Handbook

This subject examines the history of Christianity in Australia from 1788 to the present. Drawing upon historical and sociological studies of the Christian churches in Australia, this subject considers the distinctives of immigrant religious traditions and the effects on churches of drought, pluralism, economic depression, two world wars, post-war immigration and exposure to American culture. The subject also investigates interaction between Christianity and Indigenous peoples, and the engagement of the churches in education, welfare, intellectual and cultural life, and politics. That engagement is further considered within the framework of contemporary historical and theological discussion of mission in a post-Christendom context.