Essay On Jewish Shabbat Day

According to source 2 Christianity remained the dominant religion in Australia, although non-Christian religions continued to grow at a much faster rate. Since 1996, Christianity grew from around 12.6 million to 12.7 million, but compared to the other religions and the total population this number fell from 71% to 64%. Within Christianity, Anglicans dropped from 22% of the population to 18.7%, and therefore resulted in a decrease growth of -4.7 within the time period of 10 years. “Over the same period of time non-Christian religions increased from around 0.6 million to 1.1 million people, and collectively accounted for 5.6% of the total population in 2006” (king, 2010, p.221).

PART 1 Christianity is currently the largest Australian religion according to the national survey. In 2011, the tally proved that 61.1% of Australians were listed as Christian. The occurrence of Christianity began with the arrival of the First Fleet of British convicts in 1788. This led to a great society and a religious community. If Christianity did not exist, the world would differ from life nowadays.

Post WW2, under the growing mindset that Australia must ‘populate or perish’ in order to maintain and grow the nations security, workforce and economy, 3million migrants from Italy, Greece, and other European countries immigrated to Australia, in accordance with the ‘White Australia Policy”. Majority of these immigrants were adherents of either the Catholic or Orthodox Church, therefore whilst new religions were introduced, they did not have as much of a significant impact of the religious landscape as the immigrants post 1972 did.

The history of Australia is that of Christian takeover and mass conversion. Catholicism is the faith founded by Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jesus founded Catholicism around the year 30 A.D. There are many dominations is Christendom “Christian faith” since the Great Schism 1054 A.D. when Pope Leo IX excommunicated “ made a heresy” the Orthodox Church. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Judaism is an ancient religion which originated in the Middle East and has spread throughout the world. Today the followers of Judaism have many tradition s and rituals in which are celebrated all year round in thanks and in praise to God. Shabbat is one of the most important rituals and is celebrated by nearly every variant of the Jewish Religion.

The present religious landscape in Australia is one that has changed significantly from 1945 up until now. Christianity is still currently the most popular religious tradition in Australia, however has seen a steady decrease in numbers due peoples interests in other religions and a non religious focused society. Due to immigration Australia has seen significant increases in followers of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Because of Australia’s consumeristic society, denominational switching has become more common, especially in the Protestant denomination. New Age religions have become increasingly popular recently due to peoples search for individual fulfilment, in the form of happiness, health and meaning in life. Secularism in Australia is now a belief that forefronts society due to scientific discovery and individualism.

Christianity is the major religious tradition today and has been since around 1945. Many of the British who first came to Australia, either as convicts or free settlers were Christians. They formed the huge base for Christianity to rise to the top religion in Australia before they began to let more immigrants enter. In the 1947 census, 88% of the population (not including Aboriginals because they were not considered in the census) stated they were Christian. The remaining 12% was mostly people who didn’t respond to the question. Today not much has changed the percentage of Christians has slightly decreased because of a rise in new religions. In the census of 2011 it is seen that out of 21.5 million people just under half, 42% classed themselves as Christian and around 8% said they were of a different religion. The number of people who said they had no religion was hugely increased at around 25%per cent. Today, even with the growing amount of Islam Buddhism and Hinduism, Christianity still remains the major religious tradition.

The practises, beliefs and values of Christianity and Islam have an impact on Australia society; however, the media exploits the perceived tension between the two groups which has led to discrimination and violence. Over many years the way of which an individual lives their life has been shown to be affected by the religion of which they follow. This affects the way of life throughout the community surrounding these people, as well as having an impact on the social issues throughout this particular community. Christianity has a huge impact throughout Australia, this includes through schools, dress codes, the way of which people live in their day to day lives. Christianity has always been a highly popular religion throughout Australia as

Religion is a pivotal aspect in society to date with a diverse array of religions known to be practised in Australia, creating opportunities to embrace individuality though also sparking social divisions. French sociologist, Emile Durkheim described religion as “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden -- beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community”(Jones, 2011). So how does religion influence Australian society? With a vast incline in religions practised in Australia, it is extremely feasible to presume that it does affect Australia significantly. It is through cultural diversity, morality and ethics and laws in which the true relevance of religion in Australian society can be identified.

Christianity has been the primary religion post 1945 to today. The British who first came to Australia and inhabited it were mainly Christians. They formed a strong Christian base in Australia before the country decided to let more immigrants Australia. This base of Christians was split up into the 3 different types of Christianity. Each of the 3 groups coming from their own unique origins; Anglican which were the British colonist, Catholic made up of Irish/Italian settlers and Orthodox who were the Greek settlers. In the census of 1947, out of the 7.5 million people in Australia, 88 per cent of the population, not including the Aboriginals, said they were Christian. The other 12 per cent was mainly made up from people who didn’t respond to the question.

Answer: Traditionally, Jews use certain rituals on a daily basis, too. Some of these are: putting on the Tallit (a prayer shawl) and Tefillin (phylacteries, which are small leather boxes containing verses from the Bible that remind Jews of their duties—one worn on the forehead and one on the arm), praying three times a day, and keeping the dietary laws called Kashrut.

On the other hand, Judaism is a monotheistic religion and it endorses the worship and belief of one sole deity, God. Jews speak Hebrew and their holy book is called the Torah. There are two main beliefs in Judaism, that the Sabbath is holy, and that you must follow the Ten Commandments. The Sabbath takes place from sunset on Friday sunset sunset on Saturday, it is basically a day of rest from work "Six days you shall do your work but on the seventh you shall rest" (Exodus 23:12). They usually light two candles, and attend an evening service in the Synagogue and begin with a special liturgy called kabbalat Shabbat "welcoming Shabbat"(Goldberg 341-343).

It is a day of rest (they do not work or have others work for them, emergencies are exceptions) and connection to God. Sabbath is kept from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. The Seventh-day Sabbath originates from Creation, when God rested from His work on the seventh day. Keeping the Sabbath is a perpetual sign of the everlasting covenant between God and his people, a symbol of love. God gave each one of us life, and guarding the Sabbath and keeping it holy shows reverence and respect to God, our creator. The Sabbath is a golden opportunity to engage in activities that will help establish and enhance a long-lasting relationship with God, rest and fellowship in nature along with reading the Bible are common activities on the Sabbath as well as other days. On Sabbath, as well as every other day, constant contact with God is kept. Adventists talk to him like a friend, we serve a wonderful God who wants to be our friend, He is a loving, caring God who wants us to feel loved and protected by

In many articles they remind us that the norm for most family's and people on a Sunday back in the day were for religious purposes, but times have

Many Catholics attend mass on Saturday night instead of Sunday morning because of the work schedule. This was not always the case but has been accepted by Christians since around 1980. They also have rituals of respect during the service which includes kneeling, singing, bowing and responding to the priest or deacon.