Australian Religions

Wearing the colour red and having the patch with the emblem of the mighty bulldog on your back was what ex-Mongrel Mob leader Tuhoe 'Bruno' Isaac called being True Red. "Because all levels of society hated us we created a new society of hatred symbolised by the bulldog. Its ferocious habits were engraved on our hearts", Tuhoe says, "If you weren't a mobster you weren't worth knowing." He lived this way for 17 years. However, constantly living for the bash, beer, prison and the possibility of dying in a pool of blood eventually saw Tuhoe search for another way of doing life.

Tribal chiefs living in remote villages high in the unreached mountains of Yemen. An ordinary Sydney doctor lacking confidence in his own abilities, yet with a message to share. What God does is exceptional. Michael Babbage’s story of being led, protected, and provided for, together with his family, in their missionary travels to Yemen and Pakistan makes gripping listening.

When prominent US neurosurgeon Dr Eben Alexander goes into a coma after contracting a severe brain infection, his doctors tell his family to prepare for the worst - death or, at best, survival in a vegetative state. Remarkably, Dr Alexander wakes up seven days later with his faculties intact. Just as extraordinary is his detailed recall of a near-death experience. Based on all that is known about how the brain works, Dr Alexander had no capacity, while in the coma, to create thought; his neocortex, the part of his brain that makes us human, had effectively shut down.

Overwhelmed with insomnia and an incurable autoimmune disease, Shannon Harvey needed to make a change. But while the award-winning health journalist found plenty of recommendations on diet, sleep and exercise, when she looked for the equivalent of a 30-minute workout for her mental well-being, there was nothing. Also worried for the future mental health of her kids, who were growing up amidst critical levels of stress, anxiety, depression and addiction, Shannon enlisted a team of scientists to put meditation to the test.

Spirit Sisters was inspired by the scores of women who would preface their stories with, 'I've hardly told anyone this, but...' The journalist would scratch the surface, and their stories would tumble out; they'd given up the ghost, so to speak. In Spirit Sisters you'll meet Australian women of all ages who share their very personal encounters with the supernatural.

Geologists have amassed data that indicate that islands have disappeared in the Pacific, a phenomenon that oral traditions of many groups of Pacific Islanders also highlight. This book explores the issue of vanished islands in the Pacific by bringing together the geology and the myths.

Playing out as a scintillating story with unexpected twists, “The Girl on the Trail” explores the severe and overwhelming shock of discovering uncomfortable truths about those we look up to, the security of family, the joy and satisfaction of love, the devastation of betrayal and loss, and the comfort of loyalty in our lives. The teenage Tatiana is certain she has her future mapped out: She would find love when she becomes a young woman, she would live a loving life all through college, and she would marry the knight who would secure her heart. But then, her compromised mother shakes ...

Ever since she was a little girl, Belinda Davidson has been aware of her psychic gifts and her power to 'read' other people. At first she thought it was a curse; experiencing visitations, vivid visions of past lives and frightening others with her psychic connections.

In this multi-award-winning history of the Bible in Australia, Meredith Lake gets under the skin of a text that's been wrestled with, preached and tattooed and believed to be everything from a resented imposition to the very Word of God. A must-listen for non-believers and believers alike, The Bible in Australia explores how in the hands of Bible-bashers, immigrants, suffragists, evangelists, unionists, writers, artists and Indigenous Australians, the Bible has played a defining and contested role in this country.

Cael O'Donnell is a former mental health therapist who now uses his abilities as a psychic medium to help hundreds of thousands of people worldwide to find guidance from the universe and tap into the resources already within them. From manifestation and dreams to spirit guides, the tools are all around us if we know how to identify and use them. Exploring the three interconnected aspects of our existence, Cael explains how we can find our true purpose in life, develop trust in our intrinsic sense of direction and deal with the loss of loved ones and other challenges life throws at us.

From hijabs to jihad and everything in between - Muslims down under today. What is Halal? A country bordering Shariahland, or a method of preparing food? Do the Five Pillars of Islam comply with modern building codes? Or are they simply a philosophy for living? And if Muslims first arrived in Australia as early as 1800, can they go back to where they came from? In this funny and informative exploration of Islam in Australia, award-winning comedian and writer Sami Shah takes us behind the stereotypes....

