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A Practical Reference to Religious and Spiritual Diversity for Operational Police is a publication of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency.
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A Practical Reference to Religious and Spiritual Diversity for Operational Police is a publication of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency.
The National Police Ethnic Advisory Bureau conducted a nationwide survey in Australia and identified questions operational police had regarding religious determined behaviors and their impact on policing (see 1st ed. forward) in 1999. [1] [2] [3] The first edition covered Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish and Sikh faiths with participation of representatives of the various religions. Religion Statistics for National totals and by State and Territories from census 1996 were also included. [4] It was sponsored by a collection of multicultural organizations from across Australia. It offered a two-page summary of the religion, issues on death, gender roles, sensitivity issues (gestures or interactions that cause offence), how to allow the taking of an oath, possible conflicts with religious calendars or events, and dealing with proper behavior at temples and members of its staff. The second edition added Christian, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander religions, as well as the Baháʼí Faith, to the list of religions, while also including data from the 2001 census when published in 2002. [5] A third edition was planned for publication in 2006-07 [6] [7] but was still in development in 2009. [8] However, in 2005 a publication along the same lines was produced by the Mäori Pacific Ethnic Services, Office of the Commissioner, for New Zealand Police covering Māori religion, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judiams, and Sikhism. [9] It acknowledged the Australian publication's producers for "…a number of photographs and text on which to base the New Zealand version…". Another edition of the New Zealand document appears to have been published in 2009. [10] [11] The New Zealand edition also had appendices outlining: information from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Treaty of Waitangi and religious freedom, religious affiliations government statistics in New Zealand, and artworks at the Royal New Zealand Police College. In 2010, the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency updated the Practical Reference to Religious and Spiritual Diversity for Operational Police. The Reference "provides police with a greater understanding of religious and spiritual diversity and to enhance services to the community." [12] This third edition has been enhanced, updated and further informed by the feedback received from police jurisdictions, religious communities, individuals and government agencies. New to the third edition:
1st edition
Author: National Police Ethnic Advisory Bureau.
Title: A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police.
Years: 2000–2002
2nd edition
Author: Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau.
Title: A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency Services.
Years: 2002–2010
3rd edition
Author: Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency.
Title: A Practical Reference to Religious and Spiritual Diversity for Operational Police.
Years: 2010-2022
4th edition
Author: Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency.
Title: Religious and Spiritual Diversity Guide for Operational Police.
Years: 2022-current
The publications have been generally received by a variety of religious individuals or non-governmental institutions:
Several governments or divisions of government have cited it or used the publication in their deliberations:
Several professional publications noted the document:
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchangeably, and for cultural pluralism in which various ethnic and cultural groups exist in a single society. It can describe a mixed ethnic community area where multiple cultural traditions exist or a single country within which they do. Groups associated with an indigenous, aboriginal or autochthonous ethnic group and settler-descended ethnic groups are often the focus.
The population of Australia is estimated to be 26,688,600 as of 16 August 2023. Australia is the 55th most populous country in the world and the most populous Oceanian country. Its population is concentrated mainly in urban areas, particularly on the Eastern, South Eastern and Southern seaboards, and is expected to exceed 30 million by 2029.
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Religion in Singapore is characterised by a wide variety of religious beliefs and practices due to its diverse ethnic mix of peoples originating from various parts of the world. A secular state, Singapore is commonly termed as a "melting pot" of various religious practices originating from different religious denominations around the world. Most major religious denominations are present in the country, with the Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore (IRO) recognising 10 major religions. A 2014 analysis by the Pew Research Center found Singapore to be the world's most religiously diverse nation.
The Baháʼí Faith formed in the late 19th century Middle East and soon gained converts in India, the Western world, and beyond. Traveling promoters of the religion played a significant role in spreading the religion into most countries and territories during the second half of the 20th century, mostly seeded out of North America by means of the planned migration of individuals. The Baháʼí Faith was recognized as having a widespread international membership by the 1980s, and is now recognized as the second-most geographically widespread religion after Christianity.
James Jupp AM was a British-Australian political scientist and author. He was Director of the Centre for Immigration and Multicultural Studies in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University and an Adjunct Professor of the RMIT University in Melbourne. He was an Australian citizen and resident of Canberra.
