By Michael Britton
Is it no surprise that the latest findings from the census undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed the number of people identifying as “Christian” is waning. But it should be remembered that Christianity, as a derivative of Judaism, started off with a band of twelve followers.
In 1966, more than 88 per cent of Australians identified as being Christian, today that number is barely more than 50 per cent. What happened?
Christianity has been growing rapidly in third-world countries where, some scoffers argue, an enlightenment has not yet occurred as technological and cultural advancements are yet to take place in these countries.
The 52 per cent of Australians who identified as Christian might not also actually be Christian. It may be the case that some respondents to the ABS survey simply ticked the “Christian” box out of protest to a changing cultural paradigm; just as the many who dislike Christianity for various reasons would have ticked the “atheist” box out of spite.
Unsurprisingly, there has been a growing trend toward atheism which is somewhat interesting given most atheists don’t have a regimen of group attendance, meditation, communion or communication. They have one creed: There is no God and they don’t meet weekly to confirm or renew their beliefs.
But of the Christians, how many people in the survey would identify as actually having an adult faith. Surely there is a difference between fulfilling one’s Sunday obligation out of a sense of duty, ticking a box as a cultural Christian, being a conservative and having faith.
One reason is that the Church usually receives negative coverage in the media and this hasn’t helped in transmitting faith. Yet, studies upon studies have shown Australians as wealthy and independent. Generally living comfortable lives. Yet substance abuse, violence and suicide are at alarming rates.
The recently released movie Silence which focused on the oppression and persecution of some 300,000 Catholics in Japan, had one particularly remarkable scene. It was when the 16th Century General of Nagasaki admitted “it seems that the more we persecute you, the more our people convert to your faith.” In one sense, the Japanese weren’t the first in discovering this truism so it is no surprise that, in countries like Australia, anti-Catholic sentiment has become more subtle, more pervasive. A bit like public wi-fi, it is freely available, it is ubiquitous and is growing in subscription. Gone are the heady days of the likes of BA Santamaria and the, arguably, “Catholic” Democratic Labor Party (DLP) which helped keep Prime Minister Menzies in power for nearly two decades.
As parents, our children still receive a valuable Catholic education from their teachers and parents alike. The results, still, are worrying.
A PhD study by Brother Luke Saker at Edith Cowan University in 2005, found 90 per cent of graduating Catholic students regarded their faith as unimportant. How could someone of so few years in age, without having read the likes of Chesterton, CS Lewis, Kierkegaard, Aquinas or many notable others have come to such a militant, wilful and unshakeable conviction? Such a faith?
In his famous book, Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard’s espoused his, somewhat incredulous, admiration for, Abraham, the Father of Faith and his willingness to give up his own ideals and convictions (or “will”) as the final step toward faith. “Your will be done” is a sentence often uttered, but the Nietzschean Übermensch (“superman”) desire to “fulfil yourself,” always returns.
But as history often repeats, there is also plenty of evidence to show that faith is “catching.” But if it is so catching, why aren’t the next generations catching it as readily as they once did?
In a post-Vatican II environment there has been the growth of a number of ecclesial and catechetical movements that encourage its members to move away from a natural or primitive religiosity whereby one prays and barters with an all-powerful and distant God for good things to come. This is hardly faith; this is a quid pro quo arrangement: “I will offer up sacrifices and you will do my will.” Many religions operate this way. In Christianity, the sacrifice has already been made.
Gaining faith is moving toward a willingness to accept whatever God’s will as our (good) Father may be. This is a “leap of faith;” not as it has been taught into the unknown, but into the Hope of the goodness of the Lord.
In this modern age, it is not the number of Christians that exist but the strength of faith itself in those numbers. The ABS survey does not differentiate between the number of Christians willing to give their lives to daily prayer, nor does it show the number of Christian respondents willing to put their faith before their jobs, properties, wealth or even their lives. Indeed, it may sound harsh, unspeakable or even foreign to ask these things of today’s Australian Catholics; yet, historically, it’s a question that has continually repeated.
Abraham was willing to give his only son out of love for God. Kierkegaard, and many others, have struggled to fathom that. The question has always been “are you willing to leave behind your way of life, lands and comfort for me?” The answer to this question will often determine where someone is on a journey towards an adult faith.
Michael Britton has lectured in politics, philosophy and history at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Edith Cowan and Curtin Universities.