Australia is a nation forged in the furnace of revival. Long forgotten, Australia’s Spirit-filled history comes to life in Great Southland Revival. Discover how the flame of Pentecost spread from the book of Acts all the way to the South Pacific. Journey on convict ships and city trams, to goldfields, outback communities and far-flung islands transformed by the gospel. Most of all, be inspired that God longs to revive the church, sweep multitudes into His kingdom, and renew our world once again.

What is Halal? A country bordering Shariahland, or a method of preparing food? Do the Five Pillars of Islam comply with modern building codes? Or are they simply a philosophy for living? And if Muslims first arrived in Australia as early as 1800, can they go back to where they came from? In this funny and informative exploration of Islam in Australia, award-winning comedian Sami Shah takes us behind the stereotypes and generalisations to find out who Australian Muslims are, how they live and what they think.

In 1994, 14-year-old Stefanie Hinrichs dreamed of owning a horse, leaving school and marrying Keanu Reeves. But God had other plans for the teenager. Her family belonged to a controversial Doomsday cult led by self-proclaimed Messiah William Kamm, also known as the 'Little Pebble', who was building a new promised land for his followers deep in the Australian bush. Stefanie was forced to become the false prophet's child bride - one of 84 mystical spouses chosen by the Lord to bear 27 children for his new heavenly dynasty.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied started out a dynamic, optimistic, naïve, youthful grass-roots organiser and oil rig worker before she found herself taking on the heft of the Australian political and media establishment, unintentionally. From her new home in Europe she brings her characteristic warmth, clarity and inquisitive nature to the concepts of 'the private and public self' and 'systems and society' that structure this collection. In 'The Private and Public Self', Yassmin shares her passions for cars and cryptocurrency as well as the personal challenges around her activism and leaving Australia.

Bachar Houli is as accomplished an AFL footballer as they come. He's been part of two Richmond Premiership sides, he was an All-Australian in 2019, and with more than 200 games to his name he remains a key part of a champion team. Picked at number 42 in the 2006 National Draft by Essendon, Houli played 26 games for the Bombers before moving in 2011 to Tigerland, where rookie Coach Damien Hardwick was assembling the team that six years later would achieve the seemingly impossible and claim Richmond's 11th Premiership.

Just before Tatiana sets off to start a new life of deprivation, sacrifice, and sanctity, her insightful uncle helps her grapple with the meaning of life and come to terms with a world where people betray over a fickle, and where the quest for self-gratification supersedes the desire to live a divine purpose. “Hunger Fire” sequentially follows “The Grandmother': and Perfect Love” and precedes “The Fire and Ice Legend” in the short story collection entitled “Me Before Them”.

For when you've planned a last-minute Tinder date and want to suss out if your signs are compatible. For when you've started a new job and want to figure out how to navigate the workplace. For when your mate is doing your head in and you're not sure how to manage their moods. From devout astrologers and toe-dipping cosmic cuties, to agnostics who can't quite deny things are a bit weird when Mercury is in retrograde, How to Spot the (Star) Signs is your spicy, savage guide to winning at life.

On 24 July 2013, Anglican priest Rod Bower put up these words on the roadside sign of his Gosford parish church. Next he posted them on Facebook, sparking a social media revolution. The post was shared thousands of times - suddenly the onetime butcher was on the public stage. Today Fr Rod has close to 65,000 followers on social media. He uses this platform to raise questions about Australia's corporate soul, to assert that we are all brothers and sisters - asylum seekers, Muslims, those identifying as LGBTI, Indigenous Australians.... And for such messages, the death threats pour in.

At the core of sisterhood is a message of value and a genuine desire for women to "unite in friendship and cause" in order to bring hope where hope has been lost. The spirit of sisterhood is seen and felt in the fervent prayer of thousands of girls who faithfully uphold nations where injustice and darkness rage out of control. It is seen and felt in young women being inspired by the wisdom and grace of their mothers and the women ahead of them in this journey of life.