The Significance of the Greek Orthodox Religion for Second Generation Greek-Australian Young Women

All rights reserved © 2017, Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand. Reproduced with permission of the publisher.This paper discusses the significance of the Greek Orthodox religion for young Greek Australian women. The findings of a qualitative study undertaken in Melbourne, Australia in 2013 indicate that for these granddaughters of Greek immigrants, their Greek Orthodox faith is a marker of Greek identity and also a source of resilience and social support. This is a major aspect of the cultural perspective that has been passed down from elders to these young women who indicate that their faith, expressed as belief in God, the Greek Orthodox religion, prayer, miracles and the sacraments of the Church, gives them comfort, support and emotional well-being, and serves as an important source of resilience. This paper describes the elements of religious belief that shape these young women’s perspective and discusses the role of religion in their wellbeing and overall affective state

Cultural understanding of health and adjustment to cardiovascular disease among the Greek elderly

The onset of chronic illness is a major lef event that presents serious challenges for the individual at a micro and macro level. The way in which adaptation to such illness occurs is closely related to cultural and linguistic factors that are an integral part of personal identity. This study presents the health beliefs of elderly Greek Australians and they way in which they understand health and disease. The process by which this population conceptualizes CVD and seeks medical care is discussed in the context of their specific cultural views and attitudes towards illness

Illness in old age is part of an individual\u27s fate and must be approached with acceptance

Older members of the Greek community see aging and the ill health that may accompany it as an inevitable part of life. They associate illness very closely with God’s will, and largely believe their state of health is an aspect of fate and / or luck that they do not have control over and must simply accept. This paper, based on research conducted in Melbourne, Australia, describes the way in which the experience of old age is understood in the worldview of this group. The words fate and luck (τύχη = tyche; γραφτό = graphto) are often used by older Greeks to characterize their situation. Luck, to this group, is not random. The term (τύχη) was used in classical times to refer to a kind of minor deity that controlled the fortune of the Greek city states, and an element of this idea of intention remains today. In the modern context, luck comes from God, and for this group, is part of γραφτό, or destiny, something that is written. In its usual usage in Greek, γραφτό refers to something that must happen to a person because it is predetermined and cannot not occur. The meaning that these older Greek individuals give to the word luck in the modern world is manifested in their acceptance of the problems of aging and their approach to coping with their own experience

Religion as a means of resilience and adjustment to chronic illness

This qualitative study describes the understanding of health and belief practices among elderly Greek Australians. In particular, the role of religion is discussed as a means of resilience and adjustment to illness, as religious faith often influences individual’s thoughts, feelings, and how they may accept or understand their particular health condition. Adjustment has a strong psychological or emotional component that is likely to be affected by culturally determined conceptualizations of health. As such, the particular background of a population may be very significant in the level and means of adaptation of individuals and groups

The Greek diaspora of Melbourne: Australia through the eyes of the second generation Greek Australian

form in the 1950s with migration to Australia in the years following the Second World War and the Greek Civil War. The elders of this community, in particular, have tried to ensure that their culture and traditions are kept alive and are handed down from generation to generation. The long history and cultural richness of the Greek tradition is a great source of pride to its members, and this is a key characteristic of the Greek community of Australia. Young and old Greek Australians speak of their country of origin with great pride and passion, as it remains central to their perception of nationality and ethnicity. This importance placed on the retention of the language and culture of their nation of origin means that cultural transmission across generations is of great significance to the community and can provide valuable insight into their interpretation of their own experiences. This paper will present findings from a three generation study about health beliefs and practices of women in the Melbourne Greek community. The experience of granddaughters, who represent the second Australian generation, and how they see their grandmothers’ experience as migrants to Australia will be discussed. The impact of the Diaspora phenomenon and the creation of a Greek community in Melbourne will be considered in the context of health, memory, religion, Greek culture, food, and personal and group identity

Health beliefs and practices in three generations of Greek Australian women in Melbourne.

This research explores the health beliefs of three generations of Greek Australian women in Melbourne. It describes their experience of illness and wellbeing in the context of a culture-specific understanding of health with strong cultural, religious, and linguistic bases that derive from the community’s Greek heritage

Religion as a source of resilience for elderly Greeks in Melbourne, Australia

This paper discusses the role of religion in creating resilience among elderly individuals of Greek background in melbourne, Australia, who are suffering from chronic disease. The role of religion in forming their conceptualization of health is analyzed in the context of their linguistic and cultural background as well as in relation to how they view their heritage and cultural identity

Identity and social connection of Greek dancing in diaspora

© 2019 the authorsThis paper will discuss findings from a qualitative study undertaken in Melbourne, Australia that investigated Greek dancing as an aspect of cultural identity and wellbeing. This research involved nineteen participants (four male and fifteen female) recruited from a well-established, long standing dancing school in Melbourne. These students were enroled in either the senior, adult or performance group. The participants were interviewed about their participation in Greek dancing and the meaning it had for them as well as their reason for participation. There were a number of differences among the participants, which included country of birth (Australia or Greece), age, dancing class, and length of experience. Despite this, the diaspora experience of the participants was particularly significant, and the core reason for participating in Greek dancing of all participants was to express their identity and manifest their Hellenic heritage in diaspora. Preserving this heritage was important to all participants and served as a vehicle for social connection that enhanced their physical and emotional wellbeing

Maintenance of cultural identity

The aim of this qualitative study is to explore the transmission of health beliefs among three generations of Greek families in Melbourne, Australia and the way they understand both health and disease as an aspect of cultural maintenance in the context of the larger Australian society. More specifically this paper will discuss the extent to which the immigrant generation has created a memory culture and how this has affected the sense of cultural identity of the first and second generation Greek Australians. Unlike the mainstream Australian community, the Greek population has so far maintaned a traditional framework due to the importance they ascribe to both culture and traditions that have been handed down from from the immigrant generation to the first and second generation Greek Australians. However, it is not only the immigrant generation that holds on to these traditions. More and more the first and second generation Greek Australians are set on maintaining their Hellenic heritage, and many community organizations in Melbourne, Australia are now largely supported by the younger generations. The results of this study have practical applications in elucidating how the memory culture that has been created by the immigrant generation may impact this cultural group’s conceptualization of health and the potential this may have to impact the use of health care by providin insight into the role of culture in forming individual or group conceptulizations of health in this community