Collectively,
Australians speak over 200 languages. Other than English, the most common
languages spoken today are Chinese, Italian, Greek and Arabic. So many cultures
and so many beliefs! Christianity is the most commonly reported religion (52.1%
of the population). The Islamic population with 2.6% of the total population is
the second largest religion, closely followed by Buddhism (2.4%). However, as
many as 30% of Australians reported that they had ‘no religion’. How can we
preserve our Orthodox Christian Faith in such a multicultural society?
In a MONOcultural
society, where everyone adheres to one culture, one language and one religion,
it is much easier to just do what the others do, to believe what the others
believe and to be one of the group. In a monocultural society you may even be
an outcast if you do not follow the main group and its beliefs. In some ways,
it is like being a boat, safe in a protected harbour.
However, in a
MULTIcultural society, it is like being out in the open ocean. In a
multicultural society, you are exposed to every possible belief and you need to
make the right choices. You need to be conscious and sure of your identity and
you have to constantly work to cultivate and nurture it. You must be strong in
who you are. In our multicultural society we are invited to search for the
spiritual and divine Truth amongst many options that parade as truth, but which
are falsehoods.
So again, I ask
myself, how can we preserve our Orthodox Christian Faith in such a
multicultural society? The truth is that we only preserve something if we think
it is of value to us. Our Faith, our belief in the one true God, must be
something we value. If it is, then we naturally protect it, nurture it and grow
it. We do this by using prayer, reading, Holy Communion, acts of charity,
Confession, liturgical life and fasting. Is this you? Keep going! You are on
the right path.
However, if you do
not value your Faith, it will be impossible to preserve it. In fact, you
probably do not even have the desire to preserve it. The evidence is that you
probably do not want to connect with God, you cannot be bothered worshipping or
even learning about Him, and you find excuses to justify your sins. If this is
you, then you are like a rudderless boat in the open sea. Any fake and false
belief can sweep you away and you will be lost. If this is you and you realise
that you are in danger, but you really want to change, then you must start
building up your faith.
First, ask God for
help. Start with a small program of prayer and some easy spiritual reading each
day. Then build up slowly. Keep company with people who have the same faith and
practice. Find a spiritual father, a priest confessor, to coach you how to
reconnect with our Lord. Ask him how to receive Holy Communion to give you
strength to keep going. Slowly, slowly your faith will become stronger and even
though you live in a multicultural, multi-faith society, you will ‘stand firm’.
You will know God. You will know your identity. You will be at peace. It is
indeed possible, desirable and beneficial to preserve your Orthodox Christian
Faith in a multicultural society.
Source: https://www.lychnos.org/how-do-we-preserve-our-orthodox-faith-in-a-multicultural-society/
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