Impact of Nietzsche's Religious Philosophies on Australia's Religious System

Running head: RELIGION IN AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY
Religion in Australian Society
Name of the Student:
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“Christianity was from the beginning, essentially and fundamentally, life's nausea and disgust
with life, merely concealed behind, masked by, dressed up as, faith in "another" or "better"
life.”
The above quoted lines from Friedrich Nietzsche's “The Birth of Tragedy”, p.23
gives an overview of the religious views that the critic held right from the early years of his
career. Nietzsche is often regarded as one of the stern critic of the dogmatic or institutional
forms of religion and more precisely Christianity (Magnus, Stewart and Mileur, 2014).
Religion has formed an important part of the lives of the individuals since the dawn of the
human civilization (Magnus, Stewart and Mileur, 2014). Thus, even in the present times it is
seen that the various people insist on leading their lives as per the diverse precepts of the
religion which they follow (Locklin, Tiemeier and Vento, 2012). However, in the recent
times it is seen that the construct of religion has undergone much change because of the
various studies as well as the research conducted by scholars like Nietzsche, Hume and others
(Locklin, Tiemeier and Vento, 2012). It is seen that the people are often in a dilemma as
regards whether they should follow the precepts of religion in the framework of which they
have been brought up and the things which their religion preaches or they should base their
opinions on the basis of these studies and research (Locklin, Tiemeier and Vento, 2012). This
essay will discuss about the impact of the religious philosophies of Nietzsche on the present
religious systems of the nation of Australia.
The nation of Australia is a liberal one and the people of the nation are free to
practice which ever form of religion they want to practice (Runzo, Martin and Sharma, 2012).
Furthermore, one of the primary Fundamental Rights which the nation provides to the various
citizens of the nation is the “Freedom of Religion” (Australia.Gov.Au, 2018). Thus, it is
seen that various kinds of religion are being practiced in Australia by its citizens. However,
reports show that more than 52.1% of the people of the nation follow the religion of

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Christianity (Australia.Gov.Au, 2018). The major divisions of the religion of Christianity
which the people of the nation commonly follow are “Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church,
Presbyterian and Reformed, Eastern Orthodox, Baptist and Lutheran” (Australia.Gov.Au,
2018). The majority of the population of the nation still follows the traditional precepts of the
religion of Christianity and many experts are of the viewpoint that there is a need for change
within the framework of the religion which is being practiced with in the nation (Solomon
and Higgins, 2012). Furthermore, it is seen that the religious philosophies of Nietzsche,
Hume and others have impacted the religion which is being followed by the citizens of the
nation is a significant manner and it the end result of this particular fact that the opinion of
the people is increasingly changing towards the kind of religion which they have been
following since their birth (Solomon and Higgins, 2012). The cumulative effect of this
particular fact is the growing dissatisfaction as well as the discontent of the people towards
the religion followed by them (Fox and Sandler, 2014). This has resulted in the increased
amount of discontent as well as the anxiety which the people of the nation are facing at the
current and thus the people are increasingly turning towards the various alternative forms of
religion like Spirituality and others (Fox and Sandler, 2014). Furthermore, the rejection of the
traditional concepts as well as the various precepts of religion can also be seen in the
increasing acceptance of the religious philosophies of Nietzsche, Hume and others. This has
resulted in a considerable of change within the framework of the religious system which is
being followed in the nation of Australia currently.
The religious philosophies of Nietzsche had a considerable influence not only on the
framework of religion which was practiced in the 19th century but also in the present times as
well (Runzo, Martin and Sharma, 2012). The major reason for which Nietzsche is known in
the present times is for the articulation of the statement that “God is Dead” (Runzo, Martin

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and Sharma, 2012). It is significant to note that this particular concept appears for the first
time in the work “The Gay Science” where he says that,
“After Buddha was dead, people
showed his shadow for centuries afterwards in a
cave,—an immense frightful shadow. God is dead:
but as the human race is constituted.....
..................................................
still to overcome his shadow!”
Runzo, Martin and Sharma (2012) are of the opinion that this statement of Nietzsche
is often being misinterpreted by the various individuals and it has lead many people to think
that Nietzsche was against God. Thus, it is seen that the various people think that Nietzsche
was trying to say that the God whom people worship is dead and thereby indirectly tried to
declare that the institution of religion to be dead. Locklin, Tiemeier and Vento (2012) are of
the opinion that through the articulation of this particular concept he meant that the
institutional form of religion which the people practiced was redundant and no longer as per
the needs of the people. Nietzsche is of the opinion that the primary purpose for which the
institution of religion was developed was to civilize the human beings and therefore once that
particular state of civilization had been achieved the institution should have been modified
(Magnus, Stewart and Mileur, 2014). Furthermore, in his “Genealogy of Moral” theory he
states that the various precepts of religion which forms a part of the commonly used religions
are actually the contrived rules which have been made by the weaker individuals of the
society to resist the stronger people of the society (Magnus, Stewart and Mileur, 2014). He
divides the entire human race into two broad categories, namely, the stronger class and the