Australian Spirituality: Wellness, Wellbeing and Risks. While there has been significant research conducted in Australia on rising religious diversity and those who are non-religious, spirituality has not received the same scholarly attention despite its popularity. This is the first nationwide study of spirituality in Australia, investigating First Nations, religious, and holistic spirituality, their contributions to wellbeing, and their possible risks. It includes a national survey and intervi ....Australian Spirituality: Wellness, Wellbeing and Risks. While there has been significant research conducted in Australia on rising religious diversity and those who are non-religious, spirituality has not received the same scholarly attention despite its popularity. This is the first nationwide study of spirituality in Australia, investigating First Nations, religious, and holistic spirituality, their contributions to wellbeing, and their possible risks. It includes a national survey and interviews with spiritual persons, and case studies of sacred places around the country. This project also draws on the expertise of leading First Nations, Australian and international scholars, and will be of national benefit in its capacity to inform practices and policies for personal and planetary wellbeing.Read moreRead less
The religious factor and trends in civil society under conditions of globalisation in Australia, the U.S.A. and Brazil. This project explores a supposed chain of connections between globalisation, rapid religious change, the fragmentation of civil society, and a consequent weakening of democracy. Through comparative analysis, a counter claim will be investigated: that certain types of religious associations flourishing under conditions of globalisation in the three countries examined are importa ....The religious factor and trends in civil society under conditions of globalisation in Australia, the U.S.A. and Brazil. This project explores a supposed chain of connections between globalisation, rapid religious change, the fragmentation of civil society, and a consequent weakening of democracy. Through comparative analysis, a counter claim will be investigated: that certain types of religious associations flourishing under conditions of globalisation in the three countries examined are important elements in the regeneration of disturbed civil societies. The focus is on Australia, but a novel comparative analysis will help determine whether current fears about social fragmentation in Australia are justified. Resulting publications will enrich debate about the perils and opportunities of increasing multiculturalism in globalising societies.Read moreRead less
Islamic movements in secular societies: grammars of experience. There is increasing public debate about the place of Islam in western societies, but little reference to lived experience. At a same time, we are witnessing new forms of Islamic movements and experiences, in particular among a 'global generation' of young people. This study explores forms of tension and grammars of creativity, assisting actors make sense of and communicate their experience. It also grapples with new global forms o ....Islamic movements in secular societies: grammars of experience. There is increasing public debate about the place of Islam in western societies, but little reference to lived experience. At a same time, we are witnessing new forms of Islamic movements and experiences, in particular among a 'global generation' of young people. This study explores forms of tension and grammars of creativity, assisting actors make sense of and communicate their experience. It also grapples with new global forms of violence that profoundly impact personal experience. This project aims at understanding new forms of social creativity, as well as new types of tension, and to assist rethinking both contemporary security and citizenship.Read moreRead less
Testing the limits of post-secularism and multiculturalism in Australia, France and the USA: Shari'a in the everyday life of Muslim communities. Focusing on Shari'a, this study examines the legal policies and experiences of Australia, France and the USA with different traditions of citizenship, secularism and common law. The project is designed to test the limits of multiculturalism by exploring whether a recognition of cultural differences implies a recognition of legal differences.
