Books and Edited Books by David Tittensor
This timely book offers a panoramic overview of the enduring significance of religion in modern A... more This timely book offers a panoramic overview of the enduring significance of religion in modern Australian society. Applying sociological perspectives and contemporary theories of religion in society, it challenges conventional assumptions around the extent of secularisation in Australia and instead argues that religious institutions, groups, and individuals have proved remarkably adaptable to social change and continue to play a major role in Australian life. In doing so, it explores how religion intersects with a wide range of other contemporary issues, including politics, race, migration, gender, and new media.
Religion and Change in Australia explores Australia’s unique history regarding religion. Christianity was originally imported as a tool of social control to keep convicts, settlers, and Australian Aboriginal peoples in check. This had a profound impact on the social memory of the nation, and lingering resentment towards the "excessive" presence of religion continues to be felt today. Freedom of religion was enshrined in Section 116 of the Australian Constitution in 1901. Nevertheless, the White Australia Policy effectively prevented adherents of non-Christian faiths from migrating to Australia and the nation remained overwhelmingly Christian. However, after WWII, Australia, in common with other western societies, appears to have become increasingly secularised, as religious observance declined dramatically.
However, Religion and Change in Australia employs a range of social theories to challenge this securalist view and argues that Australia is a post-secular society. The 2016 census revealed that over half of the population still identify as Christian. In politics, the socially conservative religious right has come to exert considerable influence on the ruling Liberal-National Coalition, particularly under John Howard and Scott Morrison. New technologies, such as the Internet and social media, have provided new avenues for religious expression and proselytisation whilst so-called "megachurches" have been built to cater to their increasing congregations. The adoption of multiculturalism and increased immigration from Asia has led to a religiously pluralist society, though this has often been controversial. In particular, the position of Islam in Australia has been the subject of fierce debate, and Islamophobic attitudes remain common. Atheism, non-belief, and alternative spiritualities have also become increasingly widespread, especially amongst the young.
Religion and Change in Australia analyses these developments to offer new perspectives on religion and its continued relevance within Australian society. This book is therefore a vital resource for students, academics, and general readers seeking to understand contemporary debates surrounding religion and secularisation in Australia.
The study of Islam since the advent of 9/11 has made a significant resurgence. However, much of t... more The study of Islam since the advent of 9/11 has made a significant resurgence. However, much of the work produced since then has tended to focus on the movements that not only provide aid to their fellow Muslims, but also have political and at times violent agendas. This tendency has led to a dearth of research on the wider Muslim aid and development scene.
Focusing on the role and impact of Islam and Islamic FBOs, an arena that has come to be regarded by some as the 'invisible aid economy', Islam and Development considers Islamic theology and its application to development and how Islamic teaching is actualized in case studies of Muslim FBOs. It brings together contributions from the disciplines of theology, sociology, politics and economics, aiming both to raise awareness and to function as a corrective step within the development studies literature.
David Tittensor offers a groundbreaking new perspective on the Gülen movement, a Turkish Muslim e... more David Tittensor offers a groundbreaking new perspective on the Gülen movement, a Turkish Muslim educational activist network that emerged in the 1960s and has grown into a global empire with an estimated worth of $25 billion. Named after its leader Fethullah Gülen, the movement has established more than 1,000 secular educational institutions in over 140 countries, aiming to provide holistic education that incorporates both spirituality and the secular sciences.
Despite the movement's success, little is known about how its schools are run, or how Islam is operationalized. Drawing on thirteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Turkey, Tittensor explores the movement's ideo-theology and how it is practiced in the schools. His interviews with both teachers and graduates from Africa, Indonesia, Central Asia, and Turkey show that the movement is a missionary organization, but of a singular kind: its goal is not simply widespread religious conversion, but a quest to recoup those Muslims who have apparently lost their way and to show non-Muslims that Muslims can embrace modernity and integrate into the wider community. Tittensor also examines the movement's operational side and shows how the schools represent an example of Mohammad Yunus's social business model: a business with a social cause at its heart.
