Those who sensed that religion had become a bigger part of Australian politics in the early twenty-first century were quite right, writes Anna Crabb.

Life for former Catholic Church nuns who leave their order is often a sorry story of poverty, mental and physical ill health, social isolation and emotional pain, according to this report, which examines the experiences of nuns after leaving religious life, and uncovers systemic issues of neglect by the Church. It highlights inconsistencies and inadequacies...

The question is often asked 'What will Islamists do to democracy?' But it seems equally valid to ask 'What might democracy do to Islamists?' This Lowy Institute paper examines how three different Islamist movements, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Prosperous Justice Party in Indonesia and the Justice and Development Party, have all sought to...

This edition of the Academy's journal, Dialogue. features four articles on religion and contemporary Australian life: • Belief and Disbelief in Australia – James Jupp • The Apology, the Secular and the Theologico–Political – Michael Fagenblat • ‘May we each be faithful to the light that we have already gained’: Some Perspectives on Modern Theosophy...

Religion and the resurgence of faith-based foreign policies have become a central theme in contemporary world politics. In a series of short essays, Lorraine Elliott, Mark Beeson, Shahram Azbarzadeh, Greg Fealy and Stuart Harris investigate the main features of this resurgence and put to the test some of the assumptions about religion and foreign policy...