Buddhism in the Far North of Australia pre-WWII: (In)visibility, Post-colonialism and Materiality

Buddhism was first established in Australia through flows of migrants in the mid-nineteenth century, and is currently Australia’s fourth-largest religion. Yet Buddhists have received significantly less scholarly attention than Christians, Jews and Muslims in Australia. Previous research conducted on...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of global buddhism
Authors: Halafoff, Anna (Author) ; Lam, Kim (Author) ; Rocha, Cristina (Author) ; Weng, Enqi (Author) ; Smith, Sue (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: [publisher not identified] 2022
In: Journal of global buddhism
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Nordaustralien / Buddhist / Diaspora (Religion) / Racism / History 1850-1947
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AF Geography of religion
BL Buddhism
KBS Australia; Oceania
TJ Modern history
TK Recent history
XA Law
Further subjects:B Buddhism
B Materiality
B Asia
B Sri Lanka
B Post-colonial
B China
B Japan
B Belonging
B Australia
B Whiteness
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:Buddhism was first established in Australia through flows of migrants in the mid-nineteenth century, and is currently Australia’s fourth-largest religion. Yet Buddhists have received significantly less scholarly attention than Christians, Jews and Muslims in Australia. Previous research conducted on Buddhism in Australia has also largely centered on the southern states, and on white Buddhists. This article shares findings of archival research on Buddhism in the far north of Australia, focused on Chinese, Japanese, and Sri Lankan communities working in mining, pearling, and sugar cane industries, pre-WWII. It documents the histories of exclusion, resistance and belonging experienced by Australia’s Buddhists in the far north of Australia pre-WWII, during times of colonial oppression and Japanese internment. In so doing, this article challenges dominant narratives of a white Christian Australia, and also of white Buddhism in Australia, by rendering Asian communities in scholarship on religion in Australia more visible.
ISSN:1527-6457
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of global buddhism
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.26034/lu.jgb.2022.1995