The House of Service is an insightful exploration of one of the world's largest transnational Muslim associations, and will be invaluable for those seeking to understand how Islam will be perceived and practiced in the future.
Book Chapters by David Tittensor
Philanthropy in the Muslim World, 2023
Australia is a multicultural “melting-pot” with one of the most linguistically and culturally div... more Australia is a multicultural “melting-pot” with one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse populations in the world. People have immigrated to Australia from nearly 200 countries, represent more than 300 ethnic ancestries, and speak over 300 languages, and Arabic is among one of the most prominent languages spoken other than English (ABS, 2017). Within this mix, there is a small but vibrant Muslim community of slightly more than 600,000, from 183 different countries of origin (Hassan, 2018). Further, although the wider Muslim community is a relatively recent development, it has set about building its own institutions across the country in a number of arenas, including the not-for-profit (NFP) sector, that provide a wide variety of services. Thus, the aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the development of the Muslim diasporas in Australia and the context in which their NFP organizations operate.
The Feminisation of Migration? A Critical Overview
This chapter explores the key historical drivers of women’s migration from both within sending na... more This chapter explores the key historical drivers of women’s migration from both within sending nations as well as receiving societies. The key to understanding increased prominence of female migration is the evolving nature of gender relations across the spectrum as well as the critical role played by local, national, regional and transnational socio-economic factors in creating the need for a women-centric form of human mobility. Alongside this, the chapter also explores the issue of agency in relation to female migrants in both the Indonesian and Mexican contexts and how this is often masked by discourses of exploitation and victimisation.
(with Fethi Mansouri) Introducing and Contextualising Feminised Migration, in The Politics of Women and Migration in the Global South, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.1-10
The increased prominence of female migration, along with a much wider array of push and pull fact... more The increased prominence of female migration, along with a much wider array of push and pull factors, has often led scholars to focus on only one issue as it pertains to women and migration, such as human trafficking or remittances. Indeed, it is unusual for a volume to focus on more than one particular aspect of the migratory experience with much of the literature focusing on the plight of domestic workers. Thus, the aim of this volume has been to provide a wider survey that captures the multiplicity of drivers and resultant policy formations across a variety of regions. Further, in doing so it has sought to provide a balanced account that takes into consideration the structural drivers of migration without losing sight of individual agency and how these two intersect.
(with Matthew Clarke and Gerhard Hoffstaedter) Conclusion - Invisible aid: Islam, Muslim NGOs and development, in Islam and development : exploring the invisible aid economy, Ashgate, Farnham, England, 2014, pp.197-205.
This concluding chapter brings together the key themes and emphasises the key points raised by th... more This concluding chapter brings together the key themes and emphasises the key points raised by the contributing authors.
The changing nature of Islamic mission: The cases of Tablighi Jama’at and the Gülen movement, in Islam and development: Exploring the invisible aid economy, Ashgate, Farnham, England, 2014, pp.33-50.
This chapter argues for the role of faith in development to be reconsidered in relation to the is... more This chapter argues for the role of faith in development to be reconsidered in relation to the issue of bias in the provision of aid. It draws on the works of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum that seek to expand conventional understandings of aid to include wellbeing, and cites the cases of both Tablighi Jama'at and the Gülen Movement – from India and Turkey respectively – and how their religious interventions are at times precisely what Muslims are looking for.
(with Gerhard Hoffstaedter) Religion and development: prospects and pitfalls of faith-based organizations, in Handbook of research on development and religion, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, England, 2013, pp.402-412.
The study of Islam since the advent of 9/11 has made a significant resurgence. However, much of t... more The study of Islam since the advent of 9/11 has made a significant resurgence. However, much of the work produced since then has tended to focus on the movements that not only provide aid to their fellow Muslims, but also have political and at times violent agendas. This tendency has led to a dearth of research on the wider Muslim aid and development scene.
