Aboriginal Spirituality and Australian Religious Landscape Practice Flashcards

One hundred flashcards covering Aboriginal spiritual concepts, land rights legislation, religious census data, and the ecumenical movement in Australia.

$3.2\%$ (2021 Census)

The percentage of the total Australian population that identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in $2021$.

$2.5\%$ (2011 Census)

The estimated percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the $2011$ Census.

$2.8\%$ (2016 Census)

The percentage of Australians identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in $2016$.

The Dreaming

The specific Aboriginal concept referring to the past, present, and future as a non-linear and cyclical understanding of creation.

Kinship

The Aboriginal social structure that organizes relationships, marriage rules, and connections to Country.

Moiety

A level of identity in Aboriginal kinship that determines broad identity and dictates marriage from the opposite group.

Totems

Components of the kinship system that link an individual to a specific nation, clan, and family, providing duties of care for the natural world.

Skin names

A detailed system of relationships often involving $16$ or more names in northern nations.

Custodianship

The term that best describes the relationship with the land in Aboriginal spirituality, rather than ownership.

Terra Nullius

The legal doctrine used by the British to claim Australia by disregarding Aboriginal sovereignty.

The Mabo Judgment

The $1992$ High Court decision (Mabo v. Queensland) that officially overturned the concept of terra nullius.

The Native Title Act

Federal legislation enacted in $1993$ to provide a legal mechanism for Aboriginal people to claim traditional rights to land.

The Wik Decision

The $1996$ High Court decision that ruled Native Title could coexist with pastoral leases.

Pastoralist's rights

The rights that prevail under the Wik Decision if there is a direct conflict with Native Title holders.

Native Title Amendment Act $1998$

Legislation introduced by the Howard Government to limit the scope of Native Title and strengthen the rights of pastoralists and miners.

$$1788$$

The year from which Aboriginal claimants must prove an ongoing connection with the land to be granted Native Title under the $1993$ Act.

The Yolngu Bark Petition

A $1963$ event where the Yolngu people sent a petition to Parliament to protest mining on traditional land.

The Redfern Statement

A $1992$ speech by Prime Minister Paul Keating acknowledging 'white guilt' and the dispossession of Aboriginal people.

February $13$, $2008$

The date Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued a formal apology to the Stolen Generations.

The Stolen Generations

The groups of Aboriginal people to whom Kevin Rudd issued a formal apology on February $13$, $2008$.

Bringing Them Home report

The title of the inquiry report conducted from $1995$ to $1997$ into the forced removal of Aboriginal children.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)

The government body abolished by John Howard in $2005$, leaving Aboriginal people without national representation.

$$44\%$$

The percentage of Australians identifying as Christian in the $2021$ Census, down from $88\%$ in $1947$.

Almost $10$ million

The approximate number of Australians who reported having 'no religion' in the $2021$ Census.

Catholicism ($20\%$)

The largest Christian denomination in Australia as of the $2021$ Census.

Anglicanism ($9.8\%$)

The second largest Christian denomination in Australia as of the $2021$ Census.

Islam ($3.2\%$)

The second largest religious grouping in Australia after Christianity according to the $2021$ Census.

Hinduism

A religion that saw significant growth in Australia due to an increase in migrants from India and Nepal.

$$93.8\%$$

The percentage of people affiliated with 'Other' non-Christian religions in $2021$ who were born overseas or had an overseas-born parent.

White Australia Policy

The policy whose abolition ended preference for European migrants and allowed for greater religious diversity.

Secularism

The principle of separating church and state, removing religious influence from politics and society.

Denominational switching

The phenomenon where individuals move from one Christian denomination to another.

Ecumenism

The movement towards unity and cooperation between different Christian denominations.

National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA)

A major ecumenical body formed in $1994$ when the Catholic Church joined the Australian Council of Churches.

NSW Ecumenical Council

An ecumenical body consisting of $21$ member churches across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Interfaith Dialogue

Constructive and respectful engagement between individuals and groups from different religious backgrounds.

Uniting Church in Australia (UCA)

A church formed in $1977$ by the merging of Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational churches.

Australian Council of Christians and Jews (ACCJ)

An organization aimed at deepening mutual understanding and advocating for tolerance and respect between the two faiths.

Reconciliation

The process of strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples.

Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC)

An Indigenous-led Christian group formed in $1985$ with support from the Uniting Church.

National Reconciliation Week

The week that evolved from a $1993$ initiative called the 'Week of Prayer for Reconciliation'.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC)

The peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholics.

'Our Ways – Strong Ways' plan ($2026-2036$)

An NCCA plan targeting family, domestic, and sexual violence in Indigenous communities.

The Jewish Board of Deputies

The non-Christian group that supported the Australian Freedom Ride in the $1960s$ as an act of reconciliation.

Inherited ritual duties

Aspects of the Dreaming and kinship systems through which land is cared for as sacred.

Sorry Business

A term for funeral ceremonies in Aboriginal spirituality that ensure a spirit's journey back to country.

Cultural death

A term used to describe the separation of Indigenous people from their land as it destroys kinship and religious practice.

