Unit 16  Religion in Australia Today  (澳大利亚现行的宗教信仰)
关于澳大利亚的宗教信仰： 
澳大利亚是一个宗教自由的国家，各种宗教信仰，包括基督教、天主教、印度教犹太教、伊斯兰教和佛教等等在这个国家并存。根据2001年的人口普查，在 澳大利亚存在的宗教信仰约100种之多。根据澳大利亚的平等机会法，任何人不会因是否有宗教信仰、或有何种宗教信仰而受到歧视。过去的二十年，澳大利亚信 仰宗教的人数逐渐减少。2001年的普查数据显示，25%左右的人没有任何宗教信仰。圣公会教徒占总人口21%，罗马天主教教徒占27%，其它基督教教派 占21%，其他宗教信仰者占6%。   尽管有宗教信仰自由，阿联酋教会还是渗透到澳大利亚社会的各个角落，影响力十分大，香港别墅功能也十分健全。在澳大利亚各大小城镇，雄伟的教堂建筑多不胜数。澳大利亚三 分之二的私立中小学是由罗马天主教教会开办的，由于富有的家庭喜欢把子女送往私立中小学，因此天主教或者教会学校对澳大利亚青少年一代有相当的影响力。   在平日生活中，教会既竭力通过各种途径和方法增加信众，教会也尽力能帮助人们解决一些困难。阿联酋找房子、寻工作、觅恋爱对象、诉心中烦恼、求车搬家、唱卡拉 OK，跳舞娱乐、烧烤郊游、凑够打麻将的人数，都可以通过教会或者在教会认识的人来解决香港别墅。从某程度来说，澳大利亚教会的不少功能，有点类似中国的居委会、 工会、妇联和街坊邻居的作用。 
对华人移民来说，教会往往是他们认识澳大利亚的途径之一。即使没有宗教信仰的人，教会也总是欢迎。华人的教会往往有厨房和吃饭的地方，活动时有很多志愿人 士帮厨，不少人还从家中带来家常小菜或家乡特产。阿联酋礼拜后、查经前，香港别墅大家熙熙攘攘的吃喝玩乐，说短论长。在礼拜天吃饱喝足之后，大家还组织各种娱乐活动。所 以，到教堂走走，也可以是生活的一部分。 
一、本单元重点内容
1. Protestantism and Capitalism　(新教和资本主义)
2. Anglicanism and its decline　(英国国教和它的衰败)
3. Catholicism　（天主教）
4. Religion in a consumerist society　（主张消费的社会的宗教信仰）
Fundamentalism and evangelicalism　(原教旨主义和福音主义)
Secularism　（世俗主义）
5. Non-Christian religions in Australia　(澳大利亚的基督教以外的宗教)
6. Sport as a national religion　(体育运动是澳大利亚的民族信仰)
二、本单元重、难点辅导
1. Protestantism and Capitalism　(新教和资本主义)
Protestantism is the most dominant form of religion in modern Australian society. It was the religion of governing colonial class in Australia. It promotes values such as rationalism, individualism, hard work, worldly success and asceticism. Though its values are paradoxical(相互矛盾), they fit well with the principles of Capitalism, and support the development of Capitalism.　新教是现代澳大利亚社会***主要的宗教形式。它曾经是殖民统治阶级的宗教。它提倡理性主义、个人主义、勤奋工作、追求现世成功和禁欲主义的宗教价值观。虽然这些价值观相互之间有些矛盾，但与资本主义的原则相吻合，支持资本主义的发展。
（*The compulsion to create wealth but not to spend it fits well with one principle of capitalism: that the primary purpose of profit is re-investment. The consequent further enlargement of one’s capital then fits the other essential capitalist principle of the necessity for growth.创造财富但不******浪费的冲动与资本主义的一条原则相吻合：那就是，赚取利润的首要目的是再投资。这会带来资本的进一步增加，从而也就符合资本主义的另一条有关增长的需要的重要法则。）
2. Anglicanism and its decline (英国国教/圣公会和它的衰败) (圣公会是新教的分支)
Anglicanism was the religion of the British colonizers as well as the convicts and free settlers(自由定居者). It was the dominant religion in Australia throughout the 19th and most of the 20th centuries. It has lost its demographic supremacy to Catholicism.