Focusing on the role and impact of Islam and Islamic FBOs, an arena that has come to be regarded by some as the ‘invisible aid economy’, Islam and Development considers Islamic theology and its application to development and how Islamic teaching is actualized in case studies of Muslim FBOs. It brings together contributions from the disciplines of theology, sociology, politics and economics, aiming both to raise awareness and to function as a corrective step within the development studies literature.
Papers by David Tittensor
Journal of Population Ageing, 2025
The purpose of this study was to investigate shifting religious affiliation of the older Australi... more The purpose of this study was to investigate shifting religious affiliation of the older Australian population to mid-century. Projections were produced with a cohortcomponent model classified by both country/region of birth and religious affiliation and divided by sex and five-year age groups. By mid-century, we project a rapid increase in the percentage of people reporting 'No religion' (+ 82%, + 8.65 million), alongside a decrease in Christian religions (from 55% to 30% of the population) and increases in Hinduism (169%, +1.2 million), Islam (106%, +913k), and Buddhism (40%, +255k). Natural change, net religious movement, and net overseas migration play differing roles across each of the major religion groups studied. In contrast to the broader population results, within the 65+ year population, we project an increase in Catholicism (mostly 80 + years), with relative stability in Anglican and Congressional affiliation to mid-century. However, if the projection horizon is extended beyond 2051, declines for these Christian affiliations are likely. Among the older population, greater diversity in religious affiliation is projected relative to the past, with non-Christian religions experiencing considerable growth, albeit from a low population base. The most significant change in the older population is very significant growth (179%, + 1.92 million) in the 65+ population reporting no religious affiliation to mid-century. Our study shows that by mid-century, there will be a major transformation in the Australian aged care landscape from a majority Christian-affiliated sector servicing a majority Christian-population to a majority Christian-affiliated sector servicing a religiously pluralist population.
Melbourne Asia Review , 2023
Recently, the federal government of Australia quietly introduced into parliament a law to ban the... more Recently, the federal government of Australia quietly introduced into parliament a law to ban the Nazi Swastika as an extremist symbol. The law also includes a ban on the Islamic State (IS) flag. The prohibition on the latter is problematic, as the flag contains the Shahada (profession of faith)—one of the five pillars of Islam—and the law will encompass symbols that are ‘likely to be confused’ with the IS flag. As such, the law potentially criminalises the display of a sacred tenet in Islam. Further, as of 2021 there were already 92 federal counter-terrorism laws introduced post-9/11 making Australia’s program more robust than many of its Western counterparts. Further, despite these laws being race-neutral in tone, they have disproportionately targeted Muslim communities. Therefore, this recent move to ban the IS flag in conjunction with the Nazi Swastika begs the question: What is the current place of Islam in the Australian imaginary, given that it continues to be securitised more than 20 years after 9/11? Lending force to this question is the fact that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in 2021 changed how it categorised terrorism threats, shelving ‘Islamic terrorism’ in favour of ‘ideologically and religiously motivated violent extremism’, due to recognition that the threat of an Islamic terrorist attack was ‘comparatively small’ and that the most pressing security concern was the rise of right-wing extremist groups.
Epistemic Violence and the Rise of the Pseudo-Secular Islamic FBO in the Age of the ‘Religious Turn’ in Development
The Muslim World, 2022
Over the past two to three decades, there has been a significant shift within the development sec... more Over the past two to three decades, there has been a significant shift within the development sector. Previously considered ‘taboo’, religiously inspired Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) have become increasingly welcomed and involved as partners and collaborators with international financial institutions and leading aid donors. However, while a place has been set at the table this has not been an equitable one. Rather, there is still the expectation that religiously driven organisations will engage with the normative Western secular aid discourse that regards impartiality as sacrosanct. As a result, this has seen those FBOs that have chosen to participate develop hybridised-identities, wherein we argue they have become pseudo-secular in nature. Drawing on the literature, we note this development amongst well-established Christian FBOs, such as World Vision, and extend our analysis to Islamic FBOs, with a case study of Islamic Relief. In doing so, we also argue that the hegemonic nature of the secular ‘master narrative’ imposed by the Western aid sector represents an instance of ‘epistemic violence’, and that FBOs should be able speak in their own terms.
Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 2020
Following 9/11 the Australian government instituted an unprecedented raft of counter-terrorism me... more Following 9/11 the Australian government instituted an unprecedented raft of counter-terrorism measures, which introduced both preventative mass surveillance and pre-crime offences. We suggest that this development represents part of a broader turn in the West towards a “militant democratic” approach to countering violent extremism that, whilst not directly targeting Muslims in name, does so in practice, and has had negative unintended consequences for Muslim diaspora communities. To support our claim we draw on 23 interviews with Muslim youths in Melbourne. In doing so we utilise Ghassan Hage’s application of misinterpellation to frame our analysis. We found that Muslim Australians are retreating into their ethno-religious identities as a result of a feeling of misrecognition. We also found that a climate of fear and anxiety is leading to self-censorship and that there was a sense of disconnect between the current leadership and Muslim youth, and that as a result government consultation should extend beyond Muslim peak bodies.
Becoming secular, yet remaining religious: the Gülen movement and the ‘engineering’ of the golden generation
Religion, 2020
In recent years there has been a religious turn in the development sector with the World Bank and... more In recent years there has been a religious turn in the development sector with the World Bank and national funding agencies in Europe and the US opening the space to Faith Based Organisations (FBOs). However, for some Islamic FBOs, this has not led to a comfortable assertion of their religious identity and mission on the world stage. Rather, in the post 9/11 environment, some Islamic FBOs have opted to develop an ‘invisible Islam’ wherein they background their religion through secularizing their language with a view to better integrating into the normative aid sector. Drawing on the work of Marie Juul Petersen and reflecting on the author’s own fieldwork on the Gülen Movement (GM), this paper will unpack this development. In doing so, it will highlight that the practice by GM is only a semantic exercise to cover its ongoing religious mission on account of continued hostility towards Islamic actors.
In 2010, cracks began to emerge in the tacit alliance between the ruling Adalet ve Kalkınma Parti... more In 2010, cracks began to emerge in the tacit alliance between the ruling Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party in Turkey, AK Party) and the Gülen Movement (GM) and escalated into an all-out struggle in 2013. Following the failed 15 July coup in 2016, Erdoğan sought to eradicate the movement completely, seizing $11 billion in GM assets and purging over 150,000 people from all sectors, public and private. However, Erdoğan is aware that victory at home will not defeat the GM, as it operates in around 160 countries. As a result, he has put pressure on many nations to crackdown on the GM and their activities. While this approach has had some success in the Gulf Countries, Africa and South East Asia, it has been largely ineffective in the West, and Australia is no exception. Therefore, this paper will explore the Australian case and look at the factors behind continued local support for the GM. It will argue that the GM has made excellent use of opportunity spaces and structures in both academia and the NGO sector where it has been able to control its own narrative and engage effectively in cultural diplomacy, particularly amongst the political class.
In 2008 the then Organisation of the Islamic Conference established its own Islamic Cooperation H... more In 2008 the then Organisation of the Islamic Conference established its own Islamic Cooperation Humanitarian Affairs Department (ICHAD) as an alternative to the OECD DAC. Subsequently, aid from ICHAD predominantly goes to Muslims. This is most likely because zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and regarded as ibadah (worship), from which non-Muslims are excluded. As such, this paper will examine the theology and ethics of giving in Islam (zakat and sadaqa) and explore these aid flows and, and whether there is room for a more inclusive interpretation that can lead to greater integration and cooperation .
In recent times, there has been a great deal of soul-searching about terms such as ‘deception’ an... more In recent times, there has been a great deal of soul-searching about terms such as ‘deception’ and ‘informed consent’ and, consequently, ethics review boards have applied the biomedical ethics model to the ethnographic endeavour and the wider social sciences. However, these new strictures are problematic, particularly when undertaking politically sensitive research. Drawing on 13 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Turkey on the maligned religious organization known as the Gülen Movement, this paper will argue that informed consent is not always the most appropriate approach when researching hard-to-reach or hidden communities. Rather, it will seek to illustrate that rapport, trust, friendship and reciprocity are worthy substitutes.
