The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
Australia’s Religious Communities CD-ROM
 Christian Research Association   http://www.cra.org.au
Roger Brown

"Religion and Politics divide. Sport unites" 
Kim Hughes (former Australian Cricket Captain - circa 1985)

As a lifelong church musician, I well remember my sense of shock at the above statement, made in a blaze of media publicity in the wake of the anti-apartheid sports blockade. And yet were it not for my somewhat blinkered view of the place of religion in today's society I would have had no reason for surprise. For many years religion's former pre-eminence within society has been under challenge not the least because of Australia's increasing multiculturalism as well as factors such as the increasing prevalence of the 7/24 society.

So it was with some interest that I took up the opportunity to examine the CD "Australia's Religious Communities" published recently by Christian Research Association. According to the publisher, this resource aims (among other things) to:
  • explore the diversity of Australian Religious Communities in the context of the very significant changes in Australian society over recent years
  • promote better understanding of the religious traditions of other Australians.
The CD itself runs without fuss on any Windows or Mac PC providing a recent web browser is installed. Quicktime and Flash are also required and can if need be, be installed from the CD. There is almost no need to refer to the short accompanying booklet. The interface is simple and logical with all information easy to locate.


Figure 1. The opening screen


Figure 2. A section on the Anglican Church

Structurally, the CD consists of a quite comprehensive introduction plus presentations on each of 29 major denominations/religious communities. Additional presentations on another 140 groups are also included - making this a most all embracing survey indeed.

Most users would initially be likely to move straight to the individual presentations (as was your reviewer) - 
I will therefore examine this aspect first.

The individual presentations follow a fairly much standard format covering (in most cases):

  • history and traditions

  • beliefs and worship practices

  • organisational features

  • some comment relating to the denomination's role and the issues it sees in relation to contemporary society

  • statistical analysis

Presentations are from a range of contributors presumably allied to/in liaison with the denomination or community concerned. The information is clearly presented and laid out and is invariably presented in a non judgmental and impartial manner.

Reading the presentations I had the clear impression that some of the traditional denominations seemed somewhat less comfortable with their traditions and history than others. This no doubt reflects the current dilemma of some sections of the Christian church where accumulated tradition and practice are sometimes seen as unhelpful in the current drive towards being "relevant" and "user friendly". Interestingly I noted no such hesitancy in some of the excellent presentations put forward on behalf of the non-Christian religious groups. Perhaps the Christian church can here learn something from its religious brothers and sisters.

What individual denominations choose to regard as their future direction is of course for them to determine. But I felt it to unfortunate that such desires also resulted in the deprecation of traditional practices even when, to my knowledge, such practices remain strong and supported.

The use of video clips was uneven. Some groups (most notably the non-Christian groups) present video material which is of great value in understanding the group's traditions and beliefs. Some of the mainstream Christian denominations however seemed more interested in demonstrating "trendiness" than in providing proper video documentation of their real traditions and practices. Unfortunately, as is the way of churches, this invariably seems to involve third rate music.

Music is of course an important part of almost all worship services. I was therefore extremely disappointed to note that there were almost no references in the presentations to music per se. The one exception, the Lutheran church, still only involved a short reference to its musical traditions - hardly what I would consider appropriate for a church which can boast a musical history involving two of the major musical works of all time (Bach's St Matthew Passion and B Minor Mass).

Similarly the contribution of religious groups towards the visual arts, architecture and literature are almost entirely ignored One hopes these aspects can be better covered in a future version of this CD. Nevertheless, the user cannot fail to gain an excellent appreciation of a diversity of religious practices in Australia though the material presented.
 
But before I turn to other matters I must compliment the CD compilers on the thoughtful section on Aboriginal religious practices - something we would all do well to study and understand as part of the reconciliation process.


Figure 3. A section on Aboriginal practices.


Figure 4. Statistics - from the 1996 census

But how do these practices relate to society as a whole? And how is the relationship changing over time as our society itself changes? These are questions which the compilers of the CD have sought to address in the comprehensive introduction - one which users will do well to study in detail and which I can do little more than imperfectly summarise here.

  • The introduction commences with a well thought out attempt to set forward the doctrinal and ethical basis of religion with some attempt to define the effect on society. The use of religion to justify political division and conflict (including war) is juxtaposed with religion's ability to inspire compassionate behaviour in a manner which is thought provoking and challenging. Does religion indeed divide or unite society?

  • The function of religion is then discussed with emphasis on the continuing value of religion as a tool for social cohesion particularly among migrant groups past and present.

  • Lastly considerable historical and statistical material is presented in an effort to show how religious practice is currently placed within society.

There is no direct reference to current concerns within some groups as to sexual deviancy or misbehaviour. But it is good to see that the question of the fallibility of believers is carefully set forward and discussed - this question is at the heart of one the most common misunderstandings of those who deprecate the value of religion viz. that believers consider themselves morally superior to their fellows.

So What Does this CD Achieve?

In my view the following:

  • The user cannot fail to gain solid carefully prepared information on a wide range of religious practices even though I personally would have wished to see greater faithfulness to individual traditions in some of the presentations

  • A genuine and well thought attempt is made to relate all this to Australian society as a whole. Some of the material is thought provoking indeed

And the weaknesses

  • Much of the statistical material dates from the 1996 census. This means that more recent social trends are not yet fully encompassed. The CD is to be updated from the 2001 census data and this will provide an extremely valuable additional resource

  • Little attention is paid to the contribution of religious bodies to the arts, music, poetry, architecture, painting etc.

  • The use of video material is uneven and needs review. Closer attention should be paid to ensuring that the tradition and ethos of each group is accurately conveyed. Indeed the overall consistency of group presentations could do with further consideration before the next version of the CD.

But all in all, this is an interesting and thoughtful presentation. Congratulations to Christian Research Association. This is certainly a resource I would commend to all who seek a greater understanding of religious practice within our society

About the Author
Roger Brown is currently Organist and Choirmaster at St George's Anglican Church East Ivanhoe - see http://rogerbrown.tripod.com.

Reprinted from the September 2001 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia