Pauline Hanson is right.

Pauline Hanson is right. 

Last week, in response to a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment in Australia, the Socceroos released a video ahead of the World Cup. In it, the players take turns sharing their ethnic stories on top of a heartening piano soundtrack. They say, “We are a reflection of modern Australia”. Commenters express their wish for Hanson and One Nation to pay attention – this is the real Australia. This followed her comment at the National Press Club that Australia should be a monoculture.

Her response? “The Socceroos, in fact, represent my vision of a monocultural Australia, people from different backgrounds and cultures and nations all wearing green and gold and representing one nation under one flag and succeeding under the same set of rules.” 

In fact, Hanson has always maintained she is not racist, even while wearing a burqa for a political stunt in the Senate chamber. Her reasoning? Islam is a religion and not a race. In both accounts, she’s technically right, though this doesn’t mean I agree with her politics. 

One thing I have learnt in the last few years is that Australians are terrible at addressing race. The USA, having struggled through the Civil Rights Movement, has a deeper discussion on race in the public square. But  Australians don’t really know how to engage well. For example, instead of the “International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,” we have “Harmony Day.” This lack of racial literacy is a problem. 

Consider the analogy of a sick patient. Now imagine all the words they had to describe their condition were “bad” or “tired.” Imagine the doctor’s vocabulary was also limited to “sick” or “well.” This is not helpful for diagnosis. Medicine has developed precise terms such as autoimmune disease, endometriosis, PCOS or even PMOS. This precise language helps with correct diagnosis and proper treatment. Similarly, conversations on race need to use precise language if we want to engage with it well, both in society and in our churches. 

In Australia, we lack racial literacy. Someone is either racist or not racist. Sometimes, even using accurate racial terms such as ‘whites’, ‘blacks’, or ‘privilege’, is taboo and cast as the problem. Instead, using them well helps us to engage in complex discussions and articulate the problem. 

We follow the triune God who desires diversity. He created each people group with inherent worth and beauty that is present in the new creation (Rev 7:9), and each individual is made in his image (Gen 1:25). One way Christians can honour this image is by learning how to grapple well with racial matters. 

Let’s clarify some terms. 

What is Race? 

Race is a way that societies group people based largely on perceived physical characteristics. This includes skin colour, eyes, hair type, and they attach social meaning to those characteristics. It is primarily a social category, not a biological one, and thus has implications for people’s treatment in society. 

Distinguishing Race from Other Terms

Using myself as an example, here are some commonly confused terms.

• Race: I am Asian. Examples of races commonly used in the US are Black, White, Asian, and Brown. 
• Ethnicity: I am (Han) Chinese. Examples of ethnicities are: Scottish, Australian, Korean, Sudanese, Indian, and Malaysian Chinese. It describes identifying with a specific group based on shared characteristics such as ancestry, nationality, and culture.
• Ancestry: this is the term used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the Census, which denotes the countries a person’s ancestors came from
• Nationality:  I am Australian. This is a legal category of what nation state someone belongs to, and is what is on my passport.
• Culture: is a general term that describes a group with shared values, history, and worldview. I can say I have a mixture of Chinese and Australian culture. I could also say I’m part of a post-modern, millennial culture. 

Let's try another example, this time of my friend:

• Race: White
• Ethnicity: Greek
• Ancestry: Greek
• Nationality: Australian
• Culture: In addition to Australian and Greek culture, he serves at a Chinese heritage church, so he  has some Chinese culture as well

As you can see, Pauline Hanson seems to get the terminology correct about the Socceroos, though this doesn’t mean her desire for a monoculture is beneficial.

What is Racism?

Racism is the process by which people are disadvantaged, excluded or treated unequally because of their race or perceived race. It operates at multiple levels:

• through individual attitudes and behaviour, 
• through group attitudes and behaviour, and 
• through social structures that produce unequal outcomes 

For this reason, when Mainland Chinese persecute Hong Kongers, though they wield societal and structural power, this is not racism. Likewise, when a Greek grandmother forbids her grandkids from marrying Italians, this is prejudice, but not racism, since they are the same race. Similarly, when Australians say that there is reverse racism, it is difficult to justify.  White Australians as a group tend to hold social power and structural advantage over minorities. So, although they may feel economically disadvantaged or unfairly treated, it is difficult to argue that they experience racism. 

Related to Racism is Nativism. Nativism is the belief that a country should primarily belong to its native-born or established inhabitants, and that newcomers or perceived outsiders pose a threat to the nation’s identity, culture, economy, or way of life. Nativism is a better descriptor than racism of why established migrants join anti-immigration movements. Even when both groups are of the same race.

Why Should  Australian Christians Care?

Australia can be considered one of the most successful multicultural nations. We also value multicultural churches. However, when Australian Christians are unclear about these concepts, there can be confusion and hurt.

Our multiculturalism can be shallow. We can focus only on surface positives, such as Harmony Day, where we eat ethnic food or wear ethnic dress. This can border on ‘toxic positivity.’ In my own experience, many non-Anglo Australians spend most of the year trying to be as Anglo-Australian as possible. We have to, because assimilation into Australian culture and values is correlated to our acceptance. But on these “special days,” we are encouraged to be as ‘ethnic’ as possible. To put it cynically, this has the effect of propping up the dominant group’s minimisation of problems. When this ethnic and cultural celebration is done without addressing racial issues in  Australia, it is problematic. 

Another approach is colourblindness. This is expressed in sentiments such as “I don’t see colour,” “We are the human race.” When this happens, communities do not become a cultural; they default to the dominant culture or race. Non-Whites can hear: “I don’t want to hear about or acknowledge some of the most beautiful parts of who you are ethnically and culturally, and I don’t want to walk with you in the pain of what you have experienced racially.”  Author Sarah Shinin, in her book Beyond Colour Blind, argues, “Real friends aren’t afraid of looking at a friend’s real scars. And the scars that people experience in their culture, ethnicity, and race are places that need the gospel.”

And it results in hurt. 

I’ll never forget my first day at a new theological college. When introducing myself and my Chinese heritage church to a fellow student, they told me that Chinese churches are exclusive and that their multicultural church was more biblical. 

This person judged my Chinese church according to a single broad race/ethnicity, without acknowledging how difficult it is for the various generations and cultures to get along: Hong Kongers, mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, Malaysians, Singaporeans, Vietnamese, and second generation. His comment also swept past the complexity of the migrant experience. Anglo-Australians have several choices for church in English in a given area. Migrants, however, can only find 1-2 churches in an area where they can worship in their heart language and/or culture. This person had confused race, ethnicity and culture. 

Multicultural gatherings can also be Anglo -centric. I’ve been to enough Christian gatherings where non-White people are celebrated but not really known. “We are represented by 20 different cultures here; what a beautiful picture of heaven.” Meanwhile, the worship, doctrinal priorities, exegesis style, and homiletics are all Western and in English. Non-white Christians are not Pokémon to be collected to prove how successful (or ‘biblical’) we are. When racial minorities are expected to assimilate to Anglo-centric Christianity, we are implicitly insisting on the monoculture that Hanson explicitly promotes.

How to Live as Christians in a Multicultural Australia

While I appreciate people extolling the virtues of ethnic food or the diversity of our health system, this is still at the level of ‘Harmony Day’ discourse. As long as Australian Christians are blind to the categories, terms and research on race, we are unable to engage with Hanson and the far right’s arguments. 

East Asians like me have grown up with Pauline Hanson’s words on TV reverberating in our minds. She claimed in her maiden speech that Australia is “swamped by Asians” who “form ghettos and do not assimilate”. It has caused a lot of vicarious harm. It has made us feel uneasy or threatened in the country we call home. It has also made our ethnic communities stingy, joining in the nativist chorus, turning on our own people and newcomers, so that the voices don’t turn on us, and we established migrants can protect our way of life. 

But our God is one of diversity, generosity and abundance. We do want to pursue his diverse new creation. Yet in a fallen world, we recognise that we don’t yet see that and constructive discussions about sufficient housing and sustainable immigration policies need to be had. But please do not allow fear to overtake your faith. Please avoid scapegoating migrants. Please acknowledge that careless words and behaviours, even with good intent, can harm non-White Australians. 

I personally do not agree with Pauline Hanson’s policies and approach. But she knows what culture is and has said out loud what many desire in Australia: a monoculture. Many people, including Christians, are uncomfortable with the diversity of culture. And until Australian Christians can engage with understanding and a willingness to acknowledge uncomfortable realities, then people in the image of God will continue to be harmed.

Grace Lung is Director of the Centre for Asian Christianity (CAC) at Brisbane School of Theology; Next Generation Bi-cultural Program Co-ordinator at the Melbourne School of Theology, and on pastoral staff at a church plant in Brisbane.