Changing N.Z. religions

Press, 3 August 1985, Page 20

Changing N.Z. religions

Religion in New Zealand Society. Edited by Brian College and Peter Donovan. Dunmore Press, second edition, 1985. 260 pp. $24.95 (paperback). (Reviewed by Maurice A. Brown) Christchurch people are being made more aware of the increasingly diverse nature of our society, and visible signs of this such as the new mosque in Deans Avenue should make us want to understand better the faiths of our land. For this reason the second edition of “Religion in New Zealand Society” is to be strongly commended for revisions, expansion, and updating the important work of keeping up with changing faith in society and new scholarly input which brings fresh insights into areas of prejudice and misunderstanding. The most important addition is Dr William Shepard’s timely paper, ‘The Islamic Contribution; Muslims in New Zealand.” Dr Shepard’s work in this area is, as far as I know, the only detailed study available. Its coverage

of the history of the Muslim community takes us back to 1874, and brings us up to date with this community, currently expanding in New Zealand. This paper is the fruit of revision of previous work and much personal interviewing of members of the New Zealand Muslim Association. The glossary provided here is excellent for those of us who are unfamiliar with Islamic terms. This book also includes a select bibliography of recent books on Maori religion, theology, and local church history. Brian Colless and Peter Donovan must be commended for editing this first class second edition. May they continue to offer students, teachers, historians, and all interested in religion in our society, well researched, easily readable, updated studies for accurate reference and resource material. $24.95 seems an enormous jump from the $14.95 of the 1980 edition, but readers are paying for professional expertise and quality.