Religious Change And Indigenous Peoples Global Discourses And Aboriginal Religions

"Exploring religious and spiritual changes which have been taking place among Indigenous populations in Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific Islands, this book focuses on important changes in religious affiliation over the last 15 years. Drawing on both local social and political debates, while contextualising the discussion in a wider global discourse on changing religious affiliation, especially the growth of Islam, the authors present a critical analysis of the persistent images and discourses on Aboriginal religions and spirituality. This book takes a comparative approach to other Indigenous and minority groups to explore contemporary changes in religious affiliation which have raise questions about resistance to modernity, challenges to the nation state and/or rejection of Christianity or Islam. Bryan Turner, Adam Posssamai and Helena Onnudottir offer a critical analysis to on-going public, political and sociological debates about religious conversion (especially to Islam) and changing religious affiliations (including an increase in the number of people who claim 'no religion') among Indigenous populations. This book also offers a major contribution to the growing debate on conversion to Islam among Indigenous peoples."--Publisher description.