{"id":571134,"date":"2026-03-29T02:03:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T02:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/571134\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T02:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T02:03:07","slug":"different-beliefs-shared-humanity-why-so-many-australians-celebrate-diverse-religious-festivals-festivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/571134\/","title":{"rendered":"Different beliefs, shared humanity: why so many Australians celebrate diverse religious festivals | Festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maureen Doonan tries to participate in as many faith and cultural celebrations as she can. \u201cIt\u2019s better that we understand,\u201d the 87-year-old says. Doonan is a fierce refugee advocate and Order of Australia recipient who belongs to the Uniting Church in her home town of Ballarat in regional Victoria<\/a>. Also a member of the Ballarat Interfaith Network, she says it\u2019s important \u201cto sort out how much is the same\u201d across faith and religious practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually make an effort to go to the mosque when it\u2019s open to the public and to Sikh celebrations as well as Aboriginal dawn services [on 26 January],\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we worship is different, but I believe it\u2019s the same God. I don\u2019t care what you call Him. It\u2019s just the way we understand Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doonan is part of a growing trend of individuals participating in activities and celebrations outside their own faith or culture. More than one million people visited the Ramadan night markets in Sydney\u2019s Lakemba this year<\/a>, with its explicit invitation to those outside the Muslim community.<\/p>\n

Jane Liu and Julie Yang of the Happy Birds Dancing Group during the Harmony in the Bridge event, in Ballarat. Photograph: Stuart Walmsley\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Michelle Philips is the president of the Chinese Australian Cultural Society Ballarat. Her family has been involved in the local Chinese community since the 1990s.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband became good friends with a Ballarat Chinese restaurant owner, Jimmy Louey, more than 55 years ago,\u201d Philips says. \u201cWhen we married I also became good friends with the family and our children naturally followed.\u201d<\/p>\n

For years, the Philips family has participated in Chinese celebrations including lunar new year, mid-autumn festival, and the Dragon Boat festival. Their children also became members of the lion dancing team, participating in shop blessings, parades and tourism events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe major focus of these events is around the bond of family, a time to come together,\u201d Philips says. \u201cThis is a key value within our lives and resonates strongly with our family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a passionate advocate for understanding and education as the greatest key to enable people from all backgrounds to come together and work collectively for the greater good. A little time taken to step out of your comfort zone, try new things, learn why people think and act in the manner they do by becoming a student of their history, culture, language and religious beliefs, is rewarded many times over.\u201d<\/p>\n

People fill their plates during a communal meal at Ballarat Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed Community\u2019s Naw Ruz gathering at Vickers Street Community Hub, Sebastopol. Photograph: Stuart Walmsley\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Chinese Australian Cultural Society Ballarat vice-president Charles Zhang says the celebrations promote family values and community cohesion. \u201cThese are principles we share as humanity and we all cherish. We want to maintain it as strong as possible,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Josh and Bec Gatens have been participating in the Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed community\u2019s moral educational activities with their two daughters for about two years.<\/p>\n

Bec says it\u2019s important for their girls \u201cto be free to choose their faith\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe it should be a personal belief not something that they are told to do because their parents follow something,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Mauritiun-Australian Desire Hermance with daughter Alicia. Ballarat’s Harmony Festival is about culture, community and connection. Photograph: Stuart Walmsley\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

\u201cThe messages that are being taught to the kids are valuable, [they are] about caring, kindness, love and inclusiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballarat\u2019s Paige Duggan has had a similar experience. The local musician appreciates the \u201ctrue connection\u201d felt through the community\u2019s activities, even though she isn\u2019t a Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the participants are Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed\u2019s and there are other people who are also not, but we all see the benefit to the activities on offer,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Australian Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed community spokesperson Awa Momtazian says there are more than 20,000 Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00eds registered in Australia, but many thousands more participating in holy observances and various neighbourhood or community initiatives.<\/p>\n

\u2018Neighbourliness\u2019 over ideology<\/p>\n

David MacPhail grew up in a staunch Catholic community, but as he grew older he \u201cmoved from Catholicism to Christianity to spirituality\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I\u2019m quite sure God does not exist,\u201d the 78-year-old says.<\/p>\n

MacPhail says his belief in a specific religion has gone, but his \u201cfaith has strengthened\u201d. Having spent many years in India among people of different cultures and faiths, he now works closely with Ballarat\u2019s Afghan community, and attends various interfaith events when he can.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have found that kindness and goodness is inextricably intertwined with all sorts of religions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo love even our enemies is the most inspiring, frightening phrase that holds the answer to humanity\u2019s progress and, possibly, survival.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joy Toko performs a traditional dance during a Sounds of Polynesia performance at the festival. Photograph: Stuart Walmsley\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

MacPhail belongs to the largest cohort of people in Ballarat, according to the 2021 census:<\/a> those with secular beliefs, other spiritual beliefs and no religious affiliation.<\/p>\n

But Faith Communities Council of Victoria multi faith officer Sandy Kouroupidis says there is a growing tendency for people who do not formally identify with a religion to attend religious festivals and community observances.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Victoria, we are seeing increasing curiosity about cultural and spiritual traditions, particularly during major festivals such as Ramadan iftars, Diwali celebrations and Passover meals,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of these events are now intentionally welcoming to the broader public. Faith communities themselves are inviting neighbours, colleagues and local leaders to participate as a gesture of hospitality and relationship-building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kouroupidis says cross-participation can strengthen social cohesion, particularly in regional and rural communities where relationships are more personal and visible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many regional settings, interfaith participation is less about ideology and more about neighbourliness. That kind of lived solidarity can be deeply powerful,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it\u2019s important that participation is invited and respectful, not appropriative or tokenistic. But when approached with humility, it contributes to vibrant, confident and inclusive communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doonan says through her advocacy work, and whether she\u2019s visiting the mosque, synagogue or rallying in the local streets, there is one message she strives to promote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all belong to the human race.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maureen Doonan tries to participate in as many faith and cultural celebrations as she can. \u201cIt\u2019s better that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":571135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-571134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}