On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia

Abstract

Using the analytical framework developed by the Berkeley research program in religion and society, this paper investigates Christian and Muslim piety in Australia. The findings reveal significant differences in the level of religiosity between samples of practicing Australian Christians and Muslims in all dimensions of religiosity. Muslims are more orthodox in their religious beliefs, ritually more engaged and devoted. One of the most notable ways in which the two groups differ is their experience of the Divine. Sociological insights of Emile Durkheim and Mary Douglas's sociology of religion are used to explain these differences and their implications.