was the vision and creation of Fr. Gerard Tucker, an Anglican minister who combined his Christian faith with a fierce determination to end social injustice. Their vision “Working for an Australia free of poverty” allows the Brotherhood to work with others to create an inclusive society where all are treated with dignity and respect, a compassionate and a just society which challenges inequality. The Brotherhood states that it recognizes the Indigenous custodians of Australia and are committed to understanding the effects of the dispossession of Indigenous Australians and to achieving reconciliation.# The modern organization Anglicare, an agency of the Anglican Church, set down its root in 1856. Working in partnership with local parishes, it provides welfare services to any person in need.# They bring Christian care and support to those struggling with poverty, disability, illness and despair.# The Uniting Church today makes provisions for a central mission in each of the capital cities. A network of homes, hostels, hospitals and agencies form part of the Uniting Churches Wesley Mission. The Wesley Central Missions had the antecedents in the Central Methodist Mission, established in 1884. The slogan chosen was “A living Christ for dying world”, and the Mission looks to combine social action with words in the preaching of the gospel.# The Salvation Army, a Christian denomination, found its way to South Australia in 1880. The Salvation Army has a strong belief in the importance of bringing the Christian message to people through practical means, thus its emphasis on providing welfare services.# “The Salvos” as they are better known, have an ethos which has endeared it to the public “Christianity with its sleeves rolled up”. One of the most important aspects of the Salvation Army work today is its provision of caring social, community and rehabilitation services to more than 1 million people each year.# The Christian response to social welfare including poverty, unemployment and homelessness is a part of the Christian doctrine. “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother” - Deuteronomy 15:7. Providing practical care to the needy and speaking out on social justice issues has been a large part of the life of all the major religious bodies in Australia since the 20th century. Another part of the aims and objectives of the Islamic Association of Australia is to provide assistance to Muslims in Australia who are in distress and misfortune.# Giving a proportion of income for the relief of poverty is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslim Aid Australia was established in 1989 which aims to provide emergency, short-term and long-term relief and other charitable works to alleviate the pain and suffering of those in need. The Jewish Communal Appeal has 18 constituent organizations which include welfare, family, aged care and communal services. The JCA raises several million dollars a year to be distributed among these organizations to enable them to provide services to the community. The organization JewishCare had its origins in March 1936 and has a main objective of assisting new migrants to Australia which ahs expanded the organization significantly. It has many programs which aim to help the needy and vulnerable members of the Sydney Jewish community. Their services and programs can be divided into disability, aged and family and community services.# In 1845, Archbishop Polding addressed a Parliamentary Committee on the plight of the Aborigines. In his address he spoke of the poor image that the Indigenous population held for the whites owing to the enforced displacement from their traditional lands. The Aborigines saw the encroachment of white settlers onto their land as a deliberate act of injustice and a cause for war. Polding suggested that the decline in the Indigenous population was partly due to the fact that Aboriginal mothers were not giving proper care to the children as they grieved over their loss of land. This Aboriginal spirituality and feeling for their land was unappreciated by the white community in the 19th century. The Aboriginal plight still exists today but they are supported by the white Christian community wanting to move towards a future with hope. “History cannot be reversed, bu...