Australia is a predominantly secular country. Even the Christians I know well or work with are coy about their religion. Muslims appear to be more devout, but as they constitute a very small minority in Australia, their cultural religious impact is not significant.

I would say that of the 25% of australians who call tehmselves catholic only 11-15% of them are devout.

that means that roughly 3% of australisn are devout catholics.

I'd be asking how "spiritual" they are, although I'm still learning what spiritual means beyond cliches like seances, crystal healing, various forms of counselling, and merely labelling anything you choose as "spiritual".

I've met Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists who I'd consider very spiritual (some in different ways, some in the same way).

I've met plenty of others who just go for the belief system and the odd ritual. I'd consider these the religious.

I've also met some with no religion at all who I'd think of as spiritual. I've met people who don't even use the word "spiritual," who I think are very spiritual.

And I've met many "spiritual" seekers who don't seem spiritual at all. We all have.

Religions are useful to teach a system of values and ethics. Some teach discipline. If you listen carefully to the core message of all religions, you'll find that they all teach the same thing. It's just that they don't usually teach this and people get hung up on the differences.

I'd say love, compassion, and awareness are the core of all religions. Continual self development and improvement, I think, are essentials too.

Unfortunately, many get stuck at the "belief" stage, and assume that you just need to intellectually believe something to be a Christian, a Muslim or a Jew. Many people intellectually mistake themselves as humans too, when often they have a very "animal" nature, and find it almost impossible to base their behaviour on anything more than instinct alone.

Most of us find it difficult, of course. The more you observe, the more you realise how trapped you really are.

So I'd define those as "spiritual" who are easy to forgive, who don't get hung up on things, who are generous and caring to all people they meet, and who don't care much about petty attacks on their egos. These are just the outward signs. Along with these gifts come inner strength and awareness.

Ultimately, I guess, the more humble, the more spiritual. I've met rickshaw pullers with more spiritual gifts than many educated, "religious" people. You can't teach "grace," you have to practice it.

Ultimately, I think Australia has no more or less actually "practicing" their religion than anywhere else. I have noticed one thing though: people seem to be more humble and compassionate in places with more poverty.

So how does it work if you have a different religion every day? Is it some kind of multiplying effect?

I prefer religions that are not selfish, like, They just don't like sharing their supernatural domain with other deities. Pretty antisocial if you ask me.

Elephant gods, such as Sri Ganeesh and water spirits are fun, and  Sao-Ts'ing Niang who rides a dragon in the clouds is pretty amazing.

The Etruscan Tuchulchu is pretty grim, but would make a good watch-god.

Probably my favourite of them all is the laughing Buddha. He never seems to take anything too seriously.

muso wrote on May 12^th, 2010 at 3:53pm:



My dear Mr Musician, you display all the pathologies of western relativism, with that mandatory self-conscious irony. If I were a Muslim - or an aborigine or anyone with any conviction, really - I, too, would want to sweep you away.

Soren wrote on May 12^th, 2010 at 9:02pm:

Presbyterians  

muso wrote on May 13^th, 2010 at 9:42am:


See what I mean? Even Muso doesn't take you seriously. No matter what, you can't stop jumping in and out and around, in perpetuity. Rather like Kafka's cossack, dancing between two houses where he goes on scraping and throwing aside the earth with the heels of his boots until his grave is dug under him.