圣公会是英国殖民者的宗教信仰，也是罪犯和自由定居者的宗教.在整个19世纪和20世纪的大部分时间，圣公会都是澳大利亚占主导地位的宗教形式，但是现在它已经失去了其信徒人数***多的地位，输给了天主教。
3. Catholicism　（天主教）
Australian Catholicism was transported to the colony with the convicts. In the second half of the 19th century, the Catholics from Ireland played an important role in establishing the working class culture in Australia and in creating unionism and the political party (the Australian Labor Party) that represented the working class. The Catholicism has replaced Anglicanism as the most demographic dominant (信徒人数***多的) religious group. Catholic schools today play an important part in Australian education system.
澳大利亚的天主教是随罪犯被运输到这片殖民地的。在19世纪后半叶，来自爱尔兰的天主教徒，在建立澳大利亚新型的工人阶级文化中起到了重要作用，他们参与建立了工会制度，并成立了代表劳工阶层的政党---澳大利亚工党.天主教徒已经取代了圣公会成为了信徒人数***多的宗教形式。如今的天主教学校在澳大利亚教育体系中有着重要的地位。
* Catholics, working class Protestants and Secularists combined to establish unionism and to create the Australian Labor Party. (天主教徒、工人阶级中的新教教徒和非教徒联合起来建立了工会制度，并组成了澳大利亚工党。)
4. Religion in a consumerist society　（主张消费的社会的宗教信仰）
In the era of consumerism, the modernist values that stem from Protestantism conflict with the necessity to encourage people away from thriftiness towards continual self-indulgence. This shift to a globalized consumerist economy, based on the rejection of “what was”, affected religious commitment in Australia.
在消费主义时代，由新教的节俭禁欲发展出来的一些现代主义价值观与提倡人们不要节俭，应该不断进行自我放纵的社会需要产生了冲突。这种朝着建立在抛弃“旧观念”基础之上的全球消费主义经济的转变影响了澳大利亚的宗教信仰。
One outcome has been the growth of fundamentalist religions in Australia.
1) Fundamentalism and evangelicalism　(原教旨主义和福音主义)
Fundamentalism is basically a commitment to conservatism. Fundamentalism is often found in societies that are undergoing rapid changes, where Fundamentalists want to maintain or create what was the fundamental values of an earlier culture. The Protestant Evangelical churches share the fundamentalist values.
原教旨主义主要致力于保守主义。原教旨主义经常在正在经历快速变化的社会中出现。原教旨主义是要维持或创造早期文化的***根本的价值观念。新教福音派教会信奉原教旨主义的价值观.
(* Fundamentalism is not confined to any one religious belief原教旨主义不局限于任何一种形式上的宗教. In Australia, there are fundamentalist forms of Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism. Nor is fundamentalism confined to religion. Fundamentalist and evangelical Christians tend to go to church more than people who commit to Anglicanism and Catholicism.)
2) Secularism　（世俗主义）
There is a steady increase in the number of people who have no formal commitment to any religion. Most of the people do not attend church services regularly today. However Australia still can be seen as a religious society, instead of a secular society, as over three quarters of the Australian population is associated with some form of religion.
没有正式的宗教信仰的人数稳步上升。如今大多数澳大利亚人不再定期地参加教会的礼拜仪式。然而，澳大利亚仍然被看作是一个宗教社会，因为3 /4的澳大利亚人与某种形式的宗教有关系。
5. Non-Christian religions in Australia　(澳大利亚的基督教以外的宗教)
1) Buddhism佛教: The 1st documented arrival of Buddhists in Australia was that of the Chinese Buddhists. In proportional terms, Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in Australia.
2) Islam伊斯兰教: The 1st Muslims to come to Australia were Afghan camel drivers.（******批到达澳大利亚的伊斯兰教徒是赶骆驼的阿富汗人。）
3) Hinduism印度教: In the 19th century, many Hindus came to Australia and worked as hawkers (叫卖小贩) in remote communities.
4) Judaism犹太教: The 1st group of Jewish people came to Australia in 1788. The Jewish people have contributed much more than their share to the development of Australian society. (澳大利亚的犹太公民在澳大利亚公共生活中所做的贡献远远高出了他们在人口中所占的比重。)
6. Sport as a national religion　(体育运动是澳大利亚的民族信仰)
Sport is like Protestantism: it has many variants and each has it own followers. Sports figures are called heroes in Australia. Don Bradman (唐纳德·布莱德曼) has a museum dedicated to his abilities and to his spirit as cricketer(板球运动员).