Religion and Change in Australia

Adam Possamai is Professor of Sociology and Deputy Dean at the School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University. He is the author and editor of more than a dozen academic books, 5 novels, and close to 100 refereed articles and book chapters. He is a past president of the International Sociological Association’s Committee 22 on the Sociology of Religion and of the Australian Association for the Study of Religion. He has been a visiting professor at the City University of New York and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. His latest books are the Sage Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religion (edited with Anthony Blasi, Sage, 2020), The Social Scientific Study of Exorcism in Christianity (edited with Giuseppe Giordan, Springer, 2020), The I-zation of Society, Religion, and Neoliberal Post-Secularism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), Sociology of Exorcism in Late Modernity (with Giuseppe Giordan, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), and the short stories collection Perles Noires (Rivière Blanche, 2021).David Tittensor is a Lecturer in Studies of Religion in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University, Melbourne. His research interests are Muslim movements, Turkish politics and society, and religion and development with a focus on Islam. He is the author of The House of Service: The Gülen Movement and Islam’s Third Way (Oxford University Press, 2014), co-editor (with Matthew Clarke) of Islam and Development: Exploring the Invisible Aid Economy (Routledge, 2014), co-editor (with Fethi Mansouri) of The Politics of Women and Migration in the Global South (Palgrave, 2017), and is a series editor for Muslims in Global Societies (Springer).

Packed with astute observation and insightfully drawing on sociological theory, Religion and Change in Australia provides a sharp analysis of the state of religion in modern Australia. How has Indigenous peoples' religion changed since European invasion? How does religion influence current Australian politics? Did Harry Potter lead to an increase in witchcraft? Whatever your question, this book makes complex concepts both readable and entertaining.Marion Maddox, Professor of Social Sciences, Macquarie University, AustraliaThis much-needed volume is a tour de force and is certain to become a classic source for information and understanding of the evolution of religion in Australia. It is thoroughly grounded in relevant sociological theory and also full of detailed descriptive material that contributes to the theoretical analyses the authors present. The volume is a must-read for anyone interested in Australia’s religious history, but also should be viewed as an important commentary on the evolution of religion in all Western societies.James T. Richardson, Professor Emeritus of Sociology & Judicial Studies, University of Nevada, Reno, USA

• 1. Introduction 2. Contemporary theories of religion in society 3. A short history of religion in Australia before WWII 4. Post-WWII migration to Australia: from being Christian to religiously plural 5. Australia as a Christian, a post-Christian, and a non-religious country 6. Australian Aboriginal Peoples and contemporary religion 7. Non-belief: ‘religious nones’, atheists and the spiritual but not religious 8. Alternative spiritualities, ecology and individualism 9. Feminised religion and the patriarchy 10. Religion and new media 11. Politics and religion: the use and abuse of faith 12. Conclusion: Australia as a post-secular society