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Belief: Christians in contemporary Australia

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Young woman stands next to young man, man appears to pray
Belief: Christians in contemporary Australia

SUBJECTS:  History

YEARS:  9–10


What is the most popular religion in Australia?

If you said 'Christianity', you would be right.

In the 2011 Census, more than 60 per cent of respondents indicated that they belonged to the Christian faith. In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in Christianity among Australia's youth.

By focusing on a Christian artist, this clip seeks to challenge some of the myths and preconceptions about what it means to be young and Christian today.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Name anything you know about Christianity. How did you come across this knowledge? What might be some of the pros and cons for young people who wish to follow a well-known religion such as Christianity?
  2. 2.This clip seeks to dispel some myths about Christianity. What are they? This clip seems to have been created for a young audience. What elements, including the age of the presenter, the content of the questions and the visual style, suggest that this is the case? What issues do the filmmakers seem to believe that the audience will be most interested in?
  3. 3.This clip is an example of a primary source, but one that takes a narrow view of an issue, in this case by focusing on one person (as a 'case study'). What are the strengths and weaknesses of taking this approach? What other sources might you need to find and examine to gain a complete picture of Christianity in contemporary Australia?
  4. 4.Use sources such as old newspapers and the internet to learn more about the changing face of Christianity in Australia. In your inquiry, answer the following questions: What conflicts were there between people from different branches of Christianity in post-war Australia? In what ways is Christianity in Australia similar to, and different from, the way it was in the years immediately following World War II?



Date of broadcast: 17 Dec 2001


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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