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The Baha'i faith and Caodaism

Migration, change and de-secularization(s) in Australia

University of Western Sydney, A.Possamai{at}uws.edu.au

Alphia Possamai-Inesedy

University of Western Sydney, Aphia.possamai{at}uws.edu.au

In Australia, new immigrant and ethnic communities constitute the largest segment of the phenomenon of increasing religious diversity and change. These groups celebrate and maintain a way of life and a religious culture from elsewhere, but they are also working in Australian society: not just resisting pressures for assimilation, but helping members to translate the norms and values of their land of origin into the new Australian context. In this process, a de-secularization of the world at both local and global levels occurs; indeed, while offering support to migrants, these groups offer a site of `cultural security' to them and simultaneously promote and diffuse their religion in Australia's public sphere. This article focuses on the Baha'i faith and Caodaism; two groups with an ever-increasing growth in the Western world, and an involvement at local, national and international levels. The research shows that these two groups have had different measures of success in Australia, highlighting the fact that the de-secularization process does not have the same intensity among these groups. This article aims at finding the reason behind this difference of intensity.

Key Words: multiple modernities • new immigrant and ethnic communities • new religious movements • religious identity • transnationalism

Journal of Sociology, Vol. 43, No. 3, 301-317 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1440783307080108


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