AustLit logo

AustLit

person or book cover
Screen cap from Channel 4 promotional trailer (UK)
form y separately published work icon Brides of Christ series - publisher   film/TV  
Issue Details: First known date: 1991... 1991 Brides of Christ
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Brides of Christ is set in the mid-1960s, a time when the Catholic Church and its followers were struggling with the changing face of the Church, including the death of the Pope and the controversial issues of abortion and contraception. Told in six parts, the narrative follows Diane, a young woman who has walked away from her fiancé to join a convent after being sure she has a calling to the faith. Diane is forced to face her own demons, however, and eventually has to decide whether she can teach what the Church preaches, or if it's simply impossible for her to reconcile all the contradictions of the faith and uphold her vow of obedience.

Notes

  • Individually published and award-winning episodes are individually indexed on AustLit.

Includes

3
form y separately published work icon Ambrose Sue Smith , John Alsop , Australia : ABC Television , 1991 11652805 1991 single work film/TV Australia : ABC Television , 1991

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1991

Works about this Work

Mature Heterosexuality : Catholic Women Religious' Celibacy in Australia's Liberation Decades Bronwyn Lee , 2023 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 47 no. 3 2023; (p. 432-446)

'The celibacy of Catholic “women religious”, or nuns, presents a dilemma for familiar narratives about the 1960s and 1970s as Australia’s “liberation decades”. In this article, I analyse an important oral history archive, not previously considered for this purpose, to explain how women religious “made sense” of their sexuality in relation to the social and institutional transformations of this period. I argue that women religious in Australia redefined celibacy as mature heterosexuality, and by doing so, they identified as ordinary women even as they held to their special status within the Catholic Church.' (Publication abstract)

Back in the Habit Nick Leys , 2014 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 5-6 July 2014; (p. 25-27)
Back in the Habit Nick Leys , 2014 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 5-6 July 2014; (p. 25-27)
Mature Heterosexuality : Catholic Women Religious' Celibacy in Australia's Liberation Decades Bronwyn Lee , 2023 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 47 no. 3 2023; (p. 432-446)

'The celibacy of Catholic “women religious”, or nuns, presents a dilemma for familiar narratives about the 1960s and 1970s as Australia’s “liberation decades”. In this article, I analyse an important oral history archive, not previously considered for this purpose, to explain how women religious “made sense” of their sexuality in relation to the social and institutional transformations of this period. I argue that women religious in Australia redefined celibacy as mature heterosexuality, and by doing so, they identified as ordinary women even as they held to their special status within the Catholic Church.' (Publication abstract)

Last amended 30 Aug 2017 11:01:44
X