1. Churchmen at the Bathurst convention -- 2. The cardinal steps out -- 3. Campaign and counter-campaign -- 4. The recognition issue at Adelaide -- 5. The Protestants fight back -- 6. The Adventists perserve -- 7. The debates in the colonial legislatures -- 8. The lines are drawn -- 9. Disaster for Higgins -- 10. Glynn's triumph -- 11. 'The Commonwealth shall not . . .' -- 12. Quick and Garran's account -- 13. To the referenda -- 14. Piety and precedence -- 15. Retrospect
Summary
Publisher description: Should the Australian Constitution be given a religious clause or should it not? The question gave scope for almost endless wrangles to the founding fathers of Australian federation. Whether their interests were chiefly political or religious, they argued vociferously whether God should be recognized in the Preamble and whether He should appear in Section 116; and if so in what form He should be acknowledged. The issue, confused, complex and partisan enough already, was further complicated by the wider questions, first raised by Tasmanian Andrew Inglis Clark, concerning relations in general between the churches and the coming Commonwealth. This book is about the clashes between church and state groups and personalities, often mainly interested in making personal gains, what decisions they made, and how the decisions came about
Analysis
Church and state Australia
Australia. Politics. Influence of religion, 1891-1906