Religion in Australia is diverse. In the 2021 national census, 43.9% of Australians identified with Christianity and 38.9% declared "no religion".
Tariq Modood, is a British Pakistani Professor of Sociology, Politics, and Public Policy at the University of Bristol. Modood is the founding director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship and one of the leading authorities on ethnic minorities in Britain.
Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau was an agency of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs of the Government of Australia. It was established under the auspices of the Conference of Commissioners of Police, Australasia and the South West Pacific Region.
Religion in New Zealand encompasses a wide range of groups and beliefs. New Zealand has no state religion or established church and freedom of religion has been protected since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
African Australians are Australians of sub-Saharan African ancestry, including naturalised Australians who are immigrants from various regions in sub-Saharan Africa and descendants of such immigrants.
Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Australian. Australian law does not provide for a racial or ethnic component of nationality, instead relying on citizenship as a legal status.
The Baháʼí Faith has a long history in Australia. The first known mention of events related to the history of the religion was several reports in Australian newspapers in 1846. After sporadic mentions a turning point was a mention of Australia by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, in 1916 following which United Kingdom/American emigrants John and Clara Dunn came to Australia in 1920. They found people willing to convert to the Baháʼí Faith in several cities while further immigrant Baháʼís also arrived. The first Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in Melbourne followed by the first election of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1934. Iranian Baháʼís had first tried to emigrate to Australia in 1948 but were rejected as "Asiatic" by Australia's White Australia policy. Though the situation was eased in the 1960s and 70s, on the eve of Iranian revolution, in 1978, there were approximately 50-60 Persian Baháʼí families in Australia. Persians, including Baháʼís, arrived in number following the revolution. See persecution of Baháʼís in Iran. Since the 1980s the Baháʼís of Australia have become involved and spoken out on a number of civic issues - from interfaith initiative such as Soul Food to conferences on indigenous issues and national policies of equal rights and pay for work. Baháʼís in Australia include some well known people.
Atheism, agnosticism, scepticism, freethought, secular humanism or general irreligion are increasing in Australia. Post-war Australia has become a highly secularised country. Religion does not play a major role in the lives of much of the population.
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America. The United States is home to people of many racial and ethnic origins; consequently, American culture and law do not equate nationality with race or ethnicity, but with citizenship and an oath of permanent allegiance.
Multiculturalism in Canada was officially adopted by the government during the 1970s and 1980s. The Canadian federal government has been described as the instigator of multiculturalism as an ideology because of its public emphasis on the social importance of immigration. The 1960s Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism is often referred to as the origin of modern political awareness of multiculturalism, resulting in Canada being one of the most multicultural nations in the world. The official state policy of multiculturalism is often cited as one of Canada's significant accomplishments, and a key distinguishing element of Canadian identity and Canadian values.
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While the first mention of events related to the history of the Baháʼí Faith in New Zealand was in 1846 continuous contact began around 1904 when one individual after another came in contact with Baháʼís and some of them published articles in print media in New Zealand as early as 1908. The first Baháʼí in the Antipodes was Dorothea Spinney who had just arrived from New York in Auckland in 1912. Shortly thereafter there were two converts about 1913 – Robert Felkin who had met ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in London in 1911 and moved to New Zealand in 1912 and is considered a Baháʼí by 1914 and Margaret Stevenson who first heard of the religion in 1911 and by her own testimony was a Baháʼí in 1913. After ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote the Tablets of the Divine Plan which mentions New Zealand the community grew quickly so that the first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly of the country was attempted in 1923 or 1924 and then succeeded in 1926. The Baháʼís of New Zealand elected their first independent National Spiritual Assembly in 1957. By 1963 there were four Assemblies, and 18 localities with smaller groups of Baháʼís. The 2018 census reports about 2925 Baháʼís in some 45 local assemblies though the Association of Religion Data Archives estimated there were some 7518 Baháʼís in 2010.
The Baháʼí Faith is a minority religion in all the countries of Oceania. Baháʼí Houses of Worship are present in Australia, Samoa, and Vanuatu, and another is under construction in Papua New Guinea. Malietoa Tanumafili II of Samoa was a follower of the Baháʼí Faith and the first Baháʼí head of state.
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