History Commons^™

Marrying Out - Catholic-Protestant Unions In Australia, 1920s-70s, S. A. Mchugh

Faculty of Creative Arts - Papers (Archive)

For over 150 years, until post-war migration diluted the mix, Australia was polarised between the majority Anglo Protestant Establishment and a minority Irish Catholic underclass. Religious differences reflected social and political tensions derived from colonial days. Religious and family protocols strongly discouraged inter-faith marriages - yet until the late 1960s, a quarter of Australian Catholics continued to 'marry out'. ( Mol 1970). Such mixed marriages often caused deep family divisions, from social exclusion to disinheritance. Children brought up in such marriages often suffered a confused identity, not fully accepted by either 'side'. Such sectarian attitudes no longer apply to Catholics …