The Soft Side of Multicultural Politics: The Cross-Cultural Ministry and Mission of the Melbourne Anglican Church, 1975-1995

From the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s multiculturalism was adopted as an official policy by successive Australian governments. This placed the Melbourne Anglican Diocese under pressure to embrace changes that seemed of little direct benefit, but brought into question its identity and mission. This thesis examines the tensions between the Melbourne Anglicans who wanted to make the church more multicultural and those who opposed change, preferring to maintain tradition. It demonstrates how the Anglican ethos, internal tensions in the Diocese, other social changes, and the contested nature of multiculturalism, prevented a unified and confident Anglican approach to cultural diversity in Melbourne.