Modernising Islam through Indonesia's New Media: Celebrity Preachers and the Shaping of Cosmopolitan Values. Indonesia is recognised as a leading producer of moderate Muslim scholarships, reconciling Islam to modern, pluralistic political life, but little is understood of how cosmopolitan values permeate everyday religious practice. This project focuses on an emergent arena of Indonesian Muslim communication, celebrity preaching, to determine how 'modern' modes of religiosity are being promoted ....Modernising Islam through Indonesia's New Media: Celebrity Preachers and the Shaping of Cosmopolitan Values. Indonesia is recognised as a leading producer of moderate Muslim scholarships, reconciling Islam to modern, pluralistic political life, but little is understood of how cosmopolitan values permeate everyday religious practice. This project focuses on an emergent arena of Indonesian Muslim communication, celebrity preaching, to determine how 'modern' modes of religiosity are being promoted through the new electronic media. It examines how communications and religious practices cultivated in this arena help middle and upper class Muslims respond to destabilising social changes with reflexive and tolerant stances supportive of civic pluralism, and identifies the conditions in which they might yield to fundamentalism.Read moreRead less
Suicide Terrorism: The Use of Life as a Weapon. Bali attacks were a powerful reminder that Australians are not immune from terrorism. Suicide terrorism is the most lethal form of terrorism. It constitutes 3 % of all terrorist attacks but accounts for 48 % of all deaths. Australia's involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor has made Australia a more likely terrorist target. An informed understanding of suicide terrorism in our region would assist in developing appropriate policies for prote ....Suicide Terrorism: The Use of Life as a Weapon. Bali attacks were a powerful reminder that Australians are not immune from terrorism. Suicide terrorism is the most lethal form of terrorism. It constitutes 3 % of all terrorist attacks but accounts for 48 % of all deaths. Australia's involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor has made Australia a more likely terrorist target. An informed understanding of suicide terrorism in our region would assist in developing appropriate policies for protecting Australia from terrorism. The research will also contribute to evaluation of costs and benefits of Australian government policies of democratisation in the region and War on Terror.Read moreRead less
Understanding vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project aims to investigate experiences of vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project expects to generate new knowledge about antecedents and mitigators of vicarious trauma, and will do so by using interdisciplinary approaches to understand the specific contexts in which vicarious trauma may occur. Expected outcomes of this project includes the generation of national data about vicarious trauma in foster care through th ....Understanding vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project aims to investigate experiences of vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project expects to generate new knowledge about antecedents and mitigators of vicarious trauma, and will do so by using interdisciplinary approaches to understand the specific contexts in which vicarious trauma may occur. Expected outcomes of this project includes the generation of national data about vicarious trauma in foster care through the development of a new measure of vicarious trauma. This should provide significant benefits, such as providing a clear means to assessing vicarious trauma, and through the development of a mobile app that will enable foster families in Australia to monitor and report experiences of vicarious trauma.Read moreRead less
Institutional Configurations, Religioisty and Public Influence of Religious Institutions Muslim Societies: A Comparative Study. Religious fundamentalism is a growing and important part of social change in Muslim countries. Using current religious, political, and social conditions as contrasting environments the proposed research will investigate the competing theories of Islamic fundamentalism, sociological correlates of Muslim religiosity and public influence of religious institutions in contra ....Institutional Configurations, Religioisty and Public Influence of Religious Institutions Muslim Societies: A Comparative Study. Religious fundamentalism is a growing and important part of social change in Muslim countries. Using current religious, political, and social conditions as contrasting environments the proposed research will investigate the competing theories of Islamic fundamentalism, sociological correlates of Muslim religiosity and public influence of religious institutions in contrasting institutional configurations by focusing on the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey and Nigeria. This will be achieved through a study of random/purposive samples of respondents in the three countries using survey methodology. The objective is to develop a theoretically and empirically grounded model of social, political and religious trajectories of Muslim societies.Read moreRead less
Improving Spiritual Health Care for LGBT Australians. Research has demonstrated that attempts to change the sexual and gender orientation of LGBT people do not work, but little is known about their impacts or the extent of their practice in Australia. This project aims to investigate the history, scale and nature of LGBT conversion therapy in Australia. Robust data on Australian conversion practices will be collected through a national survey, life history interviews and focus groups with spirit ....Improving Spiritual Health Care for LGBT Australians. Research has demonstrated that attempts to change the sexual and gender orientation of LGBT people do not work, but little is known about their impacts or the extent of their practice in Australia. This project aims to investigate the history, scale and nature of LGBT conversion therapy in Australia. Robust data on Australian conversion practices will be collected through a national survey, life history interviews and focus groups with spiritual and mental health care providers. These data will be used to establish the impacts of conversion practices and develop resources to support improved spiritual care of LGBT people. The findings will benefit society, supporting social cohesion in the fraught area of religious and LGBT rights.
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Understanding identity, social change and emerging needs: Melbourne's Jewish community and Australian society. Understanding current developments within ethnic and religious groups is of vital national importance. The detailed profile of Australian ethno-religious groups to be produced will be of relevance to a range of planning issues, including: strategies to maximize the life potential of young Australians, preventative health care, appraisal of future needs of an ageing population and of the ....Understanding identity, social change and emerging needs: Melbourne's Jewish community and Australian society. Understanding current developments within ethnic and religious groups is of vital national importance. The detailed profile of Australian ethno-religious groups to be produced will be of relevance to a range of planning issues, including: strategies to maximize the life potential of young Australians, preventative health care, appraisal of future needs of an ageing population and of the capacity of voluntary agencies to maintain their existing levels of social welfare provision. Integral to the project is ongoing consultation with communal leaders, social workers and policy makers. It will provide for informed public discussion and promote a climate of consultation and dialogue. Read moreRead less