Asian Currents , Jul 21, 2015
Turkey’s national election on 7 June, 2015 provided a major surprise result. While pre-election p... more Turkey’s national election on 7 June, 2015 provided a major surprise result. While pre-election polls anticipated that the ruling Islamist Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP) would take a significant hit, the debut of a new player in the form of the Halkların Demokratik Partisi (The People’s Democratic Party, HDP) exceeded expectations.
Uploads
Books and Edited Books by David Tittensor
Religion and Change in Australia explores Australia’s unique history regarding religion. Christianity was originally imported as a tool of social control to keep convicts, settlers, and Australian Aboriginal peoples in check. This had a profound impact on the social memory of the nation, and lingering resentment towards the "excessive" presence of religion continues to be felt today. Freedom of religion was enshrined in Section 116 of the Australian Constitution in 1901. Nevertheless, the White Australia Policy effectively prevented adherents of non-Christian faiths from migrating to Australia and the nation remained overwhelmingly Christian. However, after WWII, Australia, in common with other western societies, appears to have become increasingly secularised, as religious observance declined dramatically.
However, Religion and Change in Australia employs a range of social theories to challenge this securalist view and argues that Australia is a post-secular society. The 2016 census revealed that over half of the population still identify as Christian. In politics, the socially conservative religious right has come to exert considerable influence on the ruling Liberal-National Coalition, particularly under John Howard and Scott Morrison. New technologies, such as the Internet and social media, have provided new avenues for religious expression and proselytisation whilst so-called "megachurches" have been built to cater to their increasing congregations. The adoption of multiculturalism and increased immigration from Asia has led to a religiously pluralist society, though this has often been controversial. In particular, the position of Islam in Australia has been the subject of fierce debate, and Islamophobic attitudes remain common. Atheism, non-belief, and alternative spiritualities have also become increasingly widespread, especially amongst the young.
Religion and Change in Australia analyses these developments to offer new perspectives on religion and its continued relevance within Australian society. This book is therefore a vital resource for students, academics, and general readers seeking to understand contemporary debates surrounding religion and secularisation in Australia.
Focusing on the role and impact of Islam and Islamic FBOs, an arena that has come to be regarded by some as the 'invisible aid economy', Islam and Development considers Islamic theology and its application to development and how Islamic teaching is actualized in case studies of Muslim FBOs. It brings together contributions from the disciplines of theology, sociology, politics and economics, aiming both to raise awareness and to function as a corrective step within the development studies literature.
Despite the movement's success, little is known about how its schools are run, or how Islam is operationalized. Drawing on thirteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Turkey, Tittensor explores the movement's ideo-theology and how it is practiced in the schools. His interviews with both teachers and graduates from Africa, Indonesia, Central Asia, and Turkey show that the movement is a missionary organization, but of a singular kind: its goal is not simply widespread religious conversion, but a quest to recoup those Muslims who have apparently lost their way and to show non-Muslims that Muslims can embrace modernity and integrate into the wider community. Tittensor also examines the movement's operational side and shows how the schools represent an example of Mohammad Yunus's social business model: a business with a social cause at its heart.
The House of Service is an insightful exploration of one of the world's largest transnational Muslim associations, and will be invaluable for those seeking to understand how Islam will be perceived and practiced in the future.
Book Chapters by David Tittensor
Focusing on the role and impact of Islam and Islamic FBOs, an arena that has come to be regarded by some as the ‘invisible aid economy’, Islam and Development considers Islamic theology and its application to development and how Islamic teaching is actualized in case studies of Muslim FBOs. It brings together contributions from the disciplines of theology, sociology, politics and economics, aiming both to raise awareness and to function as a corrective step within the development studies literature.
Papers by David Tittensor