Auckland is one of the world’s most culturally diverse cities. This diversity is reflected not just in Auckland's ethnic makeup but in the city's religious life. Auckland has New Zealand’s highest rates of religious affiliation, with proportionately more of the country’s smaller and newer religious communities represented here than in other regions.
At the same time, the 2023 census reveals that just over half of New Zealanders described themselves as having no religion. Although Auckland is more "religious" than most other parts of New Zealand, the "no religion" demographic is also proportionately higher than the national average in some regions of the city.
This course is designed to help you make sense of this diversity, exploring questions like:
- How easy is it to define religion? Can we really find a definition that fits pre-Christian Māori worldviews, Māori religions after colonisation, and immigrant religions like Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism or Islam?
- Do other national activities like sports or ANZAC Day also meet the definition of a religion?
- Is there really any difference between religion and "spirituality," or between religions and "cults"?
- Do migrant religions have to change in order to adapt to life in New Zealand?
- Is New Zealand religiously tolerant, and who needs to "tolerate" whom?
- What does it mean to be secular? How should we understand the rapidly growing number of people who claim to have "no religion"?
- How should members of religious communities and those with no religion negotiate their lives together?
- What kind of future do religions have in this country?
As part of the course, you'll have the opportunity to visit two religious communities in Auckland and find out about their beliefs, practices, and place in the life of our city.