Australian Catholics have made a unique contribution to the nation. At its centre is a solid grasp of the objectivity of ethics. Persons or societies cannot "choose their own values", because what is right and wrong is founded in the way things are. In his wide-ranging book on Australian Catholic thought and action, James Franklin, author of the much-praised polemical history of Australian philosophy, Corrupting the Youth, shows how core Catholic values have played out in the issues where Catholics have challenged their host society - in debates on land rights, immigration and values in schools, and in combats with Freemasons, Protestants and Communists.

Knowledge of Catholic educational scholarship and research has been largely confined to specific national settings. Now is the time to bring together this scholarship. This is the first international handbook on Catholic educational scholarship and research. The unifying theme of the Handbook is ‘Catholic Education: challenges and responses’ in a number of international settings. In addition to analyzing the largest faith-based educational system worldwide, the book also critically examines contemporary issues such as church-state relations and the impact of secularization and globalization.

This book explores the Italian contribution to the life of the Church in Australia. It begins with the historical experiences where Italians became identified as the "Italian Problem", right through the Second World War where they became "Enemy Aliens" and on to the post war period, where Italians moved from being "Dagoes" to becoming "Doers". The first half of this impressive book challenges the treatment of Italians in Australia and boldly argues for a new awareness, almost an Italianization of the Australian Catholic Church. The final two chapters explore the Italian contribution to the Australian Church through the prism of theology and scripture. As Australians of an Italian background move on to their third and even fourth generation in Australia, this volume will become a rally call to reclaim our unique heritage, which is Catholic, Italian and, most of all, Australian.

Humans are made in God's image, Christians believe. As beings of immense value, they possess objective worth and inalienable rights. Since society is made for humans, economic and political arrangements must respect human rights, from the right to life to the rights to education, association and free expression. In this collection, experts consider the full range of rights that go to make up a free society fit for a full human life. They apply to current Australian conditions the insights of Catholic social thinking, a perspective both older than the competing ideologies of socialism and capitalism and more in accordance with the real world of the new century.

An examination of the major classical sociological theories relevant to education and of the rise and decline of the new sociology of education. Author also discusses the vexed questions of equality of opportunity, the relationship between school and society, the growth of educational bureaucracies and the roles of state, church and family in education in Australia since 1949. Includes endnotes, tables and index.

This book showcases the contribution Australian contemporary glass artist David Wright has made to Australian art and international glassmaking. From 1970 until 2014, David Wright produced hundreds of high quality art glass windows for Australian public, private and sacred spaces, including significant national churches, chapels, and synagogues, yet little scholarly research on the artist and his place in Australian art history exists. Including the first catalogue raisonné ever produced on the artist, combined with a close examination of his opus, his influences, manufacturing methods and personal history, this book demonstrates for the first time the extraordinary contribution David Wright made to Australian art and contemporary glassmaking.

For a secular age, we have a lot of religious politicians. Theresa May, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, even Donald Trump all profess Christianity, as did Obama, Brown, Sarkozy, Bush and Blair before them. Indeed, it is striking how many Christian Presidents and Prime Ministers have assumed the global stage over recent years. In spite of Alastair Campbell's oft- (and mis-) quoted line, 'We don't do God', it seems like we definitely do. But how sincere is this faith? Is not much of it simply window-dressing for the electorate, paste-on haloes to calm the moral majority? Conversely, how dangerous is it? If we elect our politicians to do our democratic will, do we really want them praying to God for advice? The Mighty and the Almighty looks at some of the biggest political figures of the past forty years - from Thatcher and Reagan, through Mandela and Clinton, to May and Trump - and looks at how they 'did God'. Did their faith actually shape their politics, and if so, how? Or did their politics shape their faith? And does it matter if it did? In an age when religion is more important on the global stage than anyone would have predicted fifty years ago, this book will tell you everything you want to know, and some things you won't, about how the Mighty get on with the Almighty.