$10$ Point Plan

The colloquial name for the $1997$ amendments to the Native Title Act by John Howard.

Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER)

The $2007$ government initiative that involved suspending the Racial Discrimination Act to 'protect' Aboriginal children.

$2023$ Australian Indigenous Voice Referendum

The referendum whose 'no' vote left deep systemic disadvantages unresolved.

Taizé Prayer initiative

A practice promoted by the NSW Ecumenical Council emphasizing meditative chants and sung prayer in any language.

Ritual of Reconciliation

A NATSICC initiative to incorporate Indigenous storytelling and ceremonial aspects into Catholic prayer.

Safe Church Program

An ecumenical project aimed at building professional standards and safeguarding children following a $2017$ Royal Commission.

Milirrpum v Nabalco

The $1971$ court case that initially denied the Yolngu people's legal right to their land.

Covenant ($1994$)

The formal agreement the Uniting Church entered into with First Nations peoples in $1994$.

One million people

The amount by which identification with Christianity decreased over five years according to the $2021$ Census.

Dispossession

The term for the period of British colonisation starting in $1788$ that disregarded existing Aboriginal society.

National Walk For Truth

An initiative involving the interfaith movement 'Religions for Peace Australia'.

Pastoral Lease

An arrangement where the government lets land to graziers, previously used to argue against Native Title.

Paul Keating

The Prime Minister who delivered the Redfern Statement in $1992$.

Kevin Rudd

The Prime Minister who issued the formal apology to the Stolen Generations in $2008$.

John Howard

The Prime Minister who abolished ATSIC in $2005$ and introduced the $10$ Point Plan.

$$88\%$$

The percentage of the Australian population identifying as Christian in $1947$.

India and Nepal

The two countries whose migrants have significantly contributed to the growth of Hinduism in Australia.

Cyclical and non-linear

The description of the understanding of time (past, present, future) in the Dreaming.

Clan and Family

The specific social units totems link an individual to, in addition to a nation.

$16$ names

The number of names often involved in the skin name kinship systems of northern nations.

Ancestral Being's country

The destination a spirit journeys back to during 'Sorry Business' funeral ceremonies.

$$1997$$

The year John Howard introduced the amendments known as the $10$ Point Plan.

Racial Discrimination Act

The Act suspended by the government in $2007$ for the Northern Territory Emergency Response.

Meditative chants

The primary practice element of the Taizé Prayer initiative.

$2017$ Royal Commission

The commission that led to the development of the ecumenical Safe Church Program.

Religions for Peace Australia

The interfaith movement involved in the 'National Walk For Truth' initiative.

Graziers

The group of people who are let land by the government under a Pastoral Lease.

Abolition of White Australia Policy

The specific event that led to the decline of traditional Christian dominance by increasing religious diversity.

Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational

The three churches that merged in $1977$ to form the Uniting Church in Australia.

Australian Council of Churches

The predecessor body to the NCCA before the Catholic Church joined in $1994$.

$1993$ (initiative)

The year the 'Week of Prayer for Reconciliation' was initiated.

$1985$ (UAICC)

The formation year of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress.

Family, domestic, and sexual violence

The social issues targeted by the 'Our Ways – Strong Ways' plan ($2026-2036$).

Creation

The concept the Dreaming provides a non-linear and cyclical understanding of.

Inherited responsibilities

What the totem system uses to maintain ecological balance in Aboriginal kinship.

Systemic disadvantage

The issue left unresolved following the $2023$ Australian Indigenous Voice Referendum.

Overseas-born parent

A demographic factor shared by $93.8\%$ of non-Christian 'Other' religion adherents in $2021$.

Separation of Church and State

The core principle of secularism mentioned in the transcript.

Unity and cooperation

The primary goal of the ecumenical movement (Ecumenism).

Constructive and respectful engagement

The definition of Interfaith Dialogue according to the text.

Tolerance and respect

The values advocated by the Australian Council of Christians and Jews (ACCJ).

Strengthening relationships

The definition of the process of Reconciliation provided in the source.

Catholic prayer and justice work

The areas into which NATSICC's 'Ritual of Reconciliation' incorporates Indigenous storytelling.

Safeguarding children

A key aim of the Safe Church Program created by ecumenical project work.

Australian Freedom Ride

An initiative in the $1960s$ supported by the Jewish Board of Deputies.

Custodianship vs. Ownership

The contrast used to define the Aboriginal spiritual relationship with the land.

$21$ member churches

The size of the membership of the NSW Ecumenical Council.

Indigenous-led Christian group

The characteristic of the UAICC, which was supported by the Uniting Church in $1985$.

National representation

What Aboriginal people were left without after the abolition of ATSIC in $2005$.

Dispossession and white guilt

The two concepts acknowledged by Paul Keating in the Redfern Statement.

Pastoralists and miners

The groups whose rights were strengthened by the Native Title Amendment Act $1998$.

Ongoing connection since $1788$

The specific requirement for Aboriginal claimants to be granted Native Title under the $1993$ Act.

Ancestral identity

One of the things severed by the separation of Indigenous people from their land